As a business owner and employer, you’re accountable for more than just profits—you’re responsible for your employees’ safety.

According to a survey conducted by CareerBuilder, the majority of employees feel their workplace is secure. But, when it comes to specific threats from weather, cyber-related and physical attacks, many respondents have concerns regarding their employer’s preparedness. Twenty-two percent of respondents say they don’t believe their workplace has an emergency plan in place for natural disasters, while around 40 percent don’t think their work has a plan to prevent physical harm from an individual or damage from a cyber attack.

Even though the study shows most employees generally feel secure, there are specific areas where workplace safety can improve.

To help address these concerns, we highlight some workplace situations and security equipment you can use to increase your employees’ safety.

1. Natural Disaster Security

Natural disasters can happen unexpectedly, so a workplace emergency plan is a must. But, you shouldn’t stop there. Take workplace safety a step further with security equipment that will instantly alert you and your employees in the event of a natural disaster. Equipment to consider includes:

• Carbon monoxide detectors
• Fire alarms and smoke detectors
• Motion sensors and video surveillance
• Temperature sensors
• Water sensors

Additionally, conduct an annual review of your natural disaster emergency plan and review all security features to ensure all employees are on the same page.

2. Workplace Violence

An estimated 1 million workplace violence cases are reported every year in the Africa Whether these incidents are internal (employee to employee) or external (employee to customer/intruder), you can take certain actions to improve the overall feeling of security throughout your business.

Consider the following tools to keep your employees safe from physical harm:

• Access control
• Lights
• Panic buttons
• Safety education courses
• Video surveillance

In addition to these safeguards, business owners can take workplace security a step further by installing a monitored alarm system that will alert you after hours.

3. Cyber Threats

Over 3,000 digital records are stolen every minute. That’s almost 50 per second. Cyber attacks may not be the first threats that come to mind when you think about workplace safety, but with data breaches almost doubling from 2016 to 2017, cyber security needs to be a top priority. To limit the risk of a data breach and keep your employees’ sensitive information safe from cyber attack, consider the following safety practices:

READ ALSO: How To Secure Your Cell Phone For Personal Safety

• Back up critical employee data in an alternate location.
• Install firewalls and anti-virus software on all work computers.
• Protect all networks and work devices with complex passwords.
• Train employees on best practices for cyber security.
• Upgrade system devices as new versions become available to make it harder for hackers to access your network.
• Utilize a virtual private network (VPN) when allowing employees to work remotely.

Don’t wait for an emergency to happen before you enact the appropriate safeguards into your workplace. Contact a trusted security vendor to ensure your employees and business are protected.

How do you keep your employees safe? Share in the comments below.