Five Tips to Prevent Workplace Theft

Theft in the workplace, as harmless as it may seem, can affect the effectiveness and profitability of a business over time. But what type of acts constitute workplace theft? More importantly, how can one monitor business property and prevent workplace theft? In this post, we will discuss what workplace theft is, the different types of workplace theft and five practical ways to prevent it.

What is Workplace Theft?

Simply defined, workplace theft is the stealing or unauthorized use of company property and resources for personal use. The primary points to note with workplace theft are the following:

1. It is unauthorized by the company.
2. Involves the use of business properties or resources.
3. It makes use of business resources for personal use.

In general, theft in the workplace can be identified by these three criteria listed above.

Types of Workplace Theft

Why do some employees steal from their places of work? Most times, it is just because they have the opportunity, and appropriate documentation that could identify them doesn’t exist. In other cases though, and depending on the type of theft, it could be because of greed, revenge, or other financially motivated reasons.

Here are some types of workplace theft cases a business may have to deal with:

1. Theft of Services: When an employee uses company services for personal benefit, without paying for it.
2. Information Theft: Stealing of confidential company data, product designs, copyright information, product formulas, software, etc.
3. Payroll Theft: This happens when an accounts staff steals information or money associated with other employees.
4. Inventory Theft: When an employee modifies company inventory for unauthorized sales, without authorization. It could also involve taking company stationery home for personal use.
5. Cash Theft: When employees steal physical cash from the business.

It is interesting to note that most workplace theft may appear negligible when it is first noticed. However, when compounded over time, among multiple employees, one will see that its effects could severely affect the company.

Five Tips to prevent Workplace Theft

Statistics show that money theft is the most common workplace theft businesses have to deal with. Here are five tips on how to prevent workplace theft and reduce loopholes that create opportunities for such theft.

1. Conduct Background Checks: First things first, background checks are strongly recommended when hiring employees. Such a check will generally highlight potential issues that may become problems in the future. In addition, it will ensure that one’s hiring decisions are made with adequate information about the person’s background.
2. Design a System of Checks and Balances: Another way to prevent workplace theft is to create and enforce a system of checks and balances for your business. Such a system would require multiple levels of approval before company resources and inventory are disbursed. For example, company inventory may not be disbursed without approval from the department manager and store manager.
3. Create a Zero-Tolerance Policy for Workplace Theft: Employees should be clearly informed and aware of the consequences of workplace theft. Penalties may include outright dismissal to unpaid suspension from work, etc. When a zero-tolerance policy is implemented and enforced, employees are less likely to steal company property and resources.
4. Secure your Property: Besides putting policies in place that prevent theft in the workplace, businesses also need to implement strategies that secure their properties. These could include desk locks on computers, restricted access to property storage areas, and CCTV and other monitoring systems. Such security devices could significantly reduce the opportunity to steal, and thus prevent theft. Our company, Access Security Solutions LLC, provides CCTV, and other monitoring services for businesses. Contact us here to get free consultation and free three months monitoring for your business.
5. Connect with your Employees: Our final tip on how to prevent workplace theft is to build loyalty and trust among employees. Chances are that if they feel well treated and compensated, they will be less likely to steal.

In conclusion, workplace theft is a serious issue because its effects compound over time. Do you have issues with workplace theft at your place of business? How have you attempted to prevent it in the past?

In addition to the tips above, we recommend that you engage the services of professional security solution providers like Access Security Solutions LLC for a comprehensive security review. Starting with an in-store survey, we will recommend appropriate hardware and software to meet your specific requirements. In addition, our trained security technicians will handle all hardware installations and setups for your company. Finally, if desired, we will also handle security monitoring for your business, so you have 24/7 monitoring at your company.

To find out more about our services and consultation options, please contact us online, on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or by phone at (+1) 510-356-0083.