7 Ways to Protect Your Business

If you are a business owner in Pennsylvania, you know you must take precautions to protect your business(es) from many different kinds of threats by owning a business insurance policy. Competition is the least among your concerns. You have to deal with legal considerations, insurance needs and criminal activity.

It might surprise many business owners in Pennsylvania and around the country you are four times more likely to become the victim of employee theft over shoplifting, as reported by Hayes International. Professional offices aren’t immune either. Each day, employees waste just over 2 hours per day on average, according to Dan Malachowski of Salary.com.

With these statistics alone, it is obvious you must protect your business on many fronts. There are a number of steps you can take to protect your business, among them is obtaining affordable insurance.

1) Know who you hire, regardless of status. You thoroughly vet all full time employees but don’t give a second thought to temporary employees. Approximately 60 percent of temporary employees have a criminal record. Ask the staffing service for references and/or to perform a background check.

2) Check your inventory once, check it twice. Retailers are robbed of billions of dollars of merchandise every year by their own employees. Even professional offices and manufacturers fall prey to employee theft. While security systems will likely catch shoplifters or burglars, it won’t catch an employee who knows the system.

3) Have cyber security put in place. Your computer has information you do not want anyone else to see.  Cyber criminals are devious. They know technology in and out.

4) Destroy sensitive information regularly. Your customer records can be a treasure trove for identity thieves. Simply throwing old records in the dumpster only serves up a smorgasbord of useful information. When the authorities get to the bottom of the crime, you might be on the hook legally.

5) Educating your employees is another way to avoid potential lawsuit. Having your employees know what constitutes sexual harassment and discrimination can save you from the hot seat.

6) Review your Pennsylvania state filings. You could be at risk for how you are conducting business compared to how your business is legal organized. It may have significant tax consequences that will be far more costly than being compliant.

7) Research[sic] PA business insurance policies. Speak to an agent about affordable insurance alternatives. Without proper business insurance, you are failing to protect your business-being proactive and preparing for the worst now will protect you and your business assets in the future. Speaking with a knowledgeable PA insurance agent and learning about the options available to you will ensure that you buy the best coverage for your business at the most affordable rate, and will provide you with peace-of-mind now and for the foreseeable future.

Just a bit of due diligence can save you both time and money.