Who pays the price when workplace theft occurs? Business owners bear the brunt, either directly or through escalating insurance premiums. By following some effective guidelines, you can address and minimize theft in your enterprise, both externally and internally.
Addressing External Workplace Theft
If you own a small brick-and-mortar retail business in America, it’s likely you experience shoplifting and retail crime daily, a few times a week, or weekly. When you add potential vendor fraud and customers altering price tags and using counterfeit coupons for discount purposes, it’s no wonder 85.5% of nationwide small business retailers have experienced theft in their stores. Furthermore, nearly half of companies said they couldn’t deliver their services after being affected by property theft.
A more sinister criminal element carries out systematic thefts across several locations simultaneously, using refined methods to steal high-value items. These professional theft rings form part of organized retail crime (ORC), with smash-and-grabs and fraudulent return methods prevalent among their modus operandi. These ORC operatives also target warehouses and other storage facilities. How can you combat these growing external crime methods?
Security Systems
A security system will capture criminals on real-time video surveillance that notifies security services and the police, who can also use the incident recordings to identify them. In warehousing or distribution center scenarios, you can use these cameras in conjunction with integrated electric fences and alarm-based lighting systems as physical deterrents.
Visible real-time video surveillance at the counters, doors, windows, and across the store floors in retail settings could deter criminals from shoplifting, fraudulent activity and committing smash-and-grab crimes. Integrated security systems also monitor and regulate vendor and staff access while protecting valuable business data and networks.
Addressing Internal Workplace Theft
Businesses are making positive strides in combating employee fraud, with the fraud detection market expected to grow globally at a compound annual growth rate of 21.5% by 2028. This statistic indicates that systems put in place are reducing criminal activities, including embezzlement, bribery, theft, and fraud from internal sources. However, with organizations integrating new technologies into their crime prevention systems, there is no room to relax, as errant employees find new and sophisticated ways to bypass these measures.
Staff theft and fraud include everything from stealing cash and inventory items to skimming small amounts via processing fake refunds and pocketing cash for unrecorded sales. Information and intellectual property theft — copying data, using unauthorized employee logins to access restricted files, selling trade secrets, and pirating copyrighted materials — are other methods of defrauding a business.
Many of these instances involve cyber theft, while employees also steal time for their services by manipulating their working hours. Thankfully, there are security measures you can implement to safeguard against the majority of these internal workplace crimes.
Employee Background Checks
Although these may cost you, checking a potential hire’s background and running regular checks on your existing team members can assist you in keeping tighter control of who you’re employing. If you notice behavioral changes in a worker, it may be worth checking if there’s anything you should concern yourself with. Hence, knowing your employees well will give you an edge in observing potentially suspicious behaviors. Be sure to understand state laws on background checks, many of which have “ban the box” laws that prohibit asking about criminal history.
Whistleblower Systems
Implementing anonymous and safe platforms for diligent staff to report suspicious activities goes a long way toward encouraging an honest and open environment. Progressive companies now offer solutions that promote safe whistleblowing to third-party authorities who ensure legal and internal policy compliance. With these, you can receive anonymous reports from your teams and engage in two-way encrypted text messages for further details.
Time Monitoring Software
What your staff members do during a working day impacts the profitability of your business. If you have a manual clock-in system, someone can easily abscond from work by getting somebody else to clock them in or out. With time monitoring software, everyone becomes accountable for logging in on their terminal.
Monitoring their productivity, the number of hours they work and even the websites they access is possible. You can also determine whether their overtime is accurate, ensuring you aren’t paying extra to anybody who’s slacking or only pretending to be at work.
Access Control Programs
Robust access control systems make the monitoring of network activity easier and also allow you to audit business transactions and all digital access regularly and automatically. Educate your employees on the dangers and consequences of cyber theft.
Take Proactive Steps to Address Workplace Theft
When people steal from your company, they make you pay in one way or another. By incorporating an integrated security system in tandem with background checks and up-to-date fraud-preventing technology, you can drastically reduce internal and external workplace theft.
