Increasing small business security to reduce liability

Unfortunately, for many small businesses, becoming a victim of a security incident that increases your liability is a question of "when," rather than "if." As such, entrepreneurs need to do more to make sure they beef up security and decrease the likelihood that even a single incident can lead to massive losses or increased safety risk for your employees, customers or clients.

How can you do that effectively? It takes a multi-pronged approach to physical security that, typically, won't cost you a lot of money but will boost your peace of mind. That includes the following:

1) Install better locks

You no doubt have locks on your doors and windows, but they may not be as effective in the event of a break-in attempt as you might think, according to ADT Commercial. Installing deadbolt locks, keycode systems and more is a great first step to creating a new line of defense for your building — but you also need to make sure you're engaging those locks whenever possible, especially overnight and on the weekends.

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2) Light up the property

Often, crime that happens at a business arises from opportunity, rather than careful planning from a criminal, ADT added. One way that entirely too many companies passively encourage crime is by having darkened areas around their facility that might present a window of opportunity to a passerby. However, if you add more lighting in your parking lot and around the perimeter of both your property and building, that temptation likely goes away.

3) Invest in a surveillance system

For a more in-depth security system, you can install some cameras that detect movement and broadcast to your wireless device, ADT further advised. Likewise, a silent alarm system and other "smart" security changes could pay for themselves if they avert even one break-in.

4) Lock up valuable information

Of course, not all crime is committed by strangers and outsiders, and as such, you should be careful to make sure vital information is kept under lock and key — even if that's done virtually, according to Small Business Trends. You should never leave any paper files with sensitive data lying around, and lock sensitive documents in a secure file cabinet. Likewise, you should restrict access to these kinds of files in the cloud as best you can.

5) Be more careful about access

Part and parcel with the above is the need to make sure only people who need to be in certain rooms or access specific files are actually able to do so, Small Business Trends said. If employees or visitors aren't restricted in their movements on your property, you may be opening yourself up to unnecessary risk.

6) Communicate and train around these efforts

As you make changes to your security procedures, you should ensure your employees are familiar with them and will be able to enact the new behaviors you're seeking, according to Houston Chronicle Small Business. In addition, make sure all these changes are clearly communicated in writing, so you and your employees can refer back to the new rules as needed.

7) Continually review your changing security needs

Finally, your security needs as a business are likely never going to be fully addressed, and as your company evolves, you should act to make security investments and procedural changes as necessary, Houston Chronicle Small Business recommended. That should start with a formalized review process conducted a few times a year, after which you can take steps to follow through on recommended changes.

When you are concerned about liability issues at your small business, consult with the legal experts at The Law Offices of Donald W. Hudspeth, P.C. We can help you more fully understand your situation and help you position your company to more effectively address these issues.

Categorised in: Asset & Liability Protection

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