In this slow economy, employee and customer theft is a growing problem. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that employee theft accounts for between $20 and $40 billion dollars in business losses. An employee is 15 times more likely to steal than a customer or non-employee, and 75 percent of all employee crime goes unnoticed.
The best thing you can do is to make your business theft resistant. Do everything you can to deter theft rather than dealing with it once it has occurred. One of the best measures is installing surveillance cameras anywhere financial transactions take place. Some entrepreneurs are hesitant to do this out of concern that morale will decline because employees will no longer feel trusted. While this does happen, it can be easily avoided by telling staff ahead of time what you will be doing and why.
Most people seem to understand the importance of a deterrent. Good background checks and pre-employment screenings are critical when theft-proofing your business. Start with honest employees and combine that element with security measures. Businesses often hire applicants who have a blemish on their record (e.g., felony conviction) to give them a second chance. This is a disaster waiting to happen, considering that these past issues are just the ones for which the applicant got caught.
Another practice important to preventing theft is seeing that each employee takes time off every year. Frequently, employees are able to cover up theft by routinely altering the books. Taking time off would mean getting caught if they tried to do this. Materials and fuel are vital areas to watch when making your business theft-resistant. Controlling access to both your fuel and credit cards is critical. Staff should be made aware of the fact that you are monitoring these. Taking inventory on a regular basis (more than once a year). I have seen many cases where theft of materials by staff could have been easily avoided had a simple monitoring system been in place.
Finally, whenever cash is involved, have a system of checks and balances. For example, at the end of the day have your cash counted and signed off on by two staff members. Now go out and develop a plan to make your business as theft-resistant as possible and then implement this plan. You can do this!
By Jerry Osteryoung
