Protecting Your Family While You’re Away

If you think that your business is safe from theft, think again. Theft costs American companies a staggering $33 billion dollars a year—with the bulk of that coming straight from the employees you carefully hired. However, you might be able to avoid problems by bolstering your commercial security system. Here are two great products that can help you to fend off employee theft:

1: Smart Deadbolts

Are you tired of trying to keep track of key copies? If you are like most business owners, you might assign door keys to your managers and ask them to turn them in when they quit. Unfortunately, keys can get lost or copied by employees—rendering your security plan completely useless. Fortunately, you might be able to avoid keys altogether by installing smart deadbolts on all of your business access points. These smart locks contain an easy-to-use keypad where employees can enter security codes—so they won't need a key. Smart deadbolts also offer these helpful features:

• Manage Unique Codes: Smart deadbolts can be programmed to hold multiple unique security codes, so that you can tell who is entering and exiting your building. Believe it or not, security codes can even be associated with allowable timestamps, so that you can control who has access and when their entry codes will work.
• Emergency Lockouts: Since smart deadbolts are electronically controlled, you can easily lock down your building whenever you need to. If your security team detects a security breach, you can use a panic feature on your deadbolt to automatically shut down the building. This feature is also helpful if you face major security risks, such as an armed gunman approaching your building.
• Smartphone Connectivity: Last but not least, smart deadbolts usually contain connectivity hardware, so that they can connect wirelessly to your smartphone, tablet, or any device with an Internet connection. This means that you can check which employees have accessed the building whenever you need to—even if you are at home.

If you are worried about smart deadbolts interfering with your store's exterior aesthetic, you shouldn't be. Some models have sleek panels that hide keypads so that customers don't play around with those buttons.

2: Better Security Cameras

Sure, you might have a security guard on staff during business hours, but what happens when most of your employees go home for the day? If you don't trust your overnight stocking staff or those team leads who count the tills after hours, your store might be vulnerable to employee theft. However, modern security cameras don't need someone sitting at the helm and tracking employees. Here are a few things new security cameras might be able to do for you:

• Motion Sensors: Don't worry about reviewing hours of security footage monitoring an empty room. Some new camera systems have state-of-the-art motion sensors so that they only record when someone enters a space.
• Facial Recognition Software: To better track offenders, some systems even contain high-tech facial recognition software. This means that you can pull up footage of certain employees or detect a known criminal before he targets that jewelry section.  
• Automatic Zooming: To keep footage in focus, some systems even have automatic zooming capabilities. As the customer or employee works the room, the camera will follow the person, zooming in so that you can see facial features, carried objects, or even paperwork.

When you install new security cameras, think twice before bragging about those cutting edge features. If you suspect that some of your employees might be stealing, it might be in your best interest to let your workers think that you are simply replacing a broken camera or a computer—instead of investing in a system capable of following them around a room.

By improving your store security system, you might be able to ward off lost profits—without sleeping overnight at your store. For more information, contact a local security company like A Tech / Easy Living Store.