If you own or manage a commercial property that hosts a business, your physical security needs require special consideration. Maintaining workplace safety and security at your business will ensure that your relationship with a tenant is fruitful, productive, and lasts for years to come. So, what do you need to keep in mind to keep workplace security high?
In this post, we explain what workplace security is and why it should be one of your top priorities. Then, we list some actions you can take that will help improve security in the workplace.
This post covers:
- What is workplace security?
- Why should you emphasize workplace security?
- What can you do to improve workplace security?
What is workplace security?
Workplace security is the protection that authorized employees on your property get from the security measures you establish. These security measures might include plans of action, surveillance equipment, access control measures, and security awareness training. While the phrase might first bring to mind defense against unauthorized intruders, workspace security covers many more scenarios.
When considering security at work, you should also keep in mind other threats to the workplace like:
- Fires
- Natural disasters
- Sanitation practices
- Cybersecurity
Depending on the type of workplace you manage and the type of building you’re in, you might need to approach security differently. For example, businesses that handle food will require additional sanitation practices and guidelines. And if you own a property that hosts more than one type of tenant, security measures will take different forms.
For example, in a mixed-use building that hosts both residential and business tenants, you need to make sure that residents can’t access the commercial area of the building with their residential credentials.
Learn why WSS Integrated Technologies chooses ButterflyMX to improve a property’s security:
Why should you emphasize workplace security?
The security of your workplace should always be one of your top priorities. However, on top of the safety of your tenants and their visitors, there are some more benefits that come with prioritizing security that you might not expect.
Security in the workplace provides the following benefits:
1. Increased tenant retention
A tenant who has a negative experience in your building may be inclined to move somewhere else, which means that you have to shoulder the costs of moving them out and looking for another tenant.
Marketing your building and waiting for the right tenant are both time-consuming processes. It might take months — and those are precious months that your office or building is sitting empty and losing you money.
2. Lowered insurance costs
A secure workplace with no history of security incidents will be cheaper to insure. With the right investments and mindset, you can ensure your property stays incident-free.
And even a property with a history of incidents will be able to turn things around by showing proof that they’ve invested in workplace security measures, reducing the chances of incidents in the future and lowering insurance rates.
3. Decreased expenses
At first glance, a workplace that isn’t spending much on proper security may look like it’s saving money — but that’s only at first glance. What if an employee gets injured at work? You might be on the hook for medical expenses and any legal fees that arise afterward.
And that’s not to mention the opportunity cost of the time an employee could be using to be productive, instead of dealing with an injury or another situation keeping them out of the workplace.
What can you do to improve workplace security?
If you’re looking to improve commercial security services at your property, there are a few ways you can do that.
Here are some concrete steps you can take to increase security in the workplace:
1. Focus on cybersecurity
When it comes to a client’s bottom line, cybersecurity is one of the most impactful things they can focus on. A data breach or stolen credential might set a company back millions.
And with today’s emphasis on hybrid and remote working styles letting employees work from anywhere, security in remote workplaces has never been more important.
But even fully remote businesses may need physical security measures to protect IT or server rooms. While a client might handle practices like password sharing or VPNs in-house, property managers can still help maintain high levels of cybersecurity in the workplace. Common cybersecurity targets, like IT rooms or server rooms, can be protected with locks and access control measures. And luckily for property managers, the access control measures that protect server rooms can be deployed elsewhere — increasing security in more areas than just cybersecurity.
2. Invest in access control
Access control measures are one of the most popular and effective ways to increase workplace security.
You might beef up access at gates, the front door, a server room, and other popular points of entry, ensuring that only employees and authorized guests can access the property. And modern security measures, like integrated front door intercoms that you can open with your smartphone, make granting access a breeze.
However, the wrong access control measures might actively hinder employees and decrease security. For example, if you use key card credentials to maintain access, you run the risk of an employee misplacing a card. And using separate access control systems without integrations might be tough as well — it’s never fun for an employee to have to carry around an entire key ring or juggle entirely separate access systems just to get to work! So, make sure you pick the access control system that will serve your needs best.
3. Increase awareness of emergency plans
Increasing awareness of emergency plans is a great, effective example of security in the workplace. Many employers are legally required to maintain emergency action plans. And even for employers without this requirement, agencies like OSHA still strongly recommend it. The right emergency plans increase peace of mind and may even save lives.
Make sure that each employee knows where copies of your emergency plans are. Better yet, ensure that every employee is aware of the things they’ll need to know in an emergency, like fire exit locations and the best routes to exit the building.
Takeaways
- Security in the workplace is important for every commercial property because it helps prepare management, employees, and property staff for a wide range of disaster scenarios, including intruders and natural disasters.
- Workplace security helps you retain tenants, get better insurance rates, and lower your expenses.
- To increase security at your workplace, you can focus on cybersecurity, invest in access control technology, and make sure employees are aware of emergency plans.
