Owning a business involves a wide range of responsibilities. One of them involves ensuring the safety of both your employees and your customers when on the premises of your business.
There are various ways you can potentially achieve this goal. One worth considering is hiring security guards armed with handguns. Reasons to consider hiring armed guards for your business include the following:
Deterring Criminals
Criminals often decide where they will commit crimes based on the degree to which they will be able to do so successfully. For example, a survey of several former burglars indicates that most agree they are less likely to target homes or businesses if they see security cameras on the property.
Armed guards can theoretically serve the same purpose as security cameras. If a potential wrong-doer sees guards with firearms on your business’ property, they may naturally decide that targeting your business is too much of a risk.
Promoting a Healthier Mentality
People want to feel safe at work, and customers want to feel safe when patronizing businesses. This is another reason to strongly consider hiring armed guards. When they are on the property, both your employees and your customers may feel more secure.
This can even promote a healthier overall mentality among your workforce. Surveys and studies indicate that employees are more engaged at work when they feel that ownership has taken steps to optimize their safety. This includes both their psychological safety and their physical safety. With a more engaged workforce, you’ll enjoy the benefits of enhanced productivity, lower turnover, and more. This highlights how the cost of hiring armed guards may be outweighed by the competitive advantage that a more engaged workforce will provide your business with.
Guarding Against Lawsuits
Certain types of businesses are actually expected to employ guards. Historically, when violent crimes happen at these businesses and employees or customers are harmed as a result, victims have been able to pursue compensation for their losses by filing insurance claims or lawsuits.
This is another reminder that hiring armed security guards may actually be a wise financial decision you as a business owner can make. They will deter violent criminals, and if criminals do decide to target your business, their presence will minimize the odds of others getting hurt.
That last point is important. While it’s less likely that criminals will target businesses when armed guards are on the premises, no one can truly guarantee a criminal will let the presence of a guard deter them from attempting to carry out an act of wrongdoing. However, at the very least, armed guards can put a stop to a criminal’s actions before they have the chance to result in serious harm to individuals, property, or both.
Saving On Insurance
Although this point doesn’t necessarily always hold true, often, insurance companies will offer lower rates to business owners and property owners who take steps to optimize security.
As such, you may be able to save on insurance costs by hiring armed guards to protect your business. Your insurer may realize that the presence of armed guards significantly reduces the likelihood of crimes being committed on the premises, and may thus decide to reward you financially in response to your choice to optimize security.
Of course, you want to carefully screen all applicants when hiring guards. You need to be confident you’re hiring professionals who will handle their role responsibly. That said, these are all clear reasons why hiring armed guards to keep a business safe is often a very wise idea.