Establish high standards of security for better business

Smoke rises from the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi after a terrorist attack. Security breaches have serious implications on business. FILE 

By CAROL MUNYWOKI

In Summary

• Have risk and security strategies and allocate a budget.

The tragedy that has befallen Kenya at the Westgate Mall is painful to write about and it brings forth many mixed emotions as to what these terrorists were after and their motive.

Research indicates that wholesalers and retailers are hardest hit when it comes to crimes against businesses, with cases of burglary, vandalism, vehicle theft, robbery and assaults often being seen.

It is no longer an option for businesses to table risk and security management strategies in their organisational meetings and allocate a sufficient budget to be included as a recurring or operational cost of running the business.

Establishing airtight security is not an easy task and large shopping centres and business establishments will always be a good target for offenders and terrorist attacks.

This is why, apart from using money on your products, a firm must also invest in good overall security service to protect the venture, workers and customers.

This can be achieved by following three things:

1. Recognise that rigid security should form part of the organisational management. Structure and manage security as part of operational risk management.

2. Commit to stringent in-house standards that are comparable to independent international standards and security codes and measure departmental compliance.

3. Constantly train and educate company management about security risks and create a security budget based on realistic assessments of risk.

Organisations can also use cost-effective measures to limit the possibilities of security attacks in a number of ways.

- Train all staff from top to bottom to always be alert. Always be conscious of your surroundings, especially during opening and closing hours when there is a lot of traffic and distractions which can be used by many to breach security.

- Share emergency exit plans with trusted employees and prepare them with proper drills for emergencies. Play out scenarios and think of anything that can be a security breach, using these scenarios to train employees on how to handle such matters and how to evacuate customers if need be.

- Create codes that you can share in-house with staff in case an employee is in a situation that can be dangerous and cannot yell out for help— hand gestures, body signals, numbered codes or well placed hidden emergency buttons that can set and sound off an alarm.

- Provide and maintain proper lighting in hallways, staircases, parking lots and darker areas of the business premises. Maintain security locks and change the locking system every so often to discourage duplication.

- Make employees accountable for their departments so that they can all remain vigilant.