A business’s employees are, by far, its greatest asset – and its greatest champions. But without the proper security training for your team, they inadvertently pose a significant risk to both physical and cyber defenses, paving the way to breaches, break-ins, time-consuming and costly false alarms, and so much more.
Establishing thorough security training for your team is integral to ensuring that the measures you and your vendor have implemented are deployed, maintained, and maximized for efficiency. Training is always of particular importance to incoming employees. And as offices and workspaces are ultimately in the midst of reopening after a year of lockdowns and quarantine – that essentially means everyone, these days.
Additionally, the nature of security is increasingly a moving target, with potential threats evolving from day to day, minute to minute. When developing security training for your team, be sure to outline basic procedures surrounding all active systems and their operation. Training should instill confidence surrounding myriad security processes, and the many ways the employees, themselves, can accidentally act as a point of vulnerability.
Make certain to cover the following components:
- Arming and disarming procedures for all systems.
- All authorized and restricted access points.
- Protocols to follow when inadvertently triggering an alarm.
Some additional steps may include:
- Reviewing your office’s physical security measures: Employees should always be cognizant of the placement of security cameras. This is not only a rights issue, but it can also help to deter inside theft, while increasing awareness, productivity, and creating a safer workplace overall.
- Eliminate the writing on the walls. Get in the habit of erasing whiteboard content – however innocuous it may seem – after a meeting is finished, or before closing up for the day. Likewise, printed materials should be shredded when no longer required.
- Establish visitor protocols: Educate your team on the proper steps to follow in the event someone notices an unauthorized visitor or stranger on premises. Where can they direct visitors to wait? Should they engage, or call for assistance? Developing firm answers to these questions can help employees be proactive in case of an intruder. Additionally, if your workspace is equipped with access control that uses FOBs or keycards for entry, remind your staff to be aware of tailgating – or unauthorized personnel gaining access on someone’s heels.
- A note on photo ID badging: Many access control systems feature a badging module that allows companies to print a badge directly to the credential operating the door. Backgrounds can be color coded by clearance level or areas of the building that may be segregated from others. It is imperative that businesses train their employees to wear these credentials at all times and to question anyone that does not have one displayed. Visitor badges can easily be printed and given to all guests when they sign in. When you’re working in a building with hundreds of people, it’s almost impossible to know everyone. Savvy trespassers could potentially walk in and act like they belong, and nobody would say a word. Unfortunately, the Secom team sees this happen all the time.
Prioritizing security training for your team is part and parcel with a comprehensive defense strategy. Make continuing education a routine part of your schedule. Keeping employees informed, aware, and knowledgeable of their role in security the workplace will help to eliminate user error and optimize your security investment.
Questions? Contact Secom, LLC to learn more.