With a return to the office seemingly on the horizon, it’s the ideal time for businesses to rethink their security strategies.

The latest data suggests there are over 600,000 crimes against businesses each year in the UK – with firms at risk of both physical break-ins and online data theft. Securing the business now means attention can shift to nurturing culture and growth once employees return in the coming months.

In this article, Izzy Schulman, Director at Keys 4 U, offers his top tactics for keeping your office, employees and business safe.

The new normal

Research suggests businesses are looking to continue their newly found freedoms in flexible working post-pandemic, with a hybrid approach to office life highly favoured. And while this delivers benefits in employee satisfaction, it poses challenges in the way security is managed.

For example, many offices currently adopt a “last person to leave locks up” approach, in which employees share the responsibility for building security. However, this may prove impractical with an increase in staggered shifts and remote working. Without a consistent shift rota, this approach may lead to offices being left unsecured overnight.

So, it’s important businesses are able to diversify their office security tactics to protect against these risks.

Smart security systems are an increasingly popular solution – giving businesses the flexibility of being able to lock doors, monitor alarms and even adjust smart devices like thermostats remotely while working away from the office.

Smart locks also provide an additional level of flexibility previously not available to businesses. Not only can they monitor the status of the premises’ locks but there is also the option to grant temporary access – for example, when expecting deliveries – and even to cancel access for employees and guests.

Simply updating access codes and managing access remotely saves time and costs compared with changing the locks every time a potential security threat is raised.

A team responsibility

Although many businesses will simply rely on their landlord or office manager to oversee security, this may not be enough to protect the workplace from all security threats.

Cover any potential blind spots by making business security a team responsibility and encouraging employees to buy-in to relevant policies.

Regular seminars, email reminders, and splitting up security tasks are all effective ways to emphasise the importance of shared responsibility and involve staff in office security.

Businesses should make it as easy as possible for employees to comply, so this may mean breaking down individual responsibilities to a granular level. Offering small rewards like email shoutouts or financial bonuses can also be an incentive for employees to take a proactive attitude to company security.

However, this responsibility should never rest solely on the employee – to create a positive security culture in the workplace, the first step must come from employers, regularly reviewing and identifying any potential security breaches within the workplace.

Schedule quarterly physical inspections of the office to stay hot on potential threats. Particular attention should be given to key entry points like doors and ground-floor windows, as these are recognised as the most common points of entry for break-ins.

If you suspect any risks, don’t simply wait for your building landlord to act. Have any compromised windows, doors or locks replaced immediately.

Your business’ home

Businesses want employees to feel just as safe at the office as they do at home. So, why not take lessons from the way we protect our homes and take these tactics into the workplace?

For example, closing blinds overnight to hide valuables and leaving lights on while the building is empty are simple but effective methods for deterring potential intruders, just like we would at home.

Consider investing in CCTV systems, too. These are proven to be the biggest deterrent to opportunist thieves, so make sure any alarms or cameras are visible to onlookers – even fitting a CCTV box to exterior walls can be enough to warn criminals away.

Smart doorbells are also a wise choice to improve security in the workplace – almost all are fitted with recording devices so, should the worst happen, video footage may help you catch the perpetrator and retrieve any stolen goods.

Remote regulation

According to recent findings, 90 percent of employees would prefer to continue working from home in some form after lockdown. And with big businesses such as BP looking to continue the trend of hybrid working, remote opportunities look set to become a part of our working norm. However, this shift opens businesses up to new threats.

Though adopting a bring your own device (BYOD) policy may seem a convenient solution for facilitating effective remote working, doing so leaves businesses vulnerable to a host of security threats.

BYOD means loss or theft of personal devices risks the business’ confidential information, particularly if weak passwords are set by employees.

Plus, businesses operating a BYOD approach are at greater risk of experiencing cyber-attacks. This is largely due to employees not having effective antivirus software installed or working off an insecure Wi-Fi network.

To mitigate these risks, it’s recommended for employers to provide dedicated devices for their team to use while remote working.

The benefits of this policy include giving employers greater control and remote management over company devices, as well as ensuring everyone is up to date with the latest security software – by having IT departments patch up devices before releasing them – to secure personal and business data.

This gives employees peace of mind over their personal information too, with many feeling anxious about combining personal and work data on the same device.