The holiday season is just around the corner. That means a lot of people will be traveling or simply trying to use up the remainder of their time off before the end of the year. That means you are faced with both risk and opportunity around this time of year. The risk is that an empty or mostly empty office can leave you vulnerable to a variety of risks. The opportunity arises because you have the opportunity to try out new security solutions that can carry over into the new year.
Prepare your team
Before you close for the holidays, be sure that the whole team is on the same page. Meet with your employees to go over your policies and procedures for keeping your people, property, and data safe. Be sure to cover the essentials such as entering and exiting the building. Include locking up and setting alarms if necessary. Keep in mind that with a skeleton staff, the people in the building may not be the ones who typically close up at the end of the day. Be clear on what to watch for and who to contact in the event of a security breach of any kind.
Take advantage of downtime
If you are in the office when it’s mostly empty, it’s the perfect time to assess where you are from a security standpoint. Review policies and procedures to ensure they are up-to-date and reflect any changes that may have occurred over the year. Document any changes that you make. Check that your cybersecurity reflects best practices and that all-important information is backed up to an offsite location. If you don’t have an in-house cybersecurity specialist, schedule an assessment with an outside specialist.
Remove common temptations
Thieves typically look for vulnerable or high-value targets. Keep valuables out of sight – items such as laptops or other easy to grab and sell items should go home for safekeeping or be locked away. Be sure to notify your alarm company of what to expect in terms of changed hours or days when the building should be empty. Check that their call list is up-to-date, so they know who to contact and how to reach them.
Turn to remote monitoring
When you can’t be on-site at your business over the holidays, remote monitoring can keep your business safe. A security team can keep an eye on cameras installed at your location and alert you or the authorities if a problem arises. BOS Security offers this service through our VirtuGuard™ remote guarding services.
Need additional advice on holiday office security?
Trust experts at BOS Security. We help keep commercial and residential buildings secure 24/7/365. If you would like more information on keeping your building and people safe and secure at any time of the year, contact us at 404-793-6965.