Telltale Signs of Employee Theft
No one wants to suspect their own employees of stealing from them, but in today’s world, the odds are good that at least one of your promising hires will attempt to do so. In fact, workplace crime costs U.S. businesses $50 billion dollars every year. Approximately 68 percent of these crimes happen in small to midsize businesses. That’s why employee theft prevention is critical for companies of any size.
The five most common forms of employee theft are embezzlement, larceny, skimming, fraudulent disbursements, and business idea theft. And if you think your company is safe, think again. If you have at least one employee or confidant, you are at risk. According to the site CreditDonkey, a full 95 percent of employees steal from their employers based on an anonymous survey.
But before you run in-depth background checks on everyone on your payroll, keep in mind that this statistic includes things like office supply theft and time theft (where workers handle personal business while they are on the clock at work). Still, theft is a big issue amongst employees. So how do you know if your team is stealing from you?
Here are five telltale signs that indicate possible theft:
1. Prefers to work alone
If an employee has a preference to work alone, it could indicate that he or she is simply an introvert who doesn’t enjoy the company of others. However, it could also mean that this person is up to no good. you have an employee who tends to isolate, you might want to keep an eye on him or her. If you have surveillance equipment in place, this is definitely someone you want to watch.
2. Sudden change in work habits
Another tell-tale sign that could be related to the first one, is a sudden change in work habits. If the employee used to work with others and now wants to be alone, this could be a sign that you need to amp up your employee theft prevention. Other changes in work habits could be lingering around long after a shift is over or spending time in parts of the building that this person doesn’t normally venture to.
3. Change in behavior
Behavior changes could also be a sign of criminal activity. If your employee starts to act shifty, or you catch him or her in a lie, then this person may be stealing from you. Another way that their behavior might change is if they try to avoid you altogether.
4. Missing cash
The first three signs are a little subtle, but if you are missing cash, then it’s not a matter of “if” but “who”. The best ways to find the guilty party here are to either catch them in the act or capture the action on video.
5. Missing products
Like cash, missing products are, well, hard to miss. If valuable merchandise disappears from your store, then video surveillance should definitely be a part of your employee theft prevention plan, if it isn’t already. It can serve as a deterrent if your employees know it is there, and it can also help to catch someone in the act if they do steal from you.
Pro-Vigil Can Help You with Your Employee Theft Prevention Plan
Ideally, all of your employees are upstanding citizens who care as much about your company as you do. But in reality, the odds are good that somebody who works from you will, at some point, attempt to steal from you. Pro-Vigil live monitoring and video surveillance can help you put measures in place to mitigate these risks. Contact us today to get your free quote.
