4 Ways to prevent your business being broken into during the holidays

December 4, 2019

The holidays are almost upon us. This means that in most organizations, the doors will be closed for the longest period of time of the year. In this joyous time for most employees, an organization should not make the mistake of limiting their security as well. For burglars, the holiday season is their hunting season!

4 Ways to prevent your business being broken into during the holidays

1. Hire more security staff

If you're going to invest in security, this period should be the time to do it. While the rates for security staff sky-rocket during the holidays, they could be very worth it, as time and time again, statistics show that burglaries spike during these times. With many business being closed and unattended, they are an easy prey for burglars.

Here is an example statistic of the Portland State Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute that showed the spike in burglaries in business in December from 2009 till 2013.

2. Have a minimum occupation system in the workplace

While it is tempting to close off the business during several days to limit operating as well as energy costs, it could be a good idea to ask if there are employees willing to work during these days. You will probably have to pay them a bit more, but it's worth it, as burglars will be much less prone to break into an office where the chance of running into an employee is rather high. However, this solution is only useful during the day, at night, the business is still at a higher risk of burglary.

3. A PSIM (Physical Security Information Management) platform with in-house operators

If your organization has many buildings, or even locations, it could be a high rewarding investment to choose for a PSIM software platform. The PSIM software platform, like our open integration platform Sky-Walker, is able to monitor and manage all the security systems in each location. Automatic triggers and workflows enable the organization to have less security operators, thus reducing employee costs, while raising the security, safety and response teams. The great advantage is the fact that a PSIM platform is able to monitor multiple locations, spread over large geographical areas (or even countries) from one place, with only one (or several) operator(s).

4. A PSIM platform being monitored by an external security organization

If your organization is not large enough, or doesn't have the resources to employ a full-time, 24/7 security operator, an external security organization might be an option. With the PSIM software running on all your systems, every alert or alarm is then immediately sent to the external security firm. Their operators can then take appropriate and quick action. This could be done during the entire day, or only during over night, because some companies prefer to only have security at their office when employees and visitors are present.