What is the biggest source of financial loss in your business? Even though many managers are tempted to focus on things like shrink and returned products, employee theft accounts for millions of dollars every year. The good news is that you can ward off these issues by making a few changes now. Below are three easy ways to reduce employee theft.
Tip #1: Keep Good Records
From employees who are casual about time theft to cashiers who decide to steal from the till good records can help get rid of thoughts of criminal activity. If you want to be serious about mitigating employee theft in the workplace, evaluate your record-keeping carefully and make changes to improve your procedures.
For example, cash drawers should always be counted and accounted for at the end of every shift to spot any shortages, and the inventory should be carefully tallied and audited at the end of the quarter to look for inflated numbers of missing merchandise. Managers should also compare timesheets with the actual shifts worked and tasks to assigned activities.
It might seem hard to stay on track will all the varying aspects of business record keeping, many newer technologies have made things much easier for workplace managers. Inventory systems can jot down sold items compared to ordered quantities. Time clocks can also make time screening for theft easier and more convenient.
There are even systems that can be programmed to safeguard against losses. For instance, you can find time clocks that are designed to let people check in and check out during their assigned shifts, while sometimes clocks send messages to managers when an employee is late or takes too long to take their break. Also, some systems come with built-in reporting tools so it is easier to track the progress of your employees.
Tip #2: Limit Access
If employees are given free rein of your building and all its assets, you will never know who decides to start to get creative with their own pay. There are times when employees who have access to things like company credit cards or petty cash drawers decide to treat themselves and ignore the restraints imposed by you and the company.
This issue can also extend to online merchant accounts, like discounted rates and ordering platforms with vendors. If your employees are allowed to order things at a discount and pocket them to get a better price, you will never know if they will also get that coupon and consider it a gift to themselves and treat it like it is a bonus they deserved.
To prevent these kinds of employee theft, it is important to always limit access to your buildings, company credit cards, petty cash, online accounts, and using company equipment like official vehicles.
Before granting a person permission to use a particular asset in your business, you should carefully think about whether or not they have a track record of being trusted and if they have the necessary skills to safely and effectively operate. For instance, as you give your purchasing clerks access to vendor ordering platforms that might make sense, allowing a new clerk to handle the job can give way for theft.
Tip #3: Hire Help
However polished your workflow is and even if you have lots of safeguards put in place, any business will tell you that some employees will still go out of their way to break the rules and find loopholes. The good news is that professional security firms can help by supplying your company with teams that are trained to prevent losses and manage threats.