There are countless stories of entrepreneurs that end up going out of business due to neglecting to take care of their business, in the sense of making sure it remains compliant and secure.
If you have spent years building up your business, the last thing you want is for it to all go down the pan due to a safety, security or compliance issue; as these risks can usually be managed quite easily, yet sometimes we get so caught up in the core nature of what we do – that we neglect to take care of the smaller things when it comes to security and keeping complaint.
This article therefore looks at a number of ways to proactively take care of your business:
- Staff. Your staff can be your greatest asset, or your greatest liability, depending on the nature of their interactions with you. It’s important to have some decent HR policies and procedures in place that ensure compliance with all relevant employment legislation as it is very easy for business owners to find themselves dragged through court on the allegation of misconduct or breach of contract.
Similarly, you might want to consider putting some sort of identity and access management (IAM) system in place to ensure only the people that should have access to certain areas, or documents, are able to access them. When it comes to staff, the training you provide is essential, as not only will it optimize your business results – but it will protect you from potential lawsuits, should something happen as a result of your staff’s negligence.
As an employer, you have vicarious liability in most instances of negligence, meaning you need to dot your i’s and cross your t’s when it comes to ensuring staff have the appropriate training to undertake their role – otherwise, you could face a very costly lawsuit.
- Be compliant with all relevant codes and laws. While it might seem like an obvious aspect, it’s worth mentioning that if you fall foul of relevant laws (even if you aren’t aware of them) it can land you in hot water, and therefore, you either need to get good legal counsel that can inform you of all your responsibilities in law – or get good at researching the law as it relates to your particular business and the industry in which you operate.
- Have good representation. The benefit of having good legal representation, is twofold, firstly, a good lawyer will make sure there are prophylactic measures in place such as privacy policies on your website and ironclad contracts that protect your interests against most foreseeable risks. This is particularly relevant if you are a business partnership, as partners don’t always get along, and it’s good to have something set-up in advance to take care of disputes should they arise.Then, there’s the benefit of having someone that knows you and your business, on standby, should a remedial measure need to be taken. That said, representation shouldn’t be limited to legal. For instance, if you grow your business into a well established brand, you will likely need to instruct a team to represent your brand should there be any issues, often this will be a PR firm, that deal with requests from the press.
Note: this post contains contributed content.
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