The staff on the front desk of any establishment, within all manner of industries, are often considered indispensable; they greet and manage customers, answer the phones, schedule meetings and in some cases, are even required to handle difficult situations that may present a threat to themselves and anyone else in the vicinity. Essentially, your receptionist is the face of your business. But considering how vital they are, are you offering them enough protection?

Below are just some of the many dangers, public facing staff face every day, along with the ways in which you can help increase the level of protection you offer them:

Volatile customers – physical abuse

If your receptionist or frontline staff are sitting behind a desk without a screen, then they are extremely vulnerable to being physically attacked by a customer (or even a criminal simply look to trespass or steal), or even being shot at from the entranceway or across the room. While gun crime may not be rife in London, incidents do occur, and plenty of harm can be caused by someone without any kind of weapon, particularly when the victim is a veritable sitting duck.

Aside from having a reinforced screen erected around the front desk to protect your frontline staff, you could employ a trained security professional to man the premises and remain close to the front desk at all times. Not only do both solutions act as a deterrent, but the advantage of having a security person there, is that should an incident happen that threatens the safety of anyone else in the building, their efforts will be thwarted before they have the opportunity to cause any real harm.

Volatile customers – verbal abuse

While verbal abuse from customers may not be as physically intimidating, it’s still unpleasant and depending upon its nature, can be upsetting and threatening. A reinforced screen does nothing to prevent a disgruntled customer from verbally abusing your receptionist, but a reception security personnel can quickly step in and escort them from the premises. With their training, they’re often able to spot a threatening situation before it has a chance to escalate, and can efficiently and safely remove anyone thought to be presenting a risk to the receptionist and/or anyone else present.

Attack from a non-customer

Some criminals need no reason to target a particular business looking for a way to steal or simply harm someone, and random attacks are sadly not unheard of in busy cities such as London, where the melting pot of cultures and nationalities brings people together from all over the world, and from many different backgrounds and upbringings. Poverty, unemployment and other life issues often force people to do things they might not ordinarily do, and to commit crimes when previously they led a law-abiding existence. Receptionists often bear the brunt of random attacks, both physical and verbal, and leaving them unprotected for 8 hours of every day, can seem unnecessarily lax.

Employ a professional security personnel to watch over your entrance/exit and reception area to help prevent random attacks on your staff and/or customers.

The risk of infection from COVID-19

With the ongoing health crisis, keeping public facing staff safe, has never been more important, and having a reinforced screen erected around reception areas can help minimize the spread of infection. With a physical security presence, however, you can also ensure that anyone entering the premises is following COVID-19 safety measures, such as sanitizing their hands before entry, wearing a mask and remaining at a safe distance from others in the vicinity.

As the face customers or investors see when they enter your business premises; your receptionist is definitely worth protecting. To know more about keeping one of your most valuable assets safe, get in touch with a reputable and qualified security service, today.