How Do Employees View Added Security?

Every position I have ever had has had differing levels of security to get into the building, my office, the bathroom, or even into the elevator. I’ve used everything from multiple badges to my fingerprint to access different areas. One position had fairly strict security protocols in place at their building. Maybe it was because of their location or their industry, but without a security badge you couldn’t access anything in the entire building, including the parking lot. There was always a security guard stationed at every entrance and the secretary was safely enclosed behind glass walls. Just to get on the elevator you had to show your badge to a security officer and scan it at multiple points. Typically, the security measures weren’t too much of a pain to work with (okay maybe a little painful during the winter when your badge was buried beneath a puffy coat and a couple of sweaters), but if you forgot your badge, it became a giant headache for the entire day. First you had to pay for parking at a lot down the street and then were faced with a whole day of awkward conversations with your coworkers (aka—it’s embarrassing to have to ask one of your coworkers to escort you through the building anytime you leave your desk, including to go to the restroom). In effect, you only forgot your badge once. After that you would sacrifice being on-time and turn around mid-commute to retrieve your badge from home.

Balancing employee safety with an appropriate level of security is something that employers need to keep in mind. Too much security becomes a pain for employees and anyone visiting your place of business, but you can’t just have it open so any Joe, Harry, or Sally can enter off the street and have complete access to your building.

This is even trickier in the retail space because you need to protect your employees and customers, your merchandise, and your property without restricting the flow for customers. One way to help protect your property without inconveniencing customers is to set up LVT Units in the parking lot. While our units are large, and extremely noticeable (they are supposed to be), they do not inhibit people from coming and going and still add multiple layers of surveillance and deterrence.

Some LiveView Technologies clients worry that by placing LVT Units in their parking lots, they will be signaling to their customers and employees that the property is unsafe, that they have had multiple crimes or incidents that would cause people to avoid the area.

However, one of the largest retailers in the world who uses our units, found that this simply was not true. In fact, after placing LVT Units in the parking lots, they conducted an internal study and discovered that both employees and customers felt safer with the units in place. Employees and customers, especially women, actually preferred to park near the units.

We spoke to some employees of another national retailer who uses our units, and their perspective agreed with previous findings. In fact, one shelf stocker even said, “I like [the LVT Unit]. I park next to it in case anything happens to my car.” Instead of finding LVT Units intrusive or overbearing, these employees were grateful for the added protection for themselves and the property. Ellinea, who works as a cashier but has experience as a security officer, said that the LVT Unit makes her feel safer.

Eva works as the manager at one of their branches. She said that, “We’ve had no broken windows since we’ve had [the LVT Unit]. Before windows were broken roughly once a month. Grab and runs have gone down too. It went from two or three per day to only two a week.” On average, each grab and go was costing this location $250, so to reduce the thefts by 86% was huge.  

Furthermore, every employee wants the unit to stay. In fact, many of them said they feel like crime would increase at their location without the LVT Unit. “I’m concerned about what would happen outside. It would probably go crazy at night,” said Eva. “I hope they (the upper management) don’t take [the LVT Unit]. I hope they leave it. I feel like the associates feel the same way. It’s their safety.”

As we enter the holiday shopping season, safety is even more important. Employees, customers, and merchandise are at higher risk during the increased hustle and bustle of the season. To get started, read about some simple Christmas crime prevention tips for your parking lot and retail location. Also request more information on LiveView Technologies and learn how we can help you increase safety during the holiday season.