These days, all business owners are more than aware of the benefits CCTV can provide, helping keep your company’s staff and property secure. With the financial pressures facing small businesses however, it can be easy for this to fall behind other priorities when budgets are restricted. Because of this, there are countless companies across the country who still don’t have a sufficient CCTV security system to monitor their property. Unfortunately, it can be easy to overlook the benefits of investing in CCTV- until something happens and you really need it, that is! Here are 7 of the most important reasons why your business needs CCTV up and running today-
Effective CCTV is vital for retail and customer-facing businesses. image via
Preventing Security Incidents– This is probably the single most obvious- and important- reason to have a visible security presence on your premises. Cameras, or CCTV warning signs, form a visible deterrent to dissuade people from engaging in criminal or damaging behavour. Whether it’s preventing theft in a shop, or fights in a bar, people tend to be less keen to participate if they know they will be caught on camera!
Supplying evidence– Unfortunately, no matter what precautions you take there is always a risk of bad things happening. Naturally, you want to know that if there is an incident such as a violent customer or persistent thief, you will have enough evidence to prosecute the wrongdoer. A good CCTV system gives you the peace of mind that you can provide high quality evidence to the police if required. Because of this, always make sure your cameras have enough resolution to capture useful detail!
Our HD IP cameras are perfect for commercial security
Monitoring Staff– It might not be nice to think about, but it’s not just your customers who can be breaking the law. CCTV lets you keep an eye on what your staff are doing, and gives you the grounds to confront them later if you catch them in the act. A perfect example would be cameras by the tills in a shop, or in a stock room.
Preventing Loss– Whilst CCTV is important for keeping people safe, it also has important economic advantages for business. Stock loss through theft can be cripling for small businesses, and using CCTV is a key way to prevent this. Recordings of shoplifters also let you improve a shop’s layout, moving expensive goods to areas that are much less vulnerable to criminals.
Live Monitoring– In most shops, restaurants or bars the manager’s office is separate from the customer area. This can make it difficult for people to keep a constant eye on customer and staff interactions during a shift. A CCTV system with a screen set up in the office is a key way for manager’s to effectively keep track of how smoothly the business is running, or whether a sudden rush of customers means they are needed on the shop floor.
Licensing Conditions– For businesses that sell alcohol, many locations require them to have a CCTV system with recordings archived for at least a month. For this reason, off licences, bars and clubs always need to make they have effective security with sufficient hard drive space to allow these extended recording times.
Always make sure CCTV abides by privacy laws! image via
Monitoring Customer Behaviour– Data really is the catchword for business these days, and CCTV cameras are a great way to gather key information about your customer’s behaviour. Footfall, customer routes around a store and browsing times can all be deduced from keeping a good camera system.
