Are you a retail business owner? Have you witnessed violence in your workplace? Did you know that violence in the workplace costs the British Columbia (BC) retail industry almost a million dollars a year in worker’s compensation alone? Not only that, but millions more are lost in missing merchandise, stolen money and property damage? 

Workplace violence in the retail industry is a big issue across North America. In fact, a survey conducted by the British Columbia crime prevention service found that 21% of retail workers have been subject to violent or aggressive acts.

On most occasions, these acts of violence are often a result of the free and easy access that members of the public have to retail businesses, extended hours, the number of young workers, the presence of cash and valuable inventory and the fact that almost everyone entering your shop is a stranger.

As a result, you and your employees have an increased risk of coming in contact with difficult or aggressive customers, unwelcome patrons, shoplifters and other criminals.

While employees will often do what they can to protect the business they work for, it is important that they understand they are not expected to save the day and that their safety is the number one priority.

As a retail business owner, it is your responsibility to teach this to your employees and train them on how to deal with workplace violence. Did you know there are other steps that can be taken to ensure you increase the safety of not only you and your employees, but your customers and your property as well? Sonitrol Western Canada has listed those ways here:

1 - Be thoughtful about your store design

1. Create an open layout so that the majority of your store is visible.
2. Ensure your displays do not block sightlines.
3. Keep valuable inventory and items that are most frequently stolen near the counter.
4. Place the cash out near the front of the store instead of the back so that all customers must walk by you.
5. Create a safe area, such as a lockable office where employees can hide and call the police.

2 - Implement strong policies and procedures

1. Train employees on workplace violence and what to do if it arises.
2. Try not to have employees work alone but if they must, ensure they have written instructions for working alone.
3. Create special procedures for high-risk tasks such as cashouts.
4. Be considerate of who you have working together, and the hours staff are putting in.

3 - Add physical controls

1. Create barriers to separate your cashiers from their customers such as wider counters.
2. Ensure your store is well lit.
3. Install mirrors to help you see less visible areas, i.e. behind shelving or racks.
4. Use merchandise and door alarms.
5. Use safes to store cash and valuable items.

4 - Increase security

1. Install or upgrade security systems with verified security.
2. Use managed access control for high-value items or areas with cash and personal information of customers and employees.

How Sonitrol Western Canada can help

Unlike conventional alarms, Sonitrol Western Canada’s unique verified audio and video security solutions enable our operators to hear and see what is happening in your business.

If there is criminal activity, we get the police to attend the scene immediately and relay real-time information to the responding officers. If it's a false alarm, we simply reset the system without bothering you or the police.

Sonitrol’s intrusion detection system can also be integrated with our access management system.

Managed access control, or keyless entry, is one of the easiest, most cost-effective ways for you to increase security by providing different employees with different access levels to ensure valuable items, such as cash or high-priced inventory, are protected.

Employees who are authorized to open the facility or storage area will be allowed access and be able to disarm the security system. Employees who are not authorized to open the facility or storage area will not be allowed access to the facility when the security system is armed, or they are not on shift.

If you’re concerned about workplace violence in your Canadian retail business, or you have other store security issues, contact us today for a free security audit.