Risk of the Badgeless

The jaded among us believe that, human nature being what it is, you can’t realistically prevent an employee from tailgating through a secured office door. An employee who came to work without her badge may consider it harmless to piggyback on the employee who just opened the door with his badge. Human nature being what it is, the badge-carrying employee will pretend not to notice the tailgater.

Which begs this question about physical security: Why invest in expensive door access control systems at your physical site -- why drop six figures on keypads, proximity readers, biometric systems, electric deadbolts, video cameras, door access control software -- if your badgeless employees are going to tailgate?

And if your employees routinely tailgate, how can you ever hope to prevent a non-employee from doing the same? How many non-employees are roaming freely, on the "secured" side of the door, enjoying snacks in your break room today, and scanning the premises for company property that can be stolen by an accomplice tomorrow?

It’s a slippery slope — an ice-coated Vermont mountainside — when employees become accustomed to passively looking the other way. An internet search on "strategies to prevent tailgating" shows that the most common advice is to spend more on entry devices, video monitoring, turnstiles, revolving doors, security guards ... and employee awareness.

The typical tailgating awareness campaign will target employees who have their badges showing, which is annoying. Your badged employee is following the rules. So why should it become their responsibility to shame and lecture those who aren't? Unless the employee’s role includes physical security, being a security guard isn't what they come to work to do.

This tailgating problem can be overcome easily enough — can become a safe and carvable Sierra groomer — by shifting your tailgating awareness campaign’s tactics a tad. Focus on those few employees who arrive at work badgeless and then subvert the physical security system. Put it in an email, on a poster, on the hallway monitors:

It is uncool to put your coworker in the uncomfortable position of asking to see your badge. That’s not what he or she came to work to do. Forgot your badge? It only takes a moment to stop by reception and get a temporary one, or the keypad code. You know the drill, so follow it, and keep our company secure.

Instead of lecturing badged employees to play door cop, shame the badgeless employees into policing themselves. Make that the culture. When it becomes a safe bet that only a non-employee would attempt to enter your facility without a badge, your employees will be much more willing to play security guard, and more likely to alert your Facilities team when there is an unauthorized person in the building. Also known as an intruder. Then your expensive electronically secured doors will fulfill their ROI promise.