Businesses have a responsibility to keep their employees, customers, and work environments secure. Aside from the legal and moral obligations, businesses should also be incentivized to provide effective and reliable security for their as it can increase both morale and productivity. Unfortunately, these requirements fail to be met all too often.
All employees, regardless of their position, have a right to feel safe in their workspace. However, it is not always easy to bring security concerns to a boss or management. It may feel intimidating to voice your concerns to your boss, but this does not negate the potential need for a security upgrade. If you feel as though the safety of you and your fellow co-workers is at risk, it should be addressed immediately.
Making a thorough list before expressing the concerns will not only help strengthen your point, but allows management to address each issue as they arise. It’s important to evaluate your workplace as a whole – what aspects could be considered severely compromised and what security measures your company already has in place. Here are some things to look out for that are tell-tale signs your office isn’t as safe as it could be:
- Little to no security systems or surveillance: A lack of any security system is a huge concern and should be an obvious one to your employer. Regardless of how safe the neighborhood is, the facility is still vulnerable to outside threats with little way of alerting the proper authorities. If this rightfully causes you and your fellow co-workers a lot of stress and anxiety, it can reduce morale and productivity.
- Unsecure entrances: Especially for offices with multiple entrances, it’s important that each is secured against unauthorized guests with a lock and key, key-card reader, or keypad lock. For high traffic industries with streams of customer interactions, utilizing a weapons detection system with the access control will mitigate danger.
- Bad visibility and poor lighting: Check to see if there are large spots of your work environment that would be easy for an assailant to hide behind, under, on top of, or have poor lighting. Many times, these spots will be in near aesthetic additions; shrubbery, large signs, and underground parking lots are common examples.
- Violence and threats: If your office has received threats of violence, was the site of a violent incident, or recently parted ways with a disgruntled employee and there was nothing done to improve security measures –that’s a big red flag. Following, or better yet preceding, an hazardous incident; keypad combinations need to be changed, extra eyes should be positioned by the front door, additional security cameras must be installed, and the security currently in place has to be reevaluated. Dangers like these should always be taken seriously and security should be stepped up to prevent any additional threat from materializing.
As mentioned previously, it can be tough to figure out how to sufficiently voice your safety concerns to your boss, a supervisor, or a manager. By objectively gauging the effectivity of the current safety measures, you can show shortcomings that others would exploit. By closing these open targets, customers and employees will feel safer and the company’s assets are better secured. Spending some time and funds on security now is much cheaper than the potential lawsuits, loss of capital, or endless employee replacements may cost. Most companies will welcome your concerns and be grateful you shared any issues you felt were overlooked.
If you feel nervous about approaching management after making your list of concerns, consider:
- Get your co-workers involved: There’s strength in numbers. Remember, you might be the first to discuss it, but you are unlikely the first to notice the risks. If you feel as though there are some overlooked issues and ways in which your work environment can be safer, chances are you’re not alone. Raising such concerns to your boss can feel overwhelming, so it’s best to have others backing you up and supporting your concerns. It will also show the severity of these issues and the powers that be will likely act more quickly the more people there are raising concerns. A united front makes it harder to brush away the issues.
- Written proof of concerns: Sometimes the written word is far more effective than the spoken word. By writing an email, you’re able to carefully plan out exactly what you want to say and can transcribe some of your own testimonials along with those from your co-workers. A well written document will show you put in time and effort and truly care about this issue. This also gives you an advantage if the needs are not being met. You’ll have a concise list sent to right person with dates and responses recorded. Sometimes a lack of action can still lead to eventual solution, paper trails are your friend.
- Use specific incidents to highlight your concerns: In this case it’s much better to be specific than vague. When bringing up concerns about safety it helps to have specific examples that relate to them in order to convey how real the concerns are. You should also stress how these incidents impacted morale, productivity, and the general atmosphere at your place of work. This can also work as a preventative measure if you can show exactly how the current system could be exploited. Using recent headlines of disasters at companies like yours can help speed the process.
- Point out specific flaws and how they can be amended: This is where your workplace evaluation comes into play. By identifying specific weak spots in your work’s current security and proposing how they can be improved you’re more likely to see the desired changes. It pays to be proactive.
At Isotec Security, we have the security solutions and experience to amend whatever issues your work environment may be facing. We build tailored solutions to dozens of industries. If you believe you need a higher level of security, we can provide a physical security risk assessment with one of our experts. Contact us today and see how Isotec take care of all your security needs!
