Growth feels great, up until you spot some security-related cracks; two sales reps stroll in through an unmonitored side door, the dev team uses a back gate nobody officially opened, and, somehow, the intern flashes a master fob like it’s a backstage pass.
That’s the point where “we’ll sort that later” turns into a board‑level migraine, and here’s how you can go about dealing with it.
Map the people flow before you buy flashy tech
Vendors will wave fingerprint readers with neon halos, but hold your wallet for a second. Grab a marker and sketch the building: payroll goes here every morning, couriers wait there, visitors , absolutely not past this line.
If you don’t do this, you might hand the cleaner and the CFO identical RFID cards; two payday Fridays later, half a server rack will have walked. Lesson learned, but too late: design the roles first, bolt on the tech after.
Build layers
Outer layer? The reception lounge. Give guests QR passes that die after an hour. Middle? Marketing desks - standard badges tied to office hours.
Innermost core is finance and R&D, protected by “badge‑plus‑something”: a PIN, maybe a fingerprint if folks aren’t extra privacy oriented. Each ring slows trespassers and reminds staff that sensitive zones deserve extra care.
Make the system shut doors for you
People leave your organisation. Contractors finish the fit‑out, interns head back to their home town, a sales exec quits by rage‑typing at 3 a.m. If revoking credentials depends on someone reading exit emails, stray keys will lurk forever.
Hook your HR platform to the door controller so permissions die at 17:00, on the dot, on the employee’s last day. You’ll thank yourself later on.
Confront the numbers
Access logs are dull, until they aren’t. A 2 a.m. swipe at the warehouse on some random Fridays? Either smuggled pallets or the world’s worst‑scheduled cleaning crew. Block out “log coffee” once a month, skim the report, and flag the oddities. Ten minutes here can dodge a five or six‑figure insurance claim later.
Prepare for the creative complainers
Someone will insist they need 24/7 access “for inspiration.” Treat these as change requests: record them, tag an expiry date, and promise to review. Saying “yes for a month, then we talk” keeps innovation alive without turning the building into an all‑access festival.
Scale once, not twice
Pick hardware that grows with your business, like key cabinets from Traka. When you lease the extra warehouse, you should be clicking in ten new readers, not ripping everything back to bare wires. Spending a bit more now beats watching a forklift unload replacement kit two years down the line.
Teach gently, reinforce often
No one survives a 40‑slide door‑policy deck. Instead, try nudges: a Slack bot that pings if someone props a fire exit, a small prize for the quarter with zero tailgating. Culture beats laminated rulebooks, because people don’t notice they’re being steered.
Put these pieces together, and the frantic “Who’s in the building?” moments fade. You glance at a dashboard, get your answer, and go back to chasing the stuff that actually fuels growth - safe in the knowledge your walls are keeping pace with your headcount.
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