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How Safe Are We At Work?
Due to the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech, hopefully it made all of us think about our own safety; reviewing security measures at our place of business, making sure we are doing everything we can to protect ourselves and our employees from harm.
In reality, I am certain that most of you thought about your own personal safety and the safety of your children. Some of you probably pulled out a copy of your Emergency Procedures Manual (if you have one), and reviewed it. But how many of you that own businesses or are top level Managers, have done a full-scale audit of security measures at your place of business? I am talking about a top-down audit of all security measures, including the following: hiring procedures, measures stopping unauthorized people to access the property, lighting in parking areas, monitoring devices, key control, termination procedures, emergency procedures. Perhaps another review is necessary?
Listen… I don’t believe that every door should be manned with armed Security Officers and that every employee should be searched and go through a metal detector each time they enter a door. We do not want a society full of paranoid people and have such high restrictions that we have no freedom in our movement. Also, due to the high cost of security measures, I understand it is not feasible for some businesses to put everything in place all at once. However, what I am saying is that security needs to be taken seriously and we must do everything in our power to reduce the risk of an incident occurring at our place of business. No one wants to believe that a violent, tragic incident is going to occur at their place of business. But we must be proactive in our protective measures to help minimize the risk, and ensure that our employees know what to do in an emergency situation.
Below are some of the questions, you and your management team should be asking, when reviewing security measures:
Application Process: What is your current application process? Do you have procedures in place to verify all information put on the application? Who are conducting the interviews for applicants and what questions are they asking? Are you conducting a criminal background check on all your applicants? What level of background investigation is being done?
Counseling Procedures-Including Documentation: What procedures do you have in place for employees that need to be disciplined? Are all of your managers trained in corrective counseling and appropriate documentation procedures? Do you have an Employee Assistance Program?
Termination Procedures: What is your procedure on terminating employees? Do you do it by yourself? What sort of measures are taken after an employee is terminated to protect the business from a disgruntled employee from coming back onto the work site?
Access Control: What kind of key control do you have in your workplace? Do you have ‘hard’ keys? Who has access to your office when you are not there? Do you have sign-in, sign-out procedures for keys? Are keys turned in after an employee is terminated? Should certain areas have key pad or swipe card access?
Identification Badges: Are all employees required to wear one? Do you require all visitors and vendors to supply identification and wear a visitors badge on your property? Are they required to be escorted in certain restricted areas of your property?
Camera Coverage: Do you have camera coverage monitoring critical areas?
Alarm Systems: Should you have an alarm system installed to be activated for hours when all employees are supposed to be gone?
Lighting: How is your exterior lighting in your parking garages/lot areas? Do employees feel safe walking to and from their vehicles?
Emergency Procedures: Do you have emergency procedures in place for your business? Where are they? Does everyone know where they are and are they trained on what to do in an emergency situation? How often are emergency drills conducted?
It is our obligation to do everything possible to protect our employees from harm. Unfortunately, I have seen too many times, that security measures are put on the backburner due to the high cost of some equipment and training. I believe that the Virginia tragedy and the recent NASA security breach should educate everyone, that it is better to be safe than sorry. No one will ever blame you for being over prepared or training your employees too much on their personal safety. Your employees want to be trained and it is our obligation to minimize security risks.
Everyone… it’s not too late. Let’s commit to starting the process. I am here for you every step of the way.
"Love your life and live it to the fullest. Just do it with YOUR EYES WIDE OPEN. Know that I am keeping my eye out for you!" - Cynthia
Cynthia Bazin is a licensed Private Investigator for the State of Nevada and is the owner of The Bazin Group, LLC. Please contact Cynthia for all of your Investigation and Security needs. She will ensure that your business is protected; that you are taking the proactive measures to reduce risk and liability within your organization.
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