You never want to be in a situation where your workplace safety has been compromised. For a lot of modern businesses, this will involve someone gaining access to your workplace without prior consent.
They sneak their way in and can do all kinds of things to make your employees feel unsafe – or to damage your business from the inside.
It sounds crazy, but there are stories of people who manage to walk into offices, plug a USB into a computer, and download the entire company’s data. There are also more blatant acts, like stealing things from the workplace.
The bottom line is that you don’t want to live in fear while working, which is why you must implement key security measures to improve workplace safety and prevent unwanted visitors from entering.
The simplest way to do this is via an access control system, but these come in many varieties. You’ll see three possibilities below that should suit any business with any budget:
Keypad Access With Passcodes
The humble keypad is the most basic of all access control systems for a business. Lots of small companies choose it due to the lack of investment needed to install a keypad.
Choose an access password for your premises and give it to your employees. In theory, the only people who can enter your workplace are those with this passcode.
Pros: Very affordable, easy to set up, and doesn’t normally come with any technical difficulties.
Cons: Passwords can be stolen or easily overheard/shared, and it’s a bit slower than other security systems, especially when lots of people are trying to get in at the same time.
Overall, this is a simple idea that works if you have a small budget/team but want to tighten workplace security. Make sure you change the passcode every month or so to bolster security further.
Contactless Card Reader Access
Move a step up from keypads, and you will find contactless card readers. These work like subway cards or bus passes; your employees tap their card to a sensor, and it lets them into the building. It’s slightly more advanced and deals with a few of the main keypad cons.
Pros: There’s no fear of someone overhearing a passcode, it’s much faster and more convenient, and still relatively affordable for most businesses.
Cons: Someone can lose their access card or have it stolen. There’s also the minor issue of cards being damaged and not working.
The majority of businesses opt for this approach because it comes in at a decent price but with higher levels of security than a simple passcode system.
Biometric Scanning Systems
Finally, you have the most advanced system of all: biometric scanning. This utilizes clever technology to scan fingerprints, palms, retinas, or run facial recognition. It presents serious benefits over all the other methods and is comfortably the most secure option.
Pros: Impossible to “steal” access to your workplace, and nobody can share their biometric data with anyone else.
Cons: It’s the most expensive and technical option, so it might not suit smaller businesses.
All things considered, any of these security strategies will improve workplace safety to some degree. Keep in mind that a low level of security can cause poor mental health for your employees, which has a massive knock-on effect on your overall business output.
Take this seriously and protect against outside threats.
Article and permission to publish here provided as Contributed Content. Originally written for Supply Chain Game Changer and published on February 12, 2025.
Cover image provided by pexels.com.