The holidays are a great period to celebrate and spend time with loved ones. It can also be quite a challenging season for both products and service-based businesses, as it is always accompanied by a spate of criminal activities. A little extra caution on the part of business owners would go a long way in ensuring that we celebrate safely this season.

1. Review Security Policies with Employees

One of the first steps to securing your business is to review your company security policy with all of your employees. Confirm that everyone is on the same page and understands company security procedures. Some points to review include:

• Protocol for locking up valuables while everyone is away on the holiday break.
• The company’s cyber security policy, especially if employees are going to be working remotely or traveling during the holiday season.
• Your security action plan in case of an emergency.

2. Ensure that all your Security Equipment are Working

Test all your security equipment to make sure that they are in good working condition. Such equipment may include:

• Fire alarm system
• Cyber security software
• Panic buttons
• Smart locks and access control system
• Surveillance cameras

You should also make sure that nothing can get in the way of the proper functioning of these equipment, for example holiday decorations should not cover the aperture of a surveillance camera.

3. Identify Hot Spots

Every store has at least one area where the risk of theft is higher. Whether the reason be that it is simply a blind spot or that the products displayed are easier to grab and conceal, it is important that you take a moment to identify such places and formulate a solution. Once you’ve done this, inform each of your employees and assign responsibilities for protecting high theft areas throughout your store. Also, beware of internal theft as this accounts for about 60% of all store thefts in and out of the holiday season. Have a disciplinary measure in place to deal with staff misconduct,and this must be strictly enforced.

4. Focus on Quality Service

It is very difficult for thieves to leave a store without paying if employees have been attentive during their entire stay. Statistics have shown that having greeters in a store reduces shoplifting by as much as 35%. While hovering over customers is never in good taste, reminding your employees to greet and check up on guests is more important than ever, at this time of the year. You would have to hire more staff than usual during the holidays to help you manage larger crowds because the rush of the season always puts pressure on short staffing which can leave room for shoplifting and poor customer service.

5. Lock Up

This may seem simple and obvious but it is extremely important. Lock all of your business entrances and windows when you close each day and eventually leave for the holiday break. Individual offices that contain sensitive data or valuable items should also be locked as well. Ensure to keep your office environment well lit, lack of proper lighting is one of the major causes of burglaries and break-ins. Make sure all exterior doors are well lit during the dark hours to protect your business from attack.