The season of holidays is ahead of us, so besides decorating your workplace and organizing holiday parties, you should think about the security of your business at that time. Because, you will probably, like many businesses, take some days off. And, it is proven that criminals see this time of the year as opportunistic for theft. So, if you want to secure your business properly during holidays following tips can help you:
1. Don’t publicize holiday hours
This can sound impossible because you need your customers to know when you are open. But, people often assume that you aren’t working during holidays, so they won’t even be coming. Don’t leave the holiday hours information on the door; you can put “Call us for holiday hours” or simply “We are open for holidays.”
2. Test your security equipment
You need to ensure that all the security equipment is working properly. If something is wrong, fix that so you can spend holidays without worries about your business. Make sure that decorations don’t obstruct the security equipment. Here are some things you should check when leaving on holiday:
- Fire alarms
- Security cameras and surveillance system
- Cybersecurity software
- Access control system
3. Don’t leave valuable things and cash behind
If you are planning to close your business for some time during the holidays, you shouldn’t leave any valuables there. Not only you shouldn’t leave cash, but also you shouldn’t leave credit cards. Because intruders will most likely look for cash and credit cards, you should take them home with you. If you are leaving some of the expensive equipment at your workplace, don’t keep them in someplace visible from the outside; for example, don’t place them by the window. Intruders will be observing your business before they decide to break in, so if they don’t think you keep valuables where they might give up. But, anyway, you shouldn’t risk leaving the valuable things there if you can bring them with you.
4. Hire security services
Hiring security guarding services might be the best way of securing your business. Security guards that will take care of your building when nobody is around are a great way to prevent thefts. Not many companies have them, and only their existence will scare off intruders, and they will look for other more accessible targets. Also, security guards can act immediately when crime happens and prevent damage to your business. Still, also they can prevent crime from happening because they will perform every time they notice some unusual activities. If needed, security guards will inform the police if there is some problem, and you can peacefully spend your holidays with your friends and family.
5. Check the background of seasonal workers
If you decide to keep your business open during the holidays and hire seasonal workers, it would be best to check their backgrounds well. Because they might never see you again after that season, and they can use that for committing a crime. If you think that, it doesn’t matter who you’re going to employ during holidays because anyway they will be leaving soon, you are wrong. That’s what intruders are hoping for, and they might just get a job to harm your business.
6. Lock up
We know it might sound funny, but many people forget to lock up and turn on their alarm systems during holidays. So, if you don’t want to return to your office just because you are unsure if you locked everything up, you should make sure that you did that before you leave. You can make a video or take a picture as proof; you can check later.
