Small Business Security: A Guide

Just because yours is a small business, it doesn’t mean that it’s of no interest to others – including those with criminal intent.

In fact, it may be your very ‘smallness’ that makes it such a tempting target, as many criminals may assume that larger companies are going to have more complex security systems in place. Unfortunately, far too often they’re right.

The importance of security for small businesses

We’re not exaggerating when we say that instituting serious security measures could mean the difference between your small business surviving and it going under.

Recent research from the Federation of Small Businesses revealed that half of all small businesses had suffered some kind of crime in the preceding two years. Traditional crimes – such as robbery, theft and criminal damage – came at a cost of £12.9 billion, while cybercrime accounted for another £3.75 billion.

But the penalties for such crimes aren’t necessarily just to your pocket in the short term. Being hit by crime can lead to a loss of confidence in staff who may feel vulnerable or uncomfortable at your premises – that could mean significant problems around recruitment and retention further down the line.

Meanwhile, loss of equipment, assets and data could affect your ability to trade reliably to the standard expected and demanded by your customers and suppliers.

How to protect your business

Secure your premises

The vast majority of small business crimes – both in terms of cost and number of incidents – are a result of robbery and burglary, theft and criminal damage. So, it’s clear that preventing those who would do your business harm from getting in a position to do so in the first place needs to be a top priority.

Making sure that all your doors and windows are securely locked and installing motion lights around access points are a good start, but probably won’t prove much of a deterrent to a determined or professional criminal on their own.

By using state-of-the-art security solutions, however – from CCTV and access control systems to a wide range of intruder alarm and detection systems – you may find that taking back control of your premises is easier than you think. And you can ensure you enjoy even better protection when you use a 24/7 monitoring service.

That should be reason enough for any passing professional criminal, opportunistic thief or mindless vandal to keep passing right on by.

Protect your digital assets

Not only is the data you use in your business essential for it to thrive in this increasingly paperless world, but letting aspects of it fall into the wrong hands could end up costing you considerably more than even the most determined thief or vandal might be capable of.

Using cloud-based storage backed up by the very latest anti-virus software, multi-factor authentication and data protection firewalls will help build as impregnable a wall to your digital assets as CCTV and access control will to your more tangible ones. 

Train your staff

Your staff may be your most valuable assets, but if they’re not 100% confident about the essential role they play in your small business’ security, they can be your weakest link as well. Make sure they understand, follow and use all the procedures and systems you implement to enhance your security.

Don’t forget your remote workers

In the post-COVID world, where home working has become part and parcel of modern business life, it’s essential that you don’t forget that the crime that hurts your company doesn’t just happen within or around its premises and buildings. The same stringent data security rules need to be followed wherever your team is based.

But remote working doesn’t just mean those doing their jobs from an office in the spare bedroom at home. It also covers those working on a construction site, account managers and engineers travelling to visit clients at their own premises and estate agents entering private homes. 

In some cases, these types of remote workers can be the most vulnerable of all, so it’s essential that they have your complete support and that you listen to and treat seriously any concerns they have or incidents they report.

If you’re in the small business sector and you’re looking to boost your security, Scutum South East can bring decades worth of experience and expertise to your aid. Not only that, but because we always aim to match any other quote you get, we also bring exceptional value – although never at the expense of quality, reliability or effectiveness.

Call us today to ask for a free site visit and free quotation and we can design and install a bespoke security system that will keep you and your business safe.