An estimated 30,000 websites are hacked each day. Don’t let your facility website be one of them.

In 2021, businesses experienced a 50 percent increase in the number of cyberattacks each week compared to 2020. Security experts warn that the rate and sophistication of such attacks are expected to rise.

As self-storage operators increasingly move towards online rentals, they are becoming more and more of a target for cyber attacks. Such attacks can compromise customer data and the damage can cost operators thousands of dollars to repair. Some attacks use a type of computer virus called ransomware to take control of your machine and hold it for ransom. Needless to say, any kind of cyberattack is bad for your business.

Identifying Cyberattacks

Most cyberattacks succeed due to a lapse in human judgment. For example, “spearphishing” attacks involve sending a personalized message to a target that imitates a genuine communication from a trusted source. Such messages commonly encourage the victim to click on a link. This often leads to the log-in screen of a spoofed website (of a bank or software service for example), where the victim types in their username and password.

Falling victim to an attack like the one described above can be detrimental to your business. Once a hacker gains credentials to one of your accounts, it is very often a matter of time before they can infiltrate others. This is the primary reason why it is never a good idea to use the same password for multiple accounts.

Aside from adhering to secure password protocols, the best way to prevent attacks is by training your self-storage staff to identify them.

Why Your Storage Facility Needs Cybersecurity Training

Your front office staff is often the first, and last, line of defense against cyberattacks. Without proper training, it is easy to be duped by spearphishing and other types of attacks that use social engineering. 

In the example provided in the previous section, a trained employee would hover over the link before clicking it to read the URL. They would then immediately notice that the web address is suspicious and not click through. The employee would flag the message as suspicious and report it, and potentially save you thousands of dollars and days of stress as a result

Spoofed websites are made to look real, but the URL will not be the same as the legitimate site. For example you might get a message claiming to be from LinkedIn that your password needs to be reset. You click on the URL and see that it starts with “linked-in.com” instead of the correct spelling. That is a sure sign you just landed on a suspicious website that is trying to steal your information.

Spotting phishing attempts isn’t so hard, once you learn what to look for. This is why requiring all employees to complete at least one cybersecurity training session each year is strongly recommended. 

Putting Cybersecurity Training into Practice

The more cybersecurity training you can give to your employees the better protected your operation will be. Training can be conducted online, with different companies providing educational platforms to businesses. Training consists of different modules, or lessons, that take place through a series of slides, vidoes, quizzes and interactive scenarios.

You can also set up occasional phishing tests to see how your employees respond to a simulated attack. If they fall for such tests, it is a sign you need to step up their training.

A good place to start is Google’s free phishing simulator. Here you can test your skills separating malicious email messages from safe ones.

Below are some more resources for cybersecurity training worth considering:

• Phishing Security Test (KnowBe4)
• Social Media Phishing Test (KnowBe4)
• Security Awareness Training Pricing (KnowBe4)
• Beginners Guide to Phishing Simulation Training (Curricula)
• Free Cybersecurity Training Awareness Training (Curricula)
• Introduction to Cybersecurity (Google Digital Garage)

Letting harassment run wild at your self-storage facility isn’t only shameful, but it could be a costly mistake. 

Case in point, employers paid more than $68 million in 2019 to settle harassment claims made to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity commission.

Monetary disincentives aside, self-storage businesses big and small have role to play in standing against all forms of harassment in the workplace. Creating a work environment that is safe and free of unwanted harassment is an important responsibility that every employer must provide—not only because it is the right thing to do, but it’s also the law. 

Your storage business could be sued for creating a hostile work environment if you do not do enough to address all forms of workplace harassment. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, harassment is defined as unwelcome conduct based on one’s:

• Race
• Color
• Religion
• Sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, or pregnancy)
• National origin
• Age (40 and up)
• Disability
• Genetic information

Of course, you don’t want any type of harrassment going on at your workplace. But where should you begin when it comes to taking a proactive approach to preventing it occuring in the first place?

It is not enough to respond to and stop harassment in the workplace when it occurs. Self-storage operators should implement policies and create a culture where it is well known that all forms of harrassment are taken seriously and not tolerated.

Here’s three key actions to take to reduce incidents of harrassment from occuring at your self-storage facility:

1. Establish an anti-harassment policy

Having an anti-harassment policy should be your number one priority. Without rules in place, how can you expect to enforce them?

Your policy should be as specific as possible in outlining what constitutes harassment, what the consequences are for violating the policy, and how incidents should be reported. Visit the EEOC for additional guidelines on developing a policy.  

Also keep in mind how your policy handles harassment that takes place off-premises in a remote work environment. The rise in telecommuting during the pandemic has given rise to increased harassment over email, video and chat platforms. You’d be wise to cover such situations when developing a new anti-harassment policy or update your existing procedures if needed.

2. Make prevention training mandatory for all employees

Everyone at your self-storage business, whether you have four employees or 400, plays a role in the prevention of workplace harassment. To play this role effectively, employees need to be trained how to recognize harassment taking place and what to do in such situations. People often don’t know how to react in the moment when they witness harassment, but with the right training they will be able to respond better in the future.

You can either hire an instructor to visit your business, or organize training via an online provider such as HRDirect, Everfi or Easy Llama. Behave At Work provides a handful of free training videos in addition to paid training.

3. Lead by example

Self-storage business are often very tight knit, so it is important that the owners and management lead by example.

Company leadership should announce new anti-harrassment policies and trainings, and attend in-person trainings. This shows that the initiative comes from the top and is taken extremely seriously. In addition, leadership should pay close attention to employee interactions and stay vigilant for signs of any harassment taking place and step in if needed.  On the other end of the spectrum, leadership must also not undermine their own efforts by engaging in problematic behavior such as telling inappropriate jokes or dating subordinates.

Create a safe work environment

It is the job of every storage operator to make sure they offer employees a safe and secure environment to work. Hold the anti-harassment training now, before an incident takes place that requires you to hold a training session. By taking such steps you not only reduce your company’s liability, but also minimize the potential harms faced by your hard working staff.

E-commerce has been on the rise for years. In fact, in 2020, e-commerce grew by a whopping 32.4% just in the US. The self-storage industry is no exception to this digital shift. If we think back to the beginning of the COVID 19 health crisis, self-storage operators around the world saw a massive surge in online usage. Between quarantining, shutdowns and social distancing, the need for e-commerce transactions and contactless experiences for many businesses, including the self-storage industry, arose. This experience led to many storage operators implementing digital practices like online rentals, digital lease agreements, insurance signups and much more.  

As the self-storage industry continues to modernize and become more dependent on technology, management software and the considerations it brings become increasingly important when budgeting and planning for your self-storage business. In the not too distant past, running a facility was largely a manual process with pencil and paper ledgers. When you had a problem with billing or customer records, the staff on-site or owners were responsible to solve the issue and find the best solution going forward.

When you choose to use management software, some of that ability to directly control the situation is removed and placed with a trusted partner. Of course, the point of management software is to be a net positive for your business and the gains should far outweigh any inconveniences you may encounter. But what should you expect and plan for when you put management software in place? Let’s review some points to turn your experience shifting to digital practices into something easy and comfortable.

Match Your Business’ Needs

Firstly, choose the management software that fits your business and your unique needs. As self-storage operators, there are more choices to fill business needs than ever before. Recent growth in the market has also fueled expansion and growth in the management software industry. But each option available might not be the best fit for you. To select the best management software, consider your business needs.

Are you managing a single facility or are you managing dozens? Does your staff value simplicity, or do you need the most comprehensive feature set available?

Make a list of your company’s must-haves. This will help you narrow down your choice and find the software that best fits your needs. By identifying your needs and values first, choosing the platform and services to run your business will be a much easier decision.

Research Integrations

Management software is only the first step in your journey to digitalization. After narrowing down the software to manage your facility, the next step is to look into compatible integrations. As a self-storage facility, it’s increasingly more important to offer contactless rentals. This highlights the need for specific facility features that aid the contactless process, such as digital tenant insurance and access control. Many self-storage management software options don’t have the capabilities for these services but instead, offer integrations that allow the programs to work together. However, it’s important to keep in mind that not all programs and software work together. It’s important to research the needs of your facility and choose the software that will work seamlessly for you. 

After you’ve considered your business’s needs and researched integrations to further narrow down your choice of facility management software, you’re one step closer to taking on this new digital world within the self-storage industry.