The Importance of Protecting Physical and Intellectual Property

As a business owner in today’s environment, securing your assets and protecting your employees is often first and foremost on your mind. For this reason, many companies turn to access control systems. After all, managing who enters your premises is the first step in creating a safer, secure building. 

But what if the problem exists inside? 

According to a survey by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, companies lose an average of 5% of their annual revenues to occupational fraud. The estimates of loss are overwhelming, with employee theft costing employers millions of dollars. By some estimates, businesses in the U.S. lose up to $50 billion annually.

In addition to strategically placed security cameras, access control is essential in protecting your business from employee theft. Here, we’ll explore how this security solution helps combat this all-too-common occurrence. 

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Protecting High-Value Areas

Not only do access control systems manage who enters your building, but they also manage who enters secure areas within your business. In addition to fraud and physical theft, data theft or employees stealing intellectual property is becoming many businesses’ greatest challenge. 

According to Eric Holder, the former U.S. Attorney General, there are just two classifications of businesses affected by this type of theft: “Those that know they’ve been compromised and those that don’t know yet.”

Areas inside your business that require access control include any spaces with sensitive data, offices, and storage areas. Essentially, any place with high-value items, whether physical or intellectual. 

Today’s access control systems let administrators define who enters areas based on their roles and responsibilities. And with today’s cloud-based systems, access can be changed at a moment’s notice from anywhere. Whether someone without access requires immediate admittance into a storage area or a disgruntled employee should be denied access, you can make these changes almost instantaneously. 

You and your administrators will receive an alert whenever someone attempts to gain access to these vulnerable areas. If uncertain of their intentions, you can view a live security camera feed to ensure they are there for the appropriate reasons. 

Know Your Employees’ Schedules

An employee who stays late or arrives early may be a sign of someone who wants to excel at their job. In other instances, it can be a red flag, particularly if it coincides with unexplained shortages, poor work performance, or a changing attitude. 

Access control systems provide reports showing exactly who enters the building and protected areas throughout the day and when they leave. These reports enable you to see emerging patterns that may suggest something is amiss. These systems also allow you to allocate specific time frames when an employee can enter your property, such as limiting it to 30 minutes before their shift begins. 

At Greeley Lock & Key, we’ve been protecting businesses in our community for 50 years. In that time, we’ve become the one-stop shop for all things security-related, from the latest video surveillance to cloud-based access controls. To learn more about the latest means for securing your business or to schedule a complimentary consultation, stop by one of our showrooms, call us, or fill out our contact form.