5 Ways to Reduce Employee Theft in Retail
Employee theft in retail is a massive problem for retailers around the world. And a study by the Centre for Retail Research found that employee theft accounts for around 18% of all theft across the UK, US, and Europe. Embroker found that employees steal an average of $1,890 from retailers, and only 10.9% of losses are recovered.
It’s pretty apparent that employee theft is still a significant problem for retailers and understanding how to reduce this and what you can legally do to stop reducing the possibility employees steal from you means you can protect your business from this internal crime.
Let’s take a look at some of your options.
Implement Regular Audits
One effective way to find out if stock is going missing is to conduct regular audits. Specifically, loss prevention audits where you review all of your stock, business practices, and security measures.
When you do this, look for vulnerabilities to find weak spots that can allow theft to occur. Look for patterns for staff transactions, returns, etc, that might show suspicious behavior.
Then, once you have a clearer picture, you can look at what type of security protocols you need in place, where to reinforce new procedures or policies, and introduce technology such as access control systems or a video surveillance system in vulnerable or high-risk areas.
Train Employees
Honestly, if an employee is going to steal, training won’t do much. But you can ensure that all employees know the rules around stealing, what penalties and potential outcomes will be, and how to spot dishonest behavior in colleagues.
Include ethics training to reinforce integrity in the workplace, go over policy, include role-playing scenarios to help people recognize instances where theft might be occurring, and talk through all of your loss prevention strategies.
Restrict Access
One of the best ways to limit inventory disappearing is to limit who has access to what.
Access control systems mean you can limit who is allowed in certain areas and can access stock or equipment located there. You can implement a clean desk policy to keep sensitive details and information out of sight, so other employees aren’t tempted to take it. You can introduce locks on stock rooms, cabinets for high-value items, and biometrics to control and identify who is in what area and when. And lastly, video surveillance, as mentioned, can be an effective deterrent for many people.
Implement Consequences
Sure, this post is about limiting loss and deterring would-be thieves. But by having clear non-negotiable consequences that you follow through on, you can be a deterrent for future incidents. If you conduct disciplinary action, termination, or report theft to the authorities, others will see the real-life repercussions of their actions and hopefully won’t be tempted to follow in the footsteps of those who have been caught stealing.
Asset Protection Products
Asset protection products are things like tags or anti-theft devices, and for the most part, are used to help limit customer theft. However, they can also be used to stop employee theft. If a product has security tags or measures attached to it as soon as it lands in your workplace, it’s an extra step for employees to go through to remove them. Plus, if there is an increase in removed devices, you can tally this against actual sales to pinpoint potential theft.
