Business Alarm Systems: Security Guards Aren’t the Way to Go
Every year in the United States, businesses experience more than 400,000 robberies and $800 million in losses due to theft, vandalism, and illegal site dumping. Even considering those statistics, many business owners don’t have anything in place to protect their business and prevent crime 24/7.
If you own a business, you may think that hiring a security guard may be all you need to protect your building, employees, and customers. While adding this layer of protection may help prevent some violence or vandalism, security guards are still limited in how much security they can provide.
For example, due to the higher chances of human error, security guards run the risk of being unaware of loiterers or unseen trespassers, allowing unauthorized individuals onto your property, or even falling asleep on the job.
Why Business Alarm Systems Are Recommended
To help you understand your own business security needs, consider some of these reasons why security guards may be an expensive option and not cover your business fully.
1. Hiring Security Guards Is Time-Consuming
It takes time to properly train security guards. Hiring new security guards also requires ongoing training to ensure they’re performing their duties correctly and consistently. Security guards may have the potential for poor performance, sudden call-offs, and other setbacks, especially in the first few weeks of employment.
2. Security Guards Are Costly
Security guards can be expensive and create potential liability for your company. To put it in perspective: the more areas of your business that need monitoring, the more security guards you will need which will cost money for hiring, training, and keeping security guards. During shifts where there is little activity, it can be wasteful to pay security guards when there isn’t much to protect against.
Plus, the turnover rate is high, creating an endless cycle that only seems to take from your bottom line. Security guards also run the risk of accidents and injuries while on the job, resulting in costly workers’ compensation and periods of time off that can leave you short-staffed.
3. Downtime Leads to Boredom
Guards are often surveying the same area for their entire shift, which has the potential to leave them bored or less alert to act when a conflict occurs. Downtime can range from being bored and browsing smartphones to having too many security guards on-site at once. So, no matter what, you end up paying for inactivity whether a conflict occurs or not. Therefore, a security guard’s productivity can be a problem since their duties are limited to monitoring their designated areas. The last thing you need is for a criminal to sneak into your building while your guards are covering another part of your building.
4. Conflicts On-Site Pose Risks
If conflicts like an active assailant or robbery occur, it’s better to have more than one security guard attending to it. However, this presents the potential of leaving certain areas of your business unprotected while your security guards rally together to resolve the conflict. Many criminals don’t commit crimes solo; rather, one or more creates conflict or distraction while others break in quietly. So, the less security you have in other areas, the more vulnerable your business becomes to potential criminals.
5. Limited Site Protection
While it’s helpful to have security at your points of entry, lobby, and areas containing sensitive information, security guards are limited to what activity they can see around them. Especially at night, it can be hard to determine threats just based on what guards are seeing. Plus, there are other distractions that can take the attention away from monitoring your property, such as smartphone notifications or chatty visitors.
Ultimately, security guards can help prevent crime, but there’s nothing like protecting your business with 24/7 security monitoring. Guardian Alarm’s complete suite of business security solutions provides protection across all areas of your business. From access control systems that secure sensitive areas to deterring break-ins with instant intrusion alarm triggers, our specialists provide you with the round-the-clock protection security guards cannot.
Guardian Alarm: Business Alarm Systems & Remote Security
Remote video surveillance can protect your business, save you money, and prevent theft in real time. Using advanced video analytics, Guardian Alarm’s 24/7 monitoring center responds immediately to all detected threats, such as trespassers, vandalism, illegal site dumping, and more. We then use real-time video and voice communication to speak directly to the perpetrators, deter them from your property, and alert your local police department.
Plus, Guardian Alarm partners with your loss prevention, security, and human resources to create a solution that will translate into reduced operational costs and increased profits. Ultimately, our team helps you protect your business, employees, and customers to deter crime before it occurs.
If you don’t have a security system in your business, give Guardian Alarm a call today at 800.STAY.OUT to get your free quote. We offer the latest smart security solutions designed to keep you, your employees, and your customers safe. By pairing today’s technology with our 24/7 monitoring center, you can stay focused on your bottom line while our team focuses on protecting it.
