Many small businesses start out as a single owner who may employ one or two staff member to manage the growth of the company. However, as a business expands, the demands for human and technological resources increase as well. As a result, concerns such as security, which may not have been an initial priority, can become a key factor in sustaining growth and ensuring positive financial returns.
One of the most common mistakes that owners who are running a small office make is that they assume that even as the company has expanded, the internal dynamic has remained the same. This is unfortunately not the case, especially as new personalities are introduced into the work environment. While trust is always something that needs to be earned, owners should also not need to be constantly concerned about this factor.
Office Security from the Outset
Another overlooked point for small office security can be addressed in the initial stages of expansion. As new employees are hired, it is not only vital to conduct a comprehensive interview for evaluating skill sets that benefit the company, but also for gaining an initial sense of personality type. Beyond this observational part of the hiring process, further verifications can also keep the office secure.
- Verify credentials – over a third of all job applicants falsify some part of their resume at some point in their job search. If qualifications seem too good to be true, then they might be. Following up on these credentials is vital to develop trust and know that the business is safe.
- Conduct comprehensive background checks – although this does overlap somewhat with verifying credentials, it also delves further into activities that may indicate that this new employee could be a risk to the company.
- Follow up on references – this includes speaking with the actual person who is listed as a reference, as well as checking into their pedigree to ensure that it is not a ruse.
All of these points can be addressed with a respected professional background checking service. Retaining the consult of such a company can be the first step to ensuring security for a small office.
Internal Affairs
Thefts and sabotage within the office environment are highly common, and employees often view these infractions as non-issues that do not directly impact the company. However, the following actions can all be seen as theft, since they are utilizing company resources and thus cutting into the overall budget:
- Using office hours for personal pursuits
- Taking office resources such as pens and paper
- Using office computers and copiers to print personal matter
- Redundancy in project management, which cuts both productivity and material supplies
Thankfully, small office security can also include monitoring many of these behaviors to pinpoint where the sabotage or theft is coming from. The use of integrated IT networks can incorporate pass codes to access terminals and printers. Digital ID cards can also be utilized for this purpose, and the result is that owners can see which employees are engaging in wasteful or unseemly activity. This type of security can also be utilized with a wider system of access that includes the entire office.
ID key cards are also ideal for monitoring how people come and go in the small office setting. This can include automated time card provisions to log work hours based on entrance and exit of the office, but this can also show if employees are entering the premises when they should not be. As this information is digitized, it also allows owners to see trends and patterns in direct comparison, and this also makes it easier to enforce security in the small office.
The Invisible Entrance
While technology has helped to facilitate the growth of many small businesses, it also represents some unknown threat variables that are not always considered. Network security should be a prime concern for the small office, since any employee may accidentally open an attachment that contains a well disguised virus.
Many small businesses will rely upon commercial anti-virus and malware protection, but this does not always cover all of the breaches that a business network can present. This can be especially true if the small office is using external servers for the intranet, as administrative settings may not be as deeply monitored.
However, even internal servers for intra and internet can also become security risks. The use of onsite or remote IT support can greatly reduce the chance of breach in these situations, and can also configure the office system to send automatic alerts and stop guards if infiltration is detected. While this can be achieved through a designated IT department, it can also be an aspect of the office structure.
Some office equipment suppliers, such as Sharp, work to improve efficiency in the small office through integrated technology systems that can all be controlled from designated remote panels. As a result, extra firewalls and security measures are a part of the equipment and systems configuration. This also presents a solution for security on the technological front.
Maintenance Measures for Small Office Security
Finally, some form of alarm response system for the actual premises is also an important investment in security. These arrays can not only be linked to emergency response and the backers of the alarm company, but can also alert owners via text and email alerts. This further improves the control over the security of the small office, but it also offers owners the peace of mind that any unlawful entry will be investigated by authorities.
While it is often true that small offices greatly pride themselves on the familiar atmosphere and friendly dynamic of the workspace, this does not mean that owners should overlook basic precautions to ensure office security. It is both appropriate and necessary for owners to trust their employees, but this does not mean that blind faith should override common sense. For this reason, it is important for owners to consider solutions for small office security, as well as the places where infractions can be most likely.