Security is a top concern for businesses in Toronto. For this reason, an overwhelming majority install security cameras and intrusion detection systems, often at great cost.

Business security cameras deter criminals from breaking into your premises, minimizing thefts and vandalism of critical machinery. They also help in collecting evidence in the event of break-ins, which can be critical in identifying and apprehending intruders.

But, besides the peace of mind from enhanced security, there are other benefits of installing surveillance cameras at your business in Toronto. Not least of these benefits is improved decision making. 

Below we discuss how CCTV cameras can help you make more informed business decisions.

How Business Security Cameras Promote Better Decision Making

1. Optimize Staff Deployment

For large workplaces where you have many workers deployed across different workstations, like big-box retail complexes, it can be quite difficult to evenly distribute your manpower.

Depending on the time of day, some sections of your complex can be busier than others. Knowing which they are at which times enables you to move staff with greater agility. This avails timely help to customers, reduces queues, and can greatly improve service quality.

Without surveillance footage that you can review, you will not have the supportive data you need to make informed staffing decisions. If you were struggling to justify installing surveillance cameras at your business, this is as good a reason as any.

2. Surveillance Cameras Ensure Decisions That Help Address Workplace Accidents

Accidents on the job, either due to failure or mishandling of equipment rob your business of key skills and manhours. You have to ensure the injured workers are nursed back to health and maybe hit with a liability claim if third parties are among the injured.

Workplace accidents are also very distressing for everyone associated with your business and can lower morale across your company. Distressed workers are also generally less productive.

When accidents happen, you will be hardpressed to find the causes so you can prevent them from happening again. This is easier said than done as there can be any number of factors involved.

Some accidents are due to fatigue, others by poor training, while some are caused by understaffing. To know what could be causing accidents at your business, nothing works better than video footage of the actual accident. 

Only when you review video footage can you be sure whether it is better training, safer equipment, or – if it applies – better lighting that could help prevent future accidents.

3. Prevent Inventory Shrinkage

According to the Retail Council of Canada, the average employee steals $2,500 worth of goods and cash before they are caught. When you aggregate these figures across your locations, this adds up to a significant loss for your business.

Because of collusion between staff and security personnel, staff thefts are notoriously hard to investigate. Most times, all you have to go on are signs that specific employees may be living beyond their means. But that is not evidence of theft. 

Unless you can provide solid proof that an employee is stealing, you have no cause to relieve them of their duties. If you have surveillance cameras installed, however, you can easily catch staff thefts as well as flush out any racket of people that may be involved.

4. Discourage Acts Of Misconduct By Employees

When it comes to costly acts by employees, it is not only pilferage that you have to worry about. Vandalism and misuse of equipment, mistreatment, and neglect of customers, and other acts of misconduct can be just as detrimental to your business.

Despite your best efforts to recruit well, train, and incentivize your staff, there is always the chance that some will decide to act mischievously. But if employees know they are under surveillance, they are less likely to commit acts of misconduct. If bad apples are still not discouraged, it should be easy to catch them using surveillance footage.

For example, you may have a rule that customers should not wait for more than a specific time before they are served. It should be easy to prove where this rule has been broken if your customer service areas are monitored with CCTV cameras.

5. Improve Customer Service Across Your Whole Business

The quality of customer service isn’t only affected by rude, unmotivated, and poorly trained staff. Some of it may be due to inadequate customer parking, hard-to-reach checkout points, and other factors that even customers themselves may not be able to pinpoint.

By carefully analyzing your security camera footage, you may be able to pick friction points, that better staff training and even improved store layout may fix. 

If you find that customers are struggling to find parking, it may be true that some could now be avoiding your business altogether. Opening more parking spaces will reverse this and improve customer satisfaction and sales, albeit indirectly.

Data is the basis of the best business decisions. So if you have only considered surveillance cameras for their ability to improve security at your business in Toronto, now you have a stronger case for why you must install them.

Jay360 is an installer of business security cameras in Toronto. We also install access control systems and automatic gate openers. Contact us today to discuss your business’ security surveillance needs.