CONDUCTING AN EMPLOYEE BACKGROUND CHECK, NO MATTER THE POSITION
These last few weeks have really been rough. If you work LP for the holidays you know what I’m talking about. It was a constant battle to keep merchandise in the store and on the shelf. Not to mention the onslaught of GL claims, customer issues and of course internal theft. Silver lining; it’s all behind us now and we can look forward to starting off a new year and close out 2015 on a high note. As you look ahead to 2016 and the new staff you plan on hiring, I would implore you to conduct an employee background check on any new hires.
I feel encouraged to share a story with you all in hopes of encouraging you to always run a pre-employment screening before bringing anyone new into your stores.
A new regional manager had just taken over the area and there were several stores that had General Manager vacancies. Either the internal candidate were not interested in moving up, or there were some issues that prevented a promotion, so she was left scrambling trying to fill these openings in some of our highest volume stores. The Regional Manager did what any savvy manager would do; she relied on her network of previous employees and employers and scoured for talent. It wasn’t long before she had found a candidate for one of our stores that she had worked with years ago. In such a rush to get the position filled, the Regional Manager elected to bypass the pre-employment screening and bring the candidate in immediately. Surely, she trusted this man’s character enough to do so. Things were great for about 6 months.
The LP department began receiving copious amounts of anonymous tips from this one particular store. All seemed to involve the General Manager in some form of fraud. There were allegations of payroll fraud, manipulation of financial documents, and even theft. How could this be? The RM vouched for this guy. He was touted as a District Manager level candidate due to his experiences. He was such a strong candidate, even bypassing an employee background check. So what was going on?
I was assigned the case to investigate and it didn’t take much to uncover a literal pile of crap. Once I began interviewing supervisors and managers, I started to develop a clear pattern of his behavior. This General Manager would take every Friday, Saturday and Sunday off, while maintaining a schedule that showed he was in the store. Interviewing supervisors, I found out that he threatened to fire anyone who spoke out against him, even forcing some managers to lie to the Regional Manager regarding his presence in the store. In addition, after some financial investigations, we determined that he was manipulating the store sales on the weekly PL report, to show greater sales and profitability; increasing his bonus potential. This, folks, is fraud.
The proverbial nail in the coffin came when a part time sales associate contacted me directly. The employee was a retired police officer who sold power tools part time for us. He claimed to have witnessed the GM steal an entire socket set and felt it was his duty to report this. Long story short, the claim was investigated and proven. Our investigation also uncovered thousands upon thousands of dollars of theft by this General Manager in just the few short months he was employed. When the case came to a close, and police were contacted, the detective assigned to the case asked, “Don’t you guys run an employee background check?”
Surely this General Manager, who was spoken so highly of by the Regional Manager, couldn’t have any type of criminal record, could he? Of course he did. He had been arrested nearly a dozen times for shoplifting, check fraud and several other crimes. If he had gone through the pre-employment screening process, we could have saved the company countless thousands of dollars. This set a new policy in our company and as a direct result of this case, no one, not even the CEO could waive the employee background check requirement for new hires.
For more information about Background Checks, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
These last few weeks have really been rough. If you work LP for the holidays you know what I’m talking about. It was a constant battle to keep merchandise in the store and on the shelf. Not to mention the onslaught of GL claims, customer issues and of course internal theft. Silver lining; it’s all behind us now and we can look forward to starting off a new year and close out 2015 on a high note. As you look ahead to 2016 and the new staff you plan on hiring, I would implore you to conduct an employee background check on any new hires. I feel encouraged to share a story with you all in hopes of encouraging you to always run a pre-employment screening before bringing anyone new into your stores.
A new regional manager had just taken over the area and there were several stores that had General Manager vacancies. Either the internal candidate were not interested in moving up, or there were some issues that prevented a promotion, so she was left scrambling trying to fill these openings in some of our highest volume stores. The Regional Manager did what any savvy manager would do; she relied on her network of previous employees and employers and scoured for talent. It wasn’t long before she had found a candidate for one of our stores that she had worked with years ago. In such a rush to get the position filled, the Regional Manager elected to bypass the pre-employment screening and bring the candidate in immediately. Surely, she trusted this man’s character enough to do so. Things were great for about 6 months.
The LP department began receiving copious amounts of anonymous tips from this one particular store. All seemed to involve the General Manager in some form of fraud. There were allegations of payroll fraud, manipulation of financial documents, and even theft. How could this be? The RM vouched for this guy. He was touted as a District Manager level candidate due to his experiences. He was such a strong candidate, even bypassing an employee background check. So what was going on?
I was assigned the case to investigate and it didn’t take much to uncover a literal pile of crap. Once I began interviewing supervisors and managers, I started to develop a clear pattern of his behavior. This General Manager would take every Friday, Saturday and Sunday off, while maintaining a schedule that showed he was in the store. Interviewing supervisors, I found out that he threatened to fire anyone who spoke out against him, even forcing some managers to lie to the Regional Manager regarding his presence in the store. In addition, after some financial investigations, we determined that he was manipulating the store sales on the weekly PL report, to show greater sales and profitability; increasing his bonus potential. This, folks, is fraud.
The proverbial nail in the coffin came when a part time sales associate contacted me directly. The employee was a retired police officer who sold power tools part time for us. He claimed to have witnessed the GM steal an entire socket set and felt it was his duty to report this. Long story short, the claim was investigated and proven. Our investigation also uncovered thousands upon thousands of dollars of theft by this General Manager in just the few short months he was employed. When the case came to a close, and police were contacted, the detective assigned to the case asked, “Don’t you guys run an employee background check?”
Surely this General Manager, who was spoken so highly of by the Regional Manager, couldn’t have any type of criminal record, could he? Of course he did. He had been arrested nearly a dozen times for shoplifting, check fraud and several other crimes. If he had gone through the pre-employment screening process, we could have saved the company countless thousands of dollars. This set a new policy in our company and as a direct result of this case, no one, not even the CEO could waive the employee background check requirement for new hires.
For more information about Background Checks, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
CP Tags-3 , Clothing Security-2 , Security Tags On Clothes-2
Protect What Is Really Being Stolen
Most small business owner sell a specific category of products. You have stores that specialize in electronics, collectibles, sporting goods, cosmetics and more. But your electronics stores may also sell trending or seasonal items like radio controlled toys and hard to find batteries. It is a great business strategy to sell cross merchandised items that can add sales to your bottom line. I think it would be interesting to see which items these stores are considering when they make their plans to prevent shoplifting though. It wouldn’t be very smart to just adhere Checkpoint Tags to the cell phones in a wireless store, but leave all the high retail accessories unprotected. The cases, chargers and ear buds are just as vulnerable as the devices themselves.
I just saw this problem in a small sporting goods store I visited over the weekend. They sell guns, ammunition, fishing gear, archery supplies, and much more. All the rifles and pistols had some form of Checkpoint Tags attached to them. I saw them on metal detectors, fishing rods, and more. They also had some very popular clothing items on display, but while I was browsing around, I never saw any type of clothing security in place. It seemed that the store management was so caught up in their flagship items they forgot about the extras they sell. I was browsing through the hoodies and other cold weather gear and could not believe the complete absence of security tags on clothes. The restrooms and fitting rooms were both in the back corner of the store and there did not appear to be anyone monitoring the entrance to either. There was also only one cashier at the front register area. All the other employees were concentrated in the back around the gun sales counter. What I saw was a perfect equation for a major theft issue in this particular store. Clothing security should be a key component of any product protection plan. It would be a lot easier to conceal some clothing in the fitting room and get out the door undetected than it would be to try to get out with a big metal detector box.
Store owners and managers need to take a look at what would actually be targeted for theft. I know the retail price has to be a factor in deciding what inventory needs Checkpoint Tags, but it can’t be the only piece of the puzzle. Simply putting security tags on clothes in this store could have the potential to save this store a lot of shrink issues. They can be attached very quickly by the receiving staff as the inventory arrives at the store. There are hard tags attached with pins, or labels that you adhere to the back of the price label. They will be easily deactivated or detached by the clerk at the checkout counter. If there is an attempt to remove the item from the store, the alarm will be prompted to sound when it detects those Checkpoint Tags are still actively attached. Just remember: it’s not always the most expensive item in the store that gets stolen; sometimes it’s the easiest item to conceal and get away with.
For more information on Clothing Security, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Most small business owner sell a specific category of products. You have stores that specialize in electronics, collectibles, sporting goods, cosmetics and more.But your electronics stores may also sell trending or seasonal items like radio controlled toys and hard to find batteries. It is a great business strategy to sell cross merchandised items that can add sales to your bottom line. I think it would be interesting to see which items these stores are considering when they make their plans to prevent shoplifting though. It wouldn’t be very smart to just adhere Checkpoint Tags to the cell phones in a wireless store, but leave all the high retail accessories unprotected. The cases, chargers and ear buds are just as vulnerable as the devices themselves.
I just saw this problem in a small sporting goods store I visited over the weekend. They sell guns, ammunition, fishing gear, archery supplies, and much more. All the rifles and pistols had some form of Checkpoint Tags attached to them. I saw them on metal detectors, fishing rods, and more. They also had some very popular clothing items on display, but while I was browsing around, I never saw any type of clothing security in place. It seemed that the store management was so caught up in their flagship items they forgot about the extras they sell. I was browsing through the hoodies and other cold weather gear and could not believe the complete absence of security tags on clothes. The restrooms and fitting rooms were both in the back corner of the store and there did not appear to be anyone monitoring the entrance to either. There was also only one cashier at the front register area. All the other employees were concentrated in the back around the gun sales counter. What I saw was a perfect equation for a major theft issue in this particular store. Clothing security should be a key component of any product protection plan. It would be a lot easier to conceal some clothing in the fitting room and get out the door undetected than it would be to try to get out with a big metal detector box.
Store owners and managers need to take a look at what would actually be targeted for theft. I know the retail price has to be a factor in deciding what inventory needs Checkpoint Tags, but it can’t be the only piece of the puzzle. Simply putting security tags on clothes in this store could have the potential to save this store a lot of shrink issues. They can be attached very quickly by the receiving staff as the inventory arrives at the store. There are hard tags attached with pins, or labels that you adhere to the back of the price label. They will be easily deactivated or detached by the clerk at the checkout counter. If there is an attempt to remove the item from the store, the alarm will be prompted to sound when it detects those Checkpoint Tags are still actively attached. Just remember: it’s not always the most expensive item in the store that gets stolen; sometimes it’s the easiest item to conceal and get away with.
For more information on Clothing Security, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Bottle Locks-4 , Liquor Bottle Security-2 , Alpha Security-1
The High Cost Of Liquor Theft
It’s hard to hire the right people. Even when you do choose the best and most qualified person for the job, a bad personal situation can turn a great employee into a nightmare you can’t get rid of fast enough. I’ve lost a number of employees over the years, and it never gets easier to fire a part of your team. In the retail pharmacy business, I have dealt with employees stealing cash, merchandise, and even prescription drugs. We just have to look at what is being targeted and choose our best anti theft devices. Bar owners and managers have to face another equally large dilemma: the best choice for liquor bottle security.
There are many ways a bartender can steal from their employer. Some will over-pour drinks and exceed the legal amounts of liquor per drink. Some have been documented for pouring expensive drinks, hitting the “no sale” key, but actually putting the money in the tip jar instead. Then you have the ones that dare to steal whole bottles of liquors. Sometimes they take them directly from behind the bar area, but sometimes they take them from the overstock storage room. There is money to be made with the renewed interest in high priced and handcrafted products that are on the market right now. Stealing bottles of liquor is much more serious than just handing out free drinks. If you don’t have bottle locks on your inventory, you are taking a big chance. These are tools offered by Alpha Security that secure your extra bottles and they cannot be opened without the S3 key provided. Of course, access to that key must be restricted, but bottle locks are a proven solution.
Why would a bartender steal your liquor? They may have been approached by another bar owner that cannot purchase from a reputable dealer. They could sell it and make a serious profit for themselves. The demand for high end liquors, like some brands of rare single malt scotch, exceeds the supply. With the increased consumer knowledge, the illegal resale of these products will just rise. If your bartender is having a rough financial time at home, they are going to be more susceptible to fall for the temptation to make a buck off of your valuable inventory. Let’s say they are approached by a big event planner. They are putting together a big wedding on a budget, and they know they can make more money if they can save on the liquor for the open bar. The easiest way to do that is to make an illegal deal with an impressionable bartender to buy some of your booze instead. If those excess bottles in storage are not being monitored properly, they could soon start disappearing. That’s why it’s so important to make them impenetrable with bottle locks. It’s like adding a tiny Fort Knox to each bottle. They can pry and pull all they want, but the bottle will shatter before those bottle locks will come off. The main thing is not to dangle the opportunity in front of someone that may fall victim to a money making scheme. Liquor bottle security should be near the top of your priority list, and an investment in bottle locks will pay you back.
For more information on Bottle Locks, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
It’s hard to hire the right people. Even when you do choose the best and most qualified person for the job, a bad personal situation can turn a great employee into a nightmare you can’t get rid of fast enough. I’ve lost a number of employees over the years, and it never gets easier to fire a part of your team. In the retail pharmacy business, I have dealt with employees stealing cash, merchandise, and even prescription drugs. We just have to look at what is being targeted and choose our best anti theft devices. Bar owners and managers have to face another equally large dilemma: the best choice for liquor bottle security.
There are many ways a bartender can steal from their employer. Some will over-pour drinks and exceed the legal amounts of liquor per drink. Some have been documented for pouring expensive drinks, hitting the “no sale” key, but actually putting the money in the tip jar instead. Then you have the ones that dare to steal whole bottles of liquors. Sometimes they take them directly from behind the bar area, but sometimes they take them from the overstock storage room. There is money to be made with the renewed interest in high priced and handcrafted products that are on the market right now. Stealing bottles of liquor is much more serious than just handing out free drinks. If you don’t have bottle locks on your inventory, you are taking a big chance. These are tools offered by Alpha Security that secure your extra bottles and they cannot be opened without the S3 key provided. Of course, access to that key must be restricted, but bottle locks are a proven solution.
Why would a bartender steal your liquor? They may have been approached by another bar owner that cannot purchase from a reputable dealer. They could sell it and make a serious profit for themselves. The demand for high end liquors, like some brands of rare single malt scotch, exceeds the supply. With the increased consumer knowledge, the illegal resale of these products will just rise. If your bartender is having a rough financial time at home, they are going to be more susceptible to fall for the temptation to make a buck off of your valuable inventory. Let’s say they are approached by a big event planner. They are putting together a big wedding on a budget, and they know they can make more money if they can save on the liquor for the open bar. The easiest way to do that is to make an illegal deal with an impressionable bartender to buy some of your booze instead. If those excess bottles in storage are not being monitored properly, they could soon start disappearing. That’s why it’s so important to make them impenetrable with bottle locks. It’s like adding a tiny Fort Knox to each bottle. They can pry and pull all they want, but the bottle will shatter before those bottle locks will come off. The main thing is not to dangle the opportunity in front of someone that may fall victim to a money making scheme. Liquor bottle security should be near the top of your priority list, and an investment in bottle locks will pay you back.
For more information on Bottle Locks, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
