Drug Use In The Workplace Can Lead To Employee Theft
Retail owners and managers have you ever thought about how substance abuse can contribute to employee theft in your store(s)? Have you considered the negative impact an accident related to drugs or alcohol accident could have in your shops? Then there is the impact on morale, teamwork, productivity and customer service to consider if an employee is under the influence at work. According to mayoclinic.org, symptoms or behaviors of drug use may include:
• Feeling that you have to use the drug regularly
• Having intense urges for the drug that block out any other thoughts
• Making certain that you maintain a supply of the drug
• Spending money on the drug, even though you can’t afford it
• Not meeting obligations and work responsibilities, or cutting back on social or recreational activities because of drug use
• Doing things to get the drug that you normally wouldn’t do, such as stealing
• Driving or doing other risky activities when you’re under the influence of the drug.These are not all of the symptoms or behaviors listed by the mayo clinic and I did add emphasis to the last four behaviors noted. If you will notice these behaviors could have the impact on your business I am referring to. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/drug-addiction/symptoms-causes/syc-20365112
If drug use or substance abuse can lead to problems in the workplace it means owners and managers have to find ways to prevent it from being an issue to begin with. If it does find its way into the workplace a manager has to be able to correctly identify a worker who may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol or the after effects (i.e. a hangover). Manager training to stop employee theft and Manager training to prevent drug use in the workplace is available from Loss Prevention Systems Inc. The training courses complement each other since the substance abuse issue can lead to a dishonest employee stealing from the store. A comprehensive training program will go into how pre-employment drug screening can significantly reduce the odds of hiring someone who uses illegal drugs. It will also provide instruction on how to identify employees who may be using narcotics or demonstrating signs of substance abuse and how to address those individuals in an appropriate manner.
Some of you may have experienced being tipsy at one time or another and believe you would be able to readily identify someone who is under the influence or hungover at work. It would seem unnecessary to have to go through manager training to prevent drug use that would help you identify what you believe you can already identify. That may sound logical but there is a problem with that line of reasoning. What happens if you aren’t seeing what you think you see and make a false assumption? Did you know that some signs of medical issues can mirror the symptoms of a person under the influence of alcohol or narcotics? Listed below are some of the symptoms associated with just two categories of drugs according to the Mayo clinic.
Some of the signs of marijuana use:
• Red eyes
• Dry mouth
• Increased blood pressure
• Difficulty concentrating
• Anxiety or paranoid thinking
Some of the signs of barbiturate use:
• Drowsiness• Slurred speech
• Problems concentrating or thinking clearly
• Dizziness
The lists go on but I also want to point out some signs of common illnesses that can be found in the users of the drugs I mentioned above:
• Hypothyroidism can cause thinking problems
• Conjunctivitis can cause eye redness
• Dysarthria can cause slurred speech
• Kidney disease and diabetes can cause high blood pressure
• Depression or sleep apnea may cause drowsiness
I will even tell you that as a U.S. Air Force Law Enforcement Specialist I was trained to be aware that a person with diabetes can exhibit symptoms that mirror someone who is intoxicated by alcoholic beverages. You have to be careful before making judgements. Without going through a class about manager training to prevent drug use you could very well make a mistake if an employee exhibiting unusual behavior.
Those who use drugs or alcohol and work for you can become liabilities to your place of business. Don’t wait for something to happen such as an employee theft or a drug or alcohol related accident before you face the problem. Receive training on how drug screening and drug use identification can save you time and money in the long-term.
For more information on manager training to prevent drug use call us at 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Theft Is Happening Under Your Nose; Sensormatic Labels Can Stop It
There are plenty of reasons for store owners to use Sensormatic labels on merchandise and I experienced one of those reasons at my retail job last night. I was working on the salesfloor putting out merchandise, providing assistance to customers and jumping on a register as a back-up cashier. I had just completed a transaction at the register and the Manager on Duty called me on the radio. I responded to her request to meet her in the middle of the building. She told me of a suspicious customer in the store that she has dealt with before regarding questionable returns without receipts. She told me the woman was in the store and had a large handbag on her shoulder and thought the woman had taken something out of the bag. As a former Loss prevention Manager I assured the M.O.D. I would watch the customer so she could attend to other matters. I first went to the customer, greeted her and offered her assistance. I also used the moment to assess what she was holding, what she was looking at and to see if I could identify any obvious stolen goods. She only had a notebook in her hand and quickly refused my gracious offer to help her. She immediately left the aisle we were on and went down several more aisles near the front of the store. I pretended to put away merchandise but using my Loss Prevention skills, I positioned myself so I could observe her without being seen by her. The customer picked up a small box of laminating sheets, looked around and placed them under the notebook but she did not conceal them in a purse or bag. She walked past me as I continued to pretend I was working and she stopped at a table behind me. I positioned myself so I could continue to watch her without being obvious. The woman was mumbling to herself about prices then turned to walk out the door. She walked past the electronic article surveillance towers but no alarm sounded. I did know she still had the laminating pouches in her hand and called to her that she had forgotten to pay for the item. She initially acted like she could not hear but when I called to her again in a more forceful manner she turned, stepped back in quickly and handed the merchandise to me and left muttering a barely audible, “I forgot” as she scampered off to a waiting car.
The value of the recovered merchandise in this little box was $24! In the bigger scheme of things this doesn’t sound like a lot. But there is more to this story. The store manager called our sister stores in the area and alerted them that the suspect and a male who was driving the car she got into may have other stolen items. The M.O.D. wanted them to turn down non-receipted refunds from the couple. Sure enough, only a matter of minutes passed before she got a call from one of those stores. The woman had label maker tape and two other items she tried to return for a cash refund but no receipt. They turned her down. That merchandise was valued at an additional $30 or more. Not one of these items had an electronic article surveillance tag on them and therefore no alarm was sounded to deter her and/or provide me or the manager an opportunity to ask her about merchandise inside her handbag. To make the whole episode more incredible our store HAS Sensormatic pedestals at the entry/exit doors. The fact that the company only protects a limited number of SKU’s baffles me. The expenditure of a few more dollars to place Sensormatic labels on merchandise could have prevented the theft that did appear to have taken place.
Electronic Article Surveillance equipment when used to the fullest potential can significantly reduce merchandise shrinkage. It is so effective if used properly and employees are trained on proper alarm response that a system can pay for itself over time. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc., a leader in retail shortage reduction and helping stores increase profits, is so confident in the impact a Sensormatic system can have in shortage reduction they estimate a system can potentially reduce shrinkage by almost half (a conservative estimation in my professional opinion). They even offer a free Return On Investment Calculator to show how long it would take for a system to pay for itself.
Invest in Sensormatic labels and an electronic article surveillance and begin to reap immediate rewards. Just do me one favor. Put labels on everything! The results on your store profit line will make you glad you did.
Sensormatic labels are important and we can help you with them. Call 1.770.915.0547 and let’s talk.
