Crime is always present, whether it is on the rise or low-key. One crime that many might overlook is employee theft. Small business owners can face much loss due to the different types of employee theft that take place. So it is crucial to take the necessary steps to prevent employee theft. Carry on reading to learn how you can prevent employee theft and keep your organization secure.
Tips to Prevent Employee Theft
You can’t prevent crime 100%, but you can adopt techniques to reduce it as much as possible. Some ways to reduce employee theft are:
1. Create Strong Relationships With Your Employees
Get to know your employees and build a relationship based on mutual respect. Let them know you’re the boss, which doesn’t translate to acting like a dictator. This way, you can look out for signs like these:
- Working late
- Working hard and devotion to the job out of the blue
- Better lifestyles than their salary could offer
- Using company materials for other jobs
- Proof of gambling, bad check writing, etc.
2. Run a Background Check
Before you allow someone to work for you, always conduct a background check. You can hire someone to run the background scan to ensure they have a clean record and history. This will ensure they don’t have any past offensive activities and verify them as a suitable employee for hire. Furthermore, don’t leave out anyone when running a background check, so everyone is treated equally.
Looking into a potential employee’s past may not hand you all the necessary information. Still, it is an excellent place to start.
3. Supervise Your Employees
It can help to keep a close eye on everyone. That doesn’t mean you start to look over their shoulder every minute. Instead, check what they do and have more than one person supervise the employees. Keep in mind not to invade their privacy or invade their personal space.
4. Manage Cash Receipts
You can also prevent employee theft by using serially pre-numbered sales slips. In this manner, you can conduct weekly audits of your organization. In addition, someone other than the sales clerk should balance the sales slips and register receipts.
You can also make unannounced internal audits to catch any suspicious activity that may be going on. Moreover, have an outside firm perform a yearly audit.
5. Get Computer Security Measures
It is critical to know about your computer systems and softwares, as they can be used to divert money or inventory. Therefore, limiting access to computer records and terminals might help. Other than this, you can regularly change entry codes. These measures could help you ensure that safety procedures are being followed.
6. Hire Security Guards
Hiring security guards can significantly reduce shrinkage. The presence of a security guard is enough to deter crime and keep corrupt employees at bay. They’re trained to observe and identify potential shoplifters or criminals in your organization. For instance, if you have a shopping center, identifying the different types of shoplifters can come in handy. Similarly, there are many benefits of hiring warehouse security.
What to do?
If you’re taking critical steps to prevent employee theft, you can contact Western Eagle Security to ensure no crime occurs. Dial (281) 496-6800 to hire the best security services.