How Often Should Your Business Change Its Locks?

High Security Commercial Locks

Business Change Its Locks

When you own a business, there are several giant issues you have to confront daily. Entrepreneurs, business leaders, and managers are always dealing with threats on multiple fronts.

There are internal concerns like retaining talent and staying profitable. There are also apparent problems, such as global competition and disruptive technologies.

And amid these seemingly more significant issues, it is easy for business owners to overlook apparently smaller things like their premises' physical security. Businesses usually don't think about updating their physical security until they suffer a breach.

Once they install locks, business owners seldom check back to see if those locks have outlived their usefulness. But as Doug Anderson Management points out, this doesn't make sense because your business's physical security is what makes it possible for your business to exist.

If something terrible should happen to your equipment, essential documents, or employees, you could not continue with the business. Keeping staff and equipment safe and secure is as important as staying profitable and ahead of the competition.

This is why reviewing the physical security of your business premises is vital. And one of the first places to start is by checking door locks to know if they need changing. The locks on your doors are the first line of defense against all physical threats to the business. How often should you change locks, and what are the reasons for changing them? You will find the answers below.

The type of door locks

Access Control door locks

Different types of locks offer different levels of security. If you have digital office locks installed, you have the highest level of protection. The code on these locks can easily be changed to prevent unauthorized access.

If your office locks are the standard type with keys that are easily copied, then your office has the least level of security. In that case, the locks should be changed more often. But if the keys are stamped with a "do not duplicate" warning, the risk of their being copied is lower.

That is not to say that they cannot be copied. To assess the risk of someone illegally copying your office keys, take the other factors below into consideration.

Employee turnover

Depending on what industry your business is in, this could be a big problem or not. Businesses operating in the hospitality industry usually have the highest rates of employee turnover - 70%.

When an employee leaves your business, they not only depart with substantial knowledge about what you do, they may also go with your keys. The higher the number of employees leaving within a given time, the higher the risk posed to the business.

That's because there is a higher probability that one of those former employees will gain unauthorized access to the premises. And in the event of that, it is harder to tell which employee could have done it.

The number of locks in the premises

How often you need to change your office locks also depends on the number of doors in the office. If you are a business with only one or two doors, managing the keys will be easier.

Locks and Keys

But if you operate from a large space with lots of individual offices, each having its own locks, the situation is more complicated. A business with many offices will find it harder to track keys. Consequently, all the locks in the office should be changed periodically.

Another consideration is the value of the equipment in an office. Locks to rooms with highly valuable assets should be changed more often. Especially if a lot of people have access to the office.

An unhappy employee

An unhappy employee who leaves your business suddenly or under unpleasant circumstances is an excellent reason to change office locks. This is especially if the employee had access to the office keys or held a prominent position.

It is even more vital to change the locks if you had disagreements with the former employee or they are guilty of misconduct. Additionally, if you fire or layoff staff, you should change the office locks immediately. It is not uncommon for disgruntled ex-employees to try to damage or steal their previous employer's property as an act of revenge.

Lost or stolen keys

If the keys to the office are lost, the office locks should be changed immediately. That's because you never know who might have the key and whether they will try to gain access to the office or not.

The same applies when someone steals the office keys. This includes situations where the office key was unintentionally stolen along with other items. Most times, when keys are misplaced, you cannot tell where and at what point it went missing. That is why the best way to deal with the situation is to act with caution and speed.

Finally, you should change your office locks to keep up with advancements in commercial lock technology. Newer types of locks offer more security, but this is not the only reason to do this.

As lock technologies get more sophisticated, criminals also develop smarter techniques. The older office locks are, the more vulnerable they are to attacks. Changing locks from time to time ensures that you always have access to the best security.

So always go a professional Locksmith like A & H Locksmith Services in Orlando FL

Locksmith cares of their customers