Hiring a security team may seem like a challenge for many businesses, particularly SMEs who may have a limited source of revenue. But with levels of theft and burglary continuing to rise due to escalating costs of living and high levels of unemployment, it is more important than ever for businesses to invest in good quality security measures.

While security technology has become advanced over the past decade, thieves and burglars are adept at identifying dummy alarms and even dismantling and evading many types of live technology.

As such, investing in a security team helps to reduce the likelihood of thieves deceiving your security technology through methods such as tailgating or stealing ID cards, and can help to identify perpetrators more quickly and easily.

Let’s explore some of the reasons why you should consider hiring a security team for your business.

Why Businesses Should Consider Hiring Security Staff

There are many reasons why company owners invest in security personnel; here are just some of the ways that hiring security teams helps to better protect businesses against potential wrongdoers:

• Security Vulnerabilities Will Be Addressed

Criminal gangs are known to repeatedly hit businesses that they have identified as having poor security. This may mean that if your business has been targeted once, it is likely to be retargeted.

What’s more, once the word gets out that your business is lacking in security, you may even be targeted by other gangs - some of whom may be more efficient or more dangerous. If your business has been targeted by theft or burglary in the past, you should consider taking further security measures to protect your business.

In addition, if your business has recently experienced a fire or vandalism, there may also be significant damage to security technology and to the parameters of your premises. This opens up your business to all kinds of risks, from theft to being targeted by drug gangs.

Hiring security staff can help to safeguard your premises while your building is undergoing repairs, and will deter criminals from targeting your business.

• High Crime Areas Will Present Less Danger

If there is a high level of crime in your area, it may only be a matter of time before your business is targeted.

Hiring security from within your area ensures that they are likely familiar with the types of criminal activity affecting local businesses, and will have experience putting measures in place which have been effective for other, similar businesses.

In this case, hiring a security team can help to deter thieves and burglars, making it less likely that your business will be targeted in the first place.

• Late Night Operations Are Safeguarded

Thieves, burglars and violent offenders are most likely to attempt to target a business at night, when there are low levels of staffing, fewer witnesses and cover from the darkness. Working late can therefore present a significant danger to your employees - particularly female members of staff who may experience harassment, sexual violence, or who may be targeted by abusive partners.

Hiring a security team can help your staff to stay safe when working night shifts, and can help to resolve any issues as they present themselves.

• Emergency Responses Are Faster

In the event of an emergency, security guards are trained to respond quickly and effectively, and to report any situations immediately to the emergency services. Security guards are trained to respond to a wide variety of emergencies, from security breaches to fire outbreaks.

• Restricted Areas Stay Restricted

If your business is open to the general public and receives a large footfall, you may need to construct a visitation plan.

Security guards are experienced in putting together visitation plans which prevent visitors from straying into unauthorised areas, and are able to patrol your premises and challenge trespassers - thereby guarding against theft and other dangers.

• Intellectual Property Theft And Corporate Espionage Is Prevented

If your company handles large amounts of sensitive information, you may be at risk of intellectual theft.

This can put confidential information at serious risk, from corporate espionage to theft of sensitive information such as your employees’ and/or customers’ bank details, addresses and more. Thankfully, having specialist security teams in your business can help you mitigate these dangers; this is especially important when you consider how severe the fines for data breaches can be.

Good Security Measures Ensure Peace Of Mind

In summary, a security team can significantly improve levels of security in your business, acting as a crime deterrent and helping to ensure an effective response if your business is targeted. Using a security team can help to protect your business against a wide range of threats, from criminal activity to other risks, such as fire or medical emergencies.

While hiring a team may appear an initial cost, businesses can quickly recoup their losses by avoiding criminal activity that may cost thousands of pounds to recover from.

If your business has already been targeted by criminals, it is particularly important that you consider hiring security staff to prevent it from being retargeted.