Detecting and Preventing Employee Theft

Employee theft has long been recognized as a major threat to business profitability. Each year, employers lose billions of dollars to worker theft, embezzlement, and other forms of pilfering. Unfortunately, most employers are so busy guarding against outside threats that they rarely give internal theft the serious consideration it deserves. And once money or merchandise has disappeared, it may be too late for a company to recover all that it’s lost. Fortunately, there are ways to detect and prevent employee theft, and an experienced security services firm can play an important role in your theft mitigation strategy.

Recognize How Employees Can Steal from You

Your business offers a multitude of opportunities for employees to take advantage of you. And no matter how much you try to screen during the hiring process, there’s no way to guarantee that your next hire will be as honest as you hope. To minimize the risk of loss to theft, embezzlement, and other illicit activities, you first need to recognize your business’ vulnerabilities. They include:

The Point of Sale. Whether you accept payments at a cash register or other means, there can always be potential for employee manipulation of the transaction process.
Customer Data. Your customers trust you with personal and financial data. Without proper safeguards, dishonest employees can use that data for corrupt purposes.
Time Clock Fraud. This common form of theft literally steals time and money from your business, as employees manipulate their time sheets or time cards to receive pay for time they haven’t worked.
Theft of Merchandise or Business Supplies. Any item or supply removed from your business represents lost money and reduced profits.

Develop a Strategy to Detect Theft Risks Early

External locks and internal safes can protect your hard assets from all but the most committed criminals. However, they provide little protection against these internal threats. Moreover, you cannot be everywhere at once, so it’s basically impossible for you to observe every detail of your company’s internal operation. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t take steps to detect and prevent theft. An effective theft mitigation strategy can use high-tech cameras, data security tools, and other technologies to monitor employees and assets – detecting or preventing most theft.

Get the Right Kind of Help to Protect Your interests

Naturally, most business owners lack the time needed to address these concerns on their own. That’s why so many of them rely on experienced security experts to help them provide the protection their companies need. Competent, professional security service providers can offer a whole host of benefits that can help you minimize employee theft risks in your business:

Comprehensive electronic security advice and assistance
Data management strategies to safeguard customer information
Effective investigative services that can detect theft and help you track down the offenders
A thorough risk assessment to help you identify your company’s vulnerabilities
Security guard and other services as needed

For New York business owners, the choice is clear. Instead of accepting employee theft as the cost of doing business, entrepreneurs can instead rely on a trusted security partner to help them effectively deal with the threat. And when it comes to security companies, you’ll find no better partner than International Security Services – New York City’s dedicated security experts.

George Kozhar

George Kozhar is a respected security professional, licensed private investigator, and founder of International Security Services (ISS) - New York City’s dedicated security experts since 1999. Mr. Kozhar and his team provide a full array of private and business investigative services in the U.S. and overseas, VIP executive protection, armed and unarmed security guard services and training, and Fire and Life Safety Director training through the company’s Fire Science Institute.