Employment Drug Screening – 3 WC blog 637
Drug testing-3
Overcoming Objections To Employment Drug Screening Part 2
What are some of the reasons why a store owner would want to have an employment drug screening program? In Part 1 of this series we looked at how to avoid potential legal concerns that could be associated with an employee drug testing program if it is not handled properly. But we also want to explore the why’s for retail owners and managers to want to have a program in place at all. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Safety and Health lists the following problems that can arise from substance abuse in the workplace:
• They can have an impact on a person’s judgement, alertness, perception, motor coordination or emotional state that also impacts working safely or safety sensitive decisions.
• After-effects of substance abuse can affect job performance.
• Absensteeism, illness and/or reduced productivity.
• Preoccupation with obtaining and using substances while at work.
• Illegal activities at work including selling illicit drugs to other employees.
• Psychological or stress-related effects due to substance use by a family member, friend or co-worker that affects another person’s job performance.
(Canadian Centre for Occupational Safety and Health, “Substance Use in the Workplace”). As can be seen from this listing, allowing your employees to use illegal drugs can create a formidable number of issues. Not only is the employee who is using the substances affected by the substances they abuse but it can impact customers and co-workers and the financial health of the store.
So what is the best approach to implementing a drug-free workplace? It starts with screening applicants in a pre-employment process. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. has the Applicant Management Center that helps store owners with everything from online job application processing to background investigations. They assist owners with managing the entire hiring process legally and that can include conducting employment drug screening. You, the employer, will not have to worry about whether you have covered all of your bases with the proper documents and signatures. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. has all of the documentation required to provide to your candidates and protects your company from any potential problem. I’ll throw this out there for your consideration LPSI also conducts background investigations so you can be assured the people you are thinking of hiring are clean in more ways than one.
Let’s explore in more depth the points listed by CCOHS and how each can hurt your business.
• Drug use can impair a worker’s judgement, alertness, etc. – I have been in retail for over 28 years and have yet to work in a store that does not have ladders. Consider for a moment what happens if you have an impaired worker climbing a ladder and they fall off. If you have a drug-free workplace you can send that employee for testing. You may be able to avoid any of the related medical expenses (or lawsuits) due to that accident. An employment drug screening program also helps managers prevent hiring substance abusers in the first place.
• After effects of substance abuse can affect performance – I cannot count the number of times I have had employees report to work hung over and the time wasted as they muddled their way through the shift. They are slower, they complain and productivity is severely curtailed. That is just the alcohol related cases. I have seen a few similar situations in which I suspected drug use and one where we sent the employee to drug testing. The impact of after effects also has a negative impact on customer interactions. The affected employee is probably not going to be the face of your company you would want representing you or your business to shoppers.
• Absenteeism and “illness” are part and parcel of the after effects. According to the National Safety Council, in an article, “Drugs at Work” noted that, “Workers with substance use disorders miss nearly 50% more work days than their peers – up to six weeks annually…”
• If preoccupation with obtaining and using substances is the focus of an employee’s time then what are they focused on at your workplace? Chances are you aren’t getting out of them what you are paying them to do.
• Illegal activities at work – There is nothing more to add. Nothing good will come of it.
Drug and substance abuse hurt businesses in many ways and all of them place a drain on the bottom line.
Employers should not be ignoring the importance of drug testing in the workplace. Pre-employment screening protects the employer, the staff and customers from the problems that are associated with illegal drug use. Begin your next job search with a company that can manage your hiring process and screen your candidates adequately.
For more information about employment drug screening contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
What are some of the reasons why a store owner would want to have an employment drug screening program? In Part 1 of this series we looked at how to avoid potential legal concerns that could be associated with an employee drug testing program if it is not handled properly. But we also want to explore the why’s for retail owners and managers to want to have a program in place at all. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Safety and Health lists the following problems that can arise from substance abuse in the workplace:
• They can have an impact on a person’s judgement, alertness, perception, motor coordination or emotional state that also impacts working safely or safety sensitive decisions.
• After-effects of substance abuse can affect job performance.
• Absensteeism, illness and/or reduced productivity.
• Preoccupation with obtaining and using substances while at work.
• Illegal activities at work including selling illicit drugs to other employees.
• Psychological or stress-related effects due to substance use by a family member, friend or co-worker that affects another person’s job performance.
(Canadian Centre for Occupational Safety and Health, “Substance Use in the Workplace”). As can be seen from this listing, allowing your employees to use illegal drugs can create a formidable number of issues. Not only is the employee who is using the substances affected by the substances they abuse but it can impact customers and co-workers and the financial health of the store.
So what is the best approach to implementing a drug-free workplace? It starts with screening applicants in a pre-employment process. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. has the Applicant Management Center that helps store owners with everything from online job application processing to background investigations. They assist owners with managing the entire hiring process legally and that can include conducting employment drug screening. You, the employer, will not have to worry about whether you have covered all of your bases with the proper documents and signatures. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. has all of the documentation required to provide to your candidates and protects your company from any potential problem. I’ll throw this out there for your consideration LPSI also conducts background investigations so you can be assured the people you are thinking of hiring are clean in more ways than one.
Let’s explore in more depth the points listed by CCOHS and how each can hurt your business.
• Drug use can impair a worker’s judgement, alertness, etc. – I have been in retail for over 28 years and have yet to work in a store that does not have ladders. Consider for a moment what happens if you have an impaired worker climbing a ladder and they fall off. If you have a drug-free workplace you can send that employee for testing. You may be able to avoid any of the related medical expenses (or lawsuits) due to that accident. An employment drug screening program also helps managers prevent hiring substance abusers in the first place.
• After effects of substance abuse can affect performance – I cannot count the number of times I have had employees report to work hung over and the time wasted as they muddled their way through the shift. They are slower, they complain and productivity is severely curtailed. That is just the alcohol related cases. I have seen a few similar situations in which I suspected drug use and one where we sent the employee to drug testing. The impact of after effects also has a negative impact on customer interactions. The affected employee is probably not going to be the face of your company you would want representing you or your business to shoppers.
• Absenteeism and “illness” are part and parcel of the after effects. According to the National Safety Council, in an article, “Drugs at Work” noted that, “Workers with substance use disorders miss nearly 50% more work days than their peers – up to six weeks annually…”
• If preoccupation with obtaining and using substances is the focus of an employee’s time then what are they focused on at your workplace? Chances are you aren’t getting out of them what you are paying them to do.
• Illegal activities at work – There is nothing more to add. Nothing good will come of it.
Drug and substance abuse hurt businesses in many ways and all of them place a drain on the bottom line.
Employers should not be ignoring the importance of drug testing in the workplace. Pre-employment screening protects the employer, the staff and customers from the problems that are associated with illegal drug use. Begin your next job search with a company that can manage your hiring process and screen your candidates adequately.
For more information about employment drug screening contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Stop Shoplifting – 3 WC Blog 739
Sensormatic Hard Tags – 4
Building A Culture Of Customer Service To Stop Shoplifting And Grow Sales Part 1
I write about how to stop shoplifting because that is what I am passionate about. I hate theft and I despise what it does to retailers and quite honestly to my wallet. All of us have to pay for the ne’er do wells who choose to take what isn’t theirs for their own selfish reasons. I also like to write about great customer service because I am also passionate about that. I know how good customer service can make a small business a big success. Because my background is wrapped up in Retail Loss Prevention Management and retail sales I know how customer service drives sales and how it can be combined with electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags like Sensormatic hard tags to prevent theft. By using this combination stores will boost sales and reduce inventory shrink which contributes to even more profit.
It is common for those of us who write on theft prevention to talk about customer service and how it is a means of thwarting criminal activity but what does great customer service really look like? Is it a matter of saying hello to everyone walking into a store? Is it identifiable? I am going to tell you about a recent experience I had that demonstrated exactly what great customer service should look like. It was during a recent visit to Chick-fil-A. I don’t often use company names but they deserve this shout out. It was very busy and I parked my car and went inside. The line of cars at the drive through wrapped all the way around the building. I placed my order and despite the craziness the young woman behind the counter was friendly and took my order and started working on it. I received my food in a reasonable amount of time which I did not expect looking at the crowd and took note that there seemed to be extra people working at that time. I would say they anticipated the traffic they would have and scheduled accordingly. When I went back to my car I noticed two employees were walking up and down the line of cars in the drive through and taking orders by hand and going to the drive up window to deliver them, cutting down the wait time for the drive up orders! I complimented the workers as I drive off. Now I know some of you are curious how a restaurant business can be compared to retail sales and how you stop shoplifting. There are two aspects to the customer service component that applies to both industries. The friendliness of the employees under what could have been stressful circumstances and the planning and staffing of the team for the day both are due to great management and leadership.
Both types of businesses rely on customers for the survival of the business. If your business model does not recognize the importance of customer service you are going to lose clients and as a retailer you will incur theft from shoplifting. If you protect your merchandise with Sensormatic hard tags and labels and Sensormatic pedestals at your doors you are putting a barrier in place that deters criminal activity. Reduce theft and you keep prices low, pleasing your customers in the process. That is one aspect of good customer service.
The other piece of customer service is when management builds a culture where customer service means your team pays attention to the customer. The employees at this business were incredibly busy and yet all were pleasant and able to be friendly to the customers. Had this been a retail environment I am certain that if someone set off alarms due to merchandise having Sensormatic hard tags attached THIS team of employees would have made recoveries of unpaid goods with a smile on their faces. I have worked in stores where alarm activations were ignored or the person was waved out the door with no apology or attempt to determine the cause of the alarm.
In Part 2 I will continue this discussion on the value of customer service and the use of Sensormatic hard tags to stop shoplifting. I will also look at the importance of leadership and management in setting the tone for how a store will be perceived by customers and I will touch on the importance of scheduling as a part of a customer service focused culture.
For more information about how to stop shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
I write about how to stop shoplifting because that is what I am passionate about. I hate theft and I despise what it does to retailers and quite honestly to my wallet. All of us have to pay for the ne’er do wells who choose to take what isn’t theirs for their own selfish reasons. I also like to write about great customer service because I am also passionate about that. I know how good customer service can make a small business a big success. Because my background is wrapped up in Retail Loss Prevention Management and retail sales I know how customer service drives sales and how it can be combined with electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags like Sensormatic hard tags to prevent theft. By using this combination stores will boost sales and reduce inventory shrink which contributes to even more profit.
It is common for those of us who write on theft prevention to talk about customer service and how it is a means of thwarting criminal activity but what does great customer service really look like? Is it a matter of saying hello to everyone walking into a store? Is it identifiable? I am going to tell you about a recent experience I had that demonstrated exactly what great customer service should look like. It was during a recent visit to Chick-fil-A. I don’t often use company names but they deserve this shout out. It was very busy and I parked my car and went inside. The line of cars at the drive through wrapped all the way around the building. I placed my order and despite the craziness the young woman behind the counter was friendly and took my order and started working on it. I received my food in a reasonable amount of time which I did not expect looking at the crowd and took note that there seemed to be extra people working at that time. I would say they anticipated the traffic they would have and scheduled accordingly. When I went back to my car I noticed two employees were walking up and down the line of cars in the drive through and taking orders by hand and going to the drive up window to deliver them, cutting down the wait time for the drive up orders! I complimented the workers as I drive off. Now I know some of you are curious how a restaurant business can be compared to retail sales and how you stop shoplifting. There are two aspects to the customer service component that applies to both industries. The friendliness of the employees under what could have been stressful circumstances and the planning and staffing of the team for the day both are due to great management and leadership.
Both types of businesses rely on customers for the survival of the business. If your business model does not recognize the importance of customer service you are going to lose clients and as a retailer you will incur theft from shoplifting. If you protect your merchandise with Sensormatic hard tags and labels and Sensormatic pedestals at your doors you are putting a barrier in place that deters criminal activity. Reduce theft and you keep prices low, pleasing your customers in the process. That is one aspect of good customer service.
The other piece of customer service is when management builds a culture where customer service means your team pays attention to the customer. The employees at this business were incredibly busy and yet all were pleasant and able to be friendly to the customers. Had this been a retail environment I am certain that if someone set off alarms due to merchandise having Sensormatic hard tags attached THIS team of employees would have made recoveries of unpaid goods with a smile on their faces. I have worked in stores where alarm activations were ignored or the person was waved out the door with no apology or attempt to determine the cause of the alarm.
In Part 2 I will continue this discussion on the value of customer service and the use of Sensormatic hard tags to stop shoplifting. I will also look at the importance of leadership and management in setting the tone for how a store will be perceived by customers and I will touch on the importance of scheduling as a part of a customer service focused culture.
For more information about how to stop shoplifting, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Can Loss Prevention Be Free? – 3 WC Blog 724
Loss Prevention Calculator – 3
Can Loss Prevention Be Free If Customers Are Wary Of A New Technology?
Can Loss Prevention be free? Good question and we will answer it in a bit but a better question may be, “Can Loss Prevention and other technology become too invasive?” I come from a lengthy background in Loss Prevention and working in retail. I know that there have always been concerns expressed over matters of privacy and the need for security in stores. People were concerned over closed circuit television when it was introduced. Shoppers were suspicious and with good reason that security cameras might be installed in positions to see into fitting rooms. Employees complained and some still do that they feel like they are being watched the entire time they are on a cash register or working and even on break. Electronic Article Surveillance systems caused (and still does) some people to voice concern over health issues that systems may cause. Fear of interference with pace makers was one of the big issues that were brought up. Customers even worry about personal data collection when they make purchases as stores have used technology to produce coupons specific to that person based on known shopping habits at the point of sale. There is even the use of facial recognition technology in some stores to collect data on shopper habits. According to an article in dealerscope.com by Keith Yanke, “Facial Recognition Teams Up With Digital Displays to Deliver Tangible Retail Benefits” the author points out that facial recognition, “… can be used to map out an individual customer’s journey through the brick and mortar store…” The writer goes on to say that the shopping pattern identified could individualize marketing to the shopper. If customer’s become too wary of technology can it start to change whether or not they venture out? Does this imply there may be negative costs to stores that invest in some technologies?
I can safely say that Electronic Article Surveillance technology does not need to fall into one of concern for retailers. First most health and safety concerns that shoppers have are already been addressed by in-depth research. There is an extremely minute chance EAS can interfere in any way with medical devices. As for cost, while new technologies such as facial recognition may make some consumers squeamish EAS has become widely accepted and it is proven to reduce theft. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. has even created a Loss Prevention Calculator that answers the question I first posed, “Can Loss Prevention be free?” The answer is yes. A Sensormatic security system can reduce shortage so much that the savings eventually pay for the system and add to the profits of a store. I will also add that the Loss Prevention Calculator is free to use, no signing up or log in is required and no sales person will call you up after you try it out.
Most technologies do become accepted over time even in retail but sometimes the merchants find they are not producing the results they need to justify the expense of a system. Today Closed Circuit Television Cameras are a technology that has become more accepted in stores in spite of a few concerns over privacy. One new technology that is being used in China does give me pause. In an article in LPM magazine, “Facial Recognition vs. Gait Recognition” (source: AP News) China is using a new technology “…that uses people’s body shapes and how they walk to identify them, even when their faces are hidden from cameras.” The report even quotes a Chinese columnist, Shi Shusi,“Using biometric recognition to maintain social stability and manage society is an unstoppable trend,” he said. “It’s great business.” This technology is being used by the Chinese government but what could the same technology do in a retail store? Would it dissuade shoppers from going in if they knew it was being used, for advertising to individual patrons or Loss Prevention? It seems there could be a cost to this technology for retailers and it might not be good considering how invasive it could be along with facial recognition and other biometric measures.
Can Loss Prevention be free is my original question and that answer is yes. You can install Sensormatic technology that is safe and effective and will sharply reduce theft. You can even see how fast it will pay for itself by trying out the Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. Loss Prevention Calculator. As for other new technologies that are coming out, if they are geared to prevent shortage and improve profits consult with Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. and see what they think. They want to build your customer base, not chase them away.
For more information about the Loss Prevention Calculator, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Can Loss Prevention be free? Good question and we will answer it in a bit but a better question may be, “Can Loss Prevention and other technology become too invasive?” I come from a lengthy background in Loss Prevention and working in retail. I know that there have always been concerns expressed over matters of privacy and the need for security in stores. People were concerned over closed circuit television when it was introduced. Shoppers were suspicious and with good reason that security cameras might be installed in positions to see into fitting rooms. Employees complained and some still do that they feel like they are being watched the entire time they are on a cash register or working and even on break. Electronic Article Surveillance systems caused (and still does) some people to voice concern over health issues that systems may cause. Fear of interference with pace makers was one of the big issues that were brought up. Customers even worry about personal data collection when they make purchases as stores have used technology to produce coupons specific to that person based on known shopping habits at the point of sale. There is even the use of facial recognition technology in some stores to collect data on shopper habits. According to an article in dealerscope.com by Keith Yanke, “Facial Recognition Teams Up With Digital Displays to Deliver Tangible Retail Benefits” the author points out that facial recognition, “… can be used to map out an individual customer’s journey through the brick and mortar store…” The writer goes on to say that the shopping pattern identified could individualize marketing to the shopper. If customer’s become too wary of technology can it start to change whether or not they venture out? Does this imply there may be negative costs to stores that invest in some technologies?
I can safely say that Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) technology does not need to fall into one of concern for retailers. First most health and safety concerns that shoppers have are already been addressed by in-depth research. There is an extremely minute chance EAS can interfere in any way with medical devices. As for cost, while new technologies such as facial recognition may make some consumers squeamish EAS has become widely accepted and it is proven to reduce theft. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. has even created a Loss Prevention Calculator that answers the question I first posed, “Can Loss Prevention be free?” The answer is yes. A Sensormatic security system can reduce shortage so much that the savings eventually pay for the system and add to the profits of a store. I will also add that the Loss Prevention Calculator is free to use, no signing up or log in is required and no sales person will call you up after you try it out.
Most technologies do become accepted over time even in retail but sometimes the merchants find they are not producing the results they need to justify the expense of a system. Today Closed Circuit Television Cameras are a technology that has become more accepted in stores in spite of a few concerns over privacy. One new technology that is being used in China does give me pause. In an article in LPM magazine, “Facial Recognition vs. Gait Recognition” (source: AP News) China is using a new technology “…that uses people’s body shapes and how they walk to identify them, even when their faces are hidden from cameras.” The report even quotes a Chinese columnist, Shi Shusi,“Using biometric recognition to maintain social stability and manage society is an unstoppable trend,” he said. “It’s great business.” This technology is being used by the Chinese government but what could the same technology do in a retail store? Would it dissuade shoppers from going in if they knew it was being used, for advertising to individual patrons or Loss Prevention? It seems there could be a cost to this technology for retailers and it might not be good considering how invasive it could be along with facial recognition and other biometric measures.
Can Loss Prevention be free is my original question and that answer is yes. You can install Sensormatic technology that is safe and effective and will sharply reduce theft. You can even see how fast it will pay for itself by trying out the Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. Loss Prevention Calculator. As for other new technologies that are coming out, if they are geared to prevent shortage and improve profits consult with Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. and see what they think. They want to build your customer base, not chase them away.
For more information about the Loss Prevention Calculator, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
