There is the common perception that office workers do not contend with any day-to-day risks. However, between 2014 and 2015, 50,000 accidents were reported in the service industry. With that in mind, read on for 5 ways you can secure your staff and company building in 2016.

Risk Assessment and Safety Training
It is always useful to start at the beginning. Identifying where your company and your building are most vulnerable will help you cover the most obvious bases. What are the potential characteristics of the infrastructure of your business and or building which could be your downfall? Is there a certain time of day when there is a spike in the number of people who are in and out of the office, or where the security is laxer? Is there a time where a stranger could be given easy access to the building undetected? Additionally, to eliminate risk of injury within your company itself, make sure you conduct annual staff protection training in fire and electrical safety, and other health and safety measures which are relevant for your specific circumstances.

Building Diagnostics
Ensuring the welfare of your staff starts by focusing on the condition of your commercial building. Destructive water damage to the building, structural issues and damages, missing, damaged and inadequate insulation are all legitimate safety concerns and can affect your staff psychologically too. Having such damages in your place of work can be costly too. Inadequate building standards can lead to energy bills that are higher than necessary and an inefficient building in general. The real danger of these hazards are that they are not visible to the naked eye, and it can be a few years before you address the issues that are having an impact on your staff’s day to day routine. One way of diagnosing these issues is by using thermal imaging technology. Thermal imaging cameras can measure the thermal signature of your building and can perform non-destructive inspections to easily locate the root of the problem.

CCTV
One of the largest crime threats your business is faced with in 2016 is burglary. With higher value items in larger quantities available in commercial properties, it is no surprise that burglars target commercial properties more frequently than domestic ones. With businesses using computing systems and software that are generally worth a lot more than domestic laptops, it is of high importance that all of this hardware and software is adequately protected, making staff and directors feel safe at all times. CCTV could be your answer. An article in the ‘New Scientist’ magazine stated that by simply installing a visible CCTV system on your business property can reduce crime by upto 95%. Having CCTV installed onsite can increase the security of your staff and your business’ possessions. Offenders caught on camera defacing property or caught thieving are often caught by authorities and this can act as a high level of deterrence.

Marking & Tagging
Thanks to advanced technology, marking and tagging the contents of your commercial property can enhance security significantly. By marking and tagging products with mini bar codes or mini readable chips you are given the opportunity to track down where the items are if you are ever a victim of a workplace crime. Although it doesn’t prevent the crime completely, it can help you manage the damage productively and give you the chance to retrieve your most valuable assets.

Information Theft Online and Offline
Although this one seems obvious, sometimes it is not enough to just have a simple password on your important and sensitive information. You may need to rotate different passwords on a monthly or weekly basis. Re-assess who has access to this information. What is more, your business’ website could be particularly vulnerable to hacking. Make sure someone tech-savvy within your business, or a developer who you trust can put a high security infrastructure in place in order to safeguard your website from any online threats.

On a simpler level, security of information physically in your office such as old files or payment details need to be dealt with sensibly.Make sure to have a routine for shredding outdated paperwork which contains important information, and use electronic safety systems whenever possible.

http://businessadvice.co.uk/insurance/liability-and-indemnity/business-property-protection-series-part-1-burglary-prevention/