SmallBusinessNewz

Somerset International Group, Inc.  quotes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, saying that about 1.7 million workers are injured every year, with over 800 dying by the hands of workplace violence.

While Somerset is just throwing this information out there in a press release to try and sell a product, if the info is true, this is an alarming statistic.

Regardless of whether or not you bite onto Somerset's marketing, it makes you stop and think about just how secure your business is. You can take all of the information security precautions you want, but they aren't going to protect you and your employees from physical harm.

Face it, crime is inevitable and people are unpredictable. There are a lot of maniacs out there that may want to rob you and won't hesitate to use force if necessary (or perhaps even unnecessarily).

As a business owner, you have a responsibility to make sure that your place of work is safe.

"Small businesses are not immune to workplace violence," says Somerset CEO John X. Adiletta. "They have to provide security precautions to their employees just like big corporations."

Adiletta suggests security cameras, keeping the door(s) locked throughout the day, using a buzzer system to screen strangers, and possibly using direct access systems as potential security precautions.

Depending on what kind of a business you are running, keeping the door(s) locked might not make sense obviously. You can't lock your customers out, but you can still keep any backdoors locked.

A couple of other things I would suggest are a silent alarm, and windows that people can clearly see into from the outside. If it is feasible and you feel that it is necessary, you can always hire a security guard.

A friend of mine who used to work as a security guard for Amazon suggests hard drive backups of any surveillance camera footage. What other precautions would you suggest? Which ones do you take to protect your staff?