Employee theft is an unfortunate occurrence for many small businesses. It could be the theft of goods one of your delivery drivers is dropping off or embezzlement of thousands of dollars. Even if you perform your due diligence in running background checks on candidates, it doesn’t mean an employee won’t steal money or goods from the company truck. In order to prevent employee theft, follow these helpful tips.
Be Vigilant While Hiring
Don’t assume someone is honest and reliable just because of how well they interview. Make sure to always run diligent background checks, check references and have that in-person interview. Look for any red flags, such as being leery about giving you all of their work history, or if all of their references are personal rather than work-related. If the employee will be handling money, you can also run a credit check on them.
Watch Payroll Carefully
Another way employees can steal from you is by lying on their time-sheets. If you have a delivery driver that seems to come in late and leave early, but never says so on their timesheet, he or she is in essence stealing money. On the opposite side of the spectrum, they may be taking time off and not recording it, assuming the person handling payroll won’t know any better. Make sure you keep close track of employee’s work shifts and the hours they report compared to hours they work.
Get Better Security
If you have a company where the items in your shop, warehouse or delivery trucks are extremely expensive, it’s prudent to have the best security possible. While all businesses have the risk of theft, your potential financial loss is much more extensive when you deal in expensive inventory. One security protocol includes is having employee restricted access to the building or warehouse after hours or by having a digital PIN system where they have to use their keycard and enter their own pin to get in the doors. You can have the system shut off at the end of the day so access isn’t allowed. As an added plus, it keeps tracks of where your employees are.
Be Strict About Guidelines
Make sure all of your employees know exactly what you are keeping track of and what the rules are. Let them know their timesheets will be signed by you and verified by the payroll department, that you have extensive security throughout your business, and if you have GPS tracking devices on employee vehicles. This will stop most crimes from being committed in the first place, due to fear of getting caught.
While these tips should always be kept in mind, also remember to have crime insurance. A crime insurance policy will offer you financial protection from any crime committed, including employee theft.
