Whether you work in a store or an office, there are likely to be people regularly coming into your workplace who aren’t employees. This could include customers, job applicants, mailmen, handymen, cleaners, suppliers or professional inspectors.
While it’s important to make these visitors feel welcome for the benefit of your company’s reputation, you also need to consider whether some of them could be a security threat. Some visitors may be thieves in disguise or may have connections with criminals. This is why you need to set up security protocols when dealing with visitors.
Below are just some of the effective ways to prevent visitors from being a threat.
Set up some form of access control
Strict access control isn’t necessary for all kinds of commercial buildings. In fact, with shops and cafes, it could be essential that visitors can wander freely in and out. However, when it comes to areas like offices that contain sensitive information, it could be important to set up some form of access control.
A few forms of access control to consider could include:
- A key card entry system
- A keypad entry system
- Voice-operated intercom systems
- Manned security desks
- Biometric passwords (e.g. fingerprint scanning)
- Automatic number plate recognition (for areas in which only authorized vehicles are allowed)
This ensures that only authorized people can access certain areas. Some types of access control are likely to be costlier but more secure than others – work out which is most worthwhile for your needs (a military technology company will typically want stricter access controls than a grocery store).
Know when to ask for ID
If visitors need access to restricted areas, it could be worth asking for ID. Some criminals may try to impersonate gas inspectors or other official people as a way of gaining access. Most of these people will not go to the lengths of creating fake ID. As a result, you should train your staff to check for ID. It could also be worth training staff to check with management – in most cases such visitors will have sent a notice in advance.
Hand out lanyards/badges
To stop people sneaking into restricted areas, it could be worth ensuring that every staff member and visitor has to wear a lanyard or badge. This makes it easy to identify someone who shouldn’t be there. Lanyards are typically easiest to print off and provide.
Accompany visitors throughout the building
Another way to prevent visitors from being a security threat is to simply accompany them throughout the building. In doing so, you can stop them from wandering off and venturing into places they shouldn’t be going. While it can be tempting to leave a handyman in the office to fix something while you attend to other urgent matters in a store, you could be enabling them to snoop through files or take pictures of things they shouldn’t be photographing – so it’s best to stay close.
Set up video surveillance
Alternatively, you could consider setting up video surveillance in restricted areas. This allows you to keep an eye on what visitors may be doing here without physically accompanying them. Just make sure to notify employees before setting up video cameras in areas where they may be working.
Keep sensitive information hidden
Finally, make sure that sensitive information such as passwords lists aren’t publicly displayed in reception areas. Keep such information hidden away so that a visitor cannot see it or take a picture. Only authorized individuals should have access to it.
