The use of cameras inside office buildings can provide great insight to managers. While the idea of recording the hustle and bustle of your office may seem strange at first, there are many reasons it makes sense for businesses. Here are the top four.

1. Industry standards and requirements. In some industries, cameras are ubiquitous just due to the nature of the business. Pharmacies, casinos, convenience stores and hospitals are examples of industries where indoor recording is the norm. While your business likely doesn’t have the same security concerns as a convenience store or casino, more and more businesses utilize indoor cameras.

2. Loss prevention. While every business owner strives to hire people who are honest and trustworthy, there can be occasional incidents of loss inside a business. While scrubbing video footage may not be the best path for accounting for lost materials, simply having the cameras in place can be a deterrent for dishonest activity in the first place. Beyond employees of the business, after hours entrants to the building including cleaning staff, maintenance workers and business service providers may be deterred by the presence of cameras. Of course, the vast majority of people coming in and out of your business will never try to take or vandalize anything, but it only takes one loss to make you feel violated and suspicious.

3. Identification. Knowing who is coming in and out of your business is a critical part of protecting your business’ assets. Managed access control cards are a big way to cut down on unauthorized movement in a facility, but for business that store highly important data or inventory, having continuous recordings can serve as a strong complement and ultimate proof of unauthorized activity.

Ready to move forward with surveillance in your office? Make sure you check out these excellent tips on how to install cameras without alienating your employees or violating certain rights to privacy.