Quiz Time, Quiz Time – A new study, conducted by Jack L. Hayes International, Inc., of 23 large retail firms finds that one out of how many employees engaged in employee theft? It found that employee theft is up 5%. What two factors, according to the study, contributed to the increase?
A survey of 23 large retail companies by loss-prevention consulting firm Jack L. Hayes International shows that 71,095 dishonest employees were apprehended in 2012, up 5.5 percent from 2011. That same survey found that one in every 40 employees was apprehended for theft from their employer in 2012. The survey based these results on over 2.8 million employees.
In the study, Hayes International reported the following situations have contributed to the increase in employee theft:
Ineffective Pre-Employment Screening – Apparently some retailers in an effort to reduce their costs have lowered their pre-screening requirements and are now hiring more “questionable” employees. We at Randisi & Associates, Inc. have always believed that people who falsify their employment application will most likely engage in fraudulent or destructive activity while in your employ. The old adage that an ounce of prevention (spending a few dollars to investigate the background of a person you are about to hire) is worth a pound of cure (spending thousands to find and then prosecute individuals who steal from you).
Less Employee Supervision – With lower management levels, there is less supervision of employee activities which results in more opportunities to commit theft. We at Randisi & Associates, Inc. can recommend some excellent firms who can help you install surveillance equipment. Just the fact that employees know they are being watched can be a great deterrent.
Ease in Selling Stolen Merchandise – Merchandise stolen by employees can be more quickly and easily sold, and for a much higher price using internet auction sites. This easy access to a much larger audience for stolen goods has resulted in more theft by those dishonest employees looking for quick cash. We at Randisi & Associates, Inc. suspect that many employees needing cash may have a substance abuse issue. Implementing a random drug test program is easy and can be very effective at removing substance abusers from your work force. Quest publishes a study of over 5 million drug tests every year. The study consistently finds that around 5% of random drug tests are positive. Think about that for a minute. One of every twenty employees working for an employer whom they know will conduct a random drug test, will test positive. Pretty frightening!
http://hayesinternational.com/news/annual-retail-theft-survey/
