Training to reduce employee theft-3 WC Blog 482
Employee theft-3
Employee Theft May Impact You More Than You Realize Part 2
In Part 1 of this article I talked about how training to reduce employee theft is a must for store owners and managers. The problem is it isn’t as easy as doing a quick internet search and learning from whatever search result happens to pop up. Who is it that is giving advice? Do they really know anything about internal theft? To get training that will make a difference you want to learn from people with experience in the field of Retail Loss Prevention. You want people that know different methods of employee theft and understand that frequently patience in an investigation is necessary to find out how extensive a theft case may be. It is also important that trainers can demonstrate what a store owner or manager can do to minimize the chance that someone will steal from their employer. If training is done well owners and managers should have the tools to help prevent theft from happening or catch it sooner if it does.
Where can you go to get trustworthy training to reduce employee theft? Loss Prevention Systems Inc. is the best resource for information. Professionals from the Loss Prevention Management field incorporate years of experiences and investigations into a comprehensive training session that prepares managers to understand employee theft. You can learn the cues that employees may give to indicate they are thinking about stealing. Find out steps you can take to minimize the risk of hiring the wrong person in the first place. Did you know that a dishonest worker could be hurting your store’s reputation by stealing from customers? All of these are things that are best learned from someone who has dealt with theft and fraud and can speak from real life experiences.
One of the issues with employee theft is it does not always show up in obvious ways and if you do not know what you are looking for it can have a significant impact on your business. For example, I once had a return desk employee who was keeping receipts from customers and doing fraudulent returns from them. This cashier was doing legitimate returns for customers from the receipts and then keeping the receipts. If there were other items that had not been returned on the receipt she would pretend to do a return of one of the items on the receipt but there was no merchandise. Aside from getting money dishonestly for something that was not returned, she was also causing stock shortage issues with inventory. The inventory system assumed the merchandise was put back into our inventory or returned and defected out. In either case it was an item that was put back in inventory that had not made it there. It caused shortage that was only corrected when I caught the employee and she signed an admission form for all of the fraudulent returns and a promissory note that she would pay restitution for the losses she caused. Think for a moment what it would do to your inventory if you have a worker doing the same thing and you have no training to identify that it is taking place. What would the ramifications be?
I mentioned that employees can damage the reputation of a business if it isn’t caught early. I once had an employee who was stealing from our customers. The shoppers were supposed to receive a gift card with the purchase of a particular item. This cashier was keeping the gift card unless a customer returned mentioned they had not received it. On one occasion a victim didn’t speak with the cashier she spoke with a manager (which initiated my investigation). After spending quite a bit of time reviewing video and conducting live surveillances I caught the employee doing it to other customers. Had enough time gone by it could have really hurt our reputation with shoppers.
Left unchecked dishonest employees can hurt a company and the integrity of the business within the community. The chances of this happening can be minimal if an owner and managers take time to go through training to reduce employee theft. Find out more about how training from Loss Prevention Systems Inc. can make your business more profitable now and in the future.
Get more information on Training To Reduce Employee Theft. Contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
In Part 1 of this article I talked about how training to reduce employee theft is a must for store owners and managers. The problem is it isn’t as easy as doing a quick internet search and learning from whatever search result happens to pop up. Who is it that is giving advice? Do they really know anything about internal theft? To get training that will make a difference you want to learn from people with experience in the field of Retail Loss Prevention. You want people that know different methods of employee theft and understand that frequently patience in an investigation is necessary to find out how extensive a theft case may be. It is also important that trainers can demonstrate what a store owner or manager can do to minimize the chance that someone will steal from their employer. If training is done well owners and managers should have the tools to help prevent theft from happening or catch it sooner if it does.
Where can you go to get trustworthy training to reduce employee theft? Loss Prevention Systems Inc. is the best resource for information. Professionals from the Loss Prevention Management field incorporate years of experiences and investigations into a comprehensive training session that prepares managers to understand employee theft. You can learn the cues that employees may give to indicate they are thinking about stealing. Find out steps you can take to minimize the risk of hiring the wrong person in the first place. Did you know that a dishonest worker could be hurting your store’s reputation by stealing from customers? All of these are things that are best learned from someone who has dealt with theft and fraud and can speak from real life experiences.
One of the issues with employee theft is it does not always show up in obvious ways and if you do not know what you are looking for it can have a significant impact on your business. For example, I once had a return desk employee who was keeping receipts from customers and doing fraudulent returns from them. This cashier was doing legitimate returns for customers from the receipts and then keeping the receipts. If there were other items that had not been returned on the receipt she would pretend to do a return of one of the items on the receipt but there was no merchandise. Aside from getting money dishonestly for something that was not returned, she was also causing stock shortage issues with inventory. The inventory system assumed the merchandise was put back into our inventory or returned and defected out. In either case it was an item that was put back in inventory that had not made it there. It caused shortage that was only corrected when I caught the employee and she signed an admission form for all of the fraudulent returns and a promissory note that she would pay restitution for the losses she caused. Think for a moment what it would do to your inventory if you have a worker doing the same thing and you have no training to identify that it is taking place. What would the ramifications be?
I mentioned that employees can damage the reputation of a business if it isn’t caught early. I once had an employee who was stealing from our customers. The shoppers were supposed to receive a gift card with the purchase of a particular item. This cashier was keeping the gift card unless a customer returned mentioned they had not received it. On one occasion a victim didn’t speak with the cashier she spoke with a manager (which initiated my investigation). After spending quite a bit of time reviewing video and conducting live surveillances I caught the employee doing it to other customers. Had enough time gone by it could have really hurt our reputation with shoppers.
Left unchecked dishonest employees can hurt a company and the integrity of the business within the community. The chances of this happening can be minimal if an owner and managers take time to go through training to reduce employee theft. Find out more about how training from Loss Prevention Systems Inc. can make your business more profitable now and in the future.
Get more information on Training To Reduce Employee Theft. Contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Return Fraud-3 WC Blog 435
Wardrobing-4
Alpha Shark Tags-4
Liberal Return Policies Do Not Mean Retailers Have To Put Up With Wardrobing Return Fraud If They Use Alpha Shark Tags
In the effort to increase sales and drive customer satisfaction many stores have implemented extremely liberal return and refund policies. I understand the premise behind this, make things easier for the customer, trust that they will not abuse your policies and they are more likely to be long-term patrons. Customer service can make or break a business and so balancing the need for making a profit with keeping your customer base happy can be tricky. In the office supplies store I work for we try hard to make reasonable returns for our patrons. A customer may bring back an ink cartridge for a printer without a receipt and explain that they had picked out the wrong one. They may be required to produce a picture I.D. but unless they have completed too many no receipt returns they will be able to get a refund. It’s good business. Many times they will turn around and purchase the correct cartridge. For non-clothing merchandise this can be easier to do than conducting refunds for clothing, whether the customer has the receipt or not. There are customers who engage in something called wardrobing and this fraud can make it hard on store managers to not tighten up return policies. Stores do have one sure method to fight this type of return fraud and that is the use of Alpha Shark Tags on clothing.
What is wardrobing? Why is it so deceptive? What are Alpha Shark Tags and how can they prevent this kind of fraud? Wardrobing is an intentional act of purchasing clothing with the knowledge that the clothes will be worn a time or two and returned for a full refund. It is deceptive because of the intent behind it and those who do it find ways to keep the tags intact on the merchandise. Sometimes the tags are taped inside the clothes for example up the sleeve of a shirt, or hanging inside the collar. In extreme cases the perpetrator will use a swift tag attachment gun to reattach tags to clothing. In this type of fraud the “customer” has the original receipt and all tags match up to it. Alpha Shark Tags prevent this type of return fraud because they can only be removed once and that is by being cut off. When merchandise is purchased these tags are left on the items. The customer gets the item home, tries it on again and if they are sure they want the item, the customer cuts off the tag and wears the item. The store has a crystal clear return policy that lets the patron know they cannot make a return once the tag is removed.
Why can’t the customer who is intent on wardrobing simply hide the Alpha Shark Tag like they do with the manufacturer hang tags? The reason is that the tags are a bright red color so they stand out on the clothing. When properly pinned in a highly visible location such as on a shirt sleeve or pant leg seam the tag can’t be concealed. It becomes obvious to others that the person wearing the clothing intends to return it. The façade of someone trying to look like they have an ever-growing wardrobe is stripped bare.
Does the use of the Shark Tag hurt the retailer who is trying to be flexible with their customers? I don’t believe it does. The customers who are honest will understand the purpose of the tags. The tags don’t negate the ability of a customer to return defective merchandise if a tag has been removed. What they do prevent is someone wearing clothes to a party, getting them stained with food or drink or drowned in perfume or cologne and then getting a refund the next day.
Is a liberal return policy what drives profits? I don’t know that it does. I think what drives sales is great customer service, beginning with a friendly sales staff. Sales are driven when we take time to talk with our customers, learn what they are looking for and give advice on what we honestly think will enhance their purchase or their needs. Honest customers don’t expect a retailer to be the victim of return fraud or to lose money they want fair treatment and usually will reciprocate in kind.
Alpha Shark Tags are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 now.
In the effort to increase sales and drive customer satisfaction many stores have implemented extremely liberal return and refund policies. I understand the premise behind this, make things easier for the customer, trust that they will not abuse your policies and they are more likely to be long-term patrons. Customer service can make or break a business and so balancing the need for making a profit with keeping your customer base happy can be tricky. In the office supplies store I work for we try hard to make reasonable returns for our patrons. A customer may bring back an ink cartridge for a printer without a receipt and explain that they had picked out the wrong one. They may be required to produce a picture I.D. but unless they have completed too many no receipt returns they will be able to get a refund. It’s good business. Many times they will turn around and purchase the correct cartridge. For non-clothing merchandise this can be easier to do than conducting refunds for clothing, whether the customer has the receipt or not. There are customers who engage in something called wardrobing and this fraud can make it hard on store managers to not tighten up return policies. Stores do have one sure method to fight this type of return fraud and that is the use of Alpha Shark Tags on clothing.
What is wardrobing? Why is it so deceptive? What are Alpha Shark Tags and how can they prevent this kind of fraud? Wardrobing is an intentional act of purchasing clothing with the knowledge that the clothes will be worn a time or two and returned for a full refund. It is deceptive because of the intent behind it and those who do it find ways to keep the tags intact on the merchandise. Sometimes the tags are taped inside the clothes for example up the sleeve of a shirt, or hanging inside the collar. In extreme cases the perpetrator will use a swift tag attachment gun to reattach tags to clothing. In this type of fraud the “customer” has the original receipt and all tags match up to it. Alpha Shark Tags prevent this type of return fraud because they can only be removed once and that is by being cut off. When merchandise is purchased these tags are left on the items. The customer gets the item home, tries it on again and if they are sure they want the item, the customer cuts off the tag and wears the item. The store has a crystal clear return policy that lets the patron know they cannot make a return once the tag is removed.
Why can’t the customer who is intent on wardrobing simply hide the Alpha Shark Tag like they do with the manufacturer hang tags? The reason is that the tags are a bright red color so they stand out on the clothing. When properly pinned in a highly visible location such as on a shirt sleeve or pant leg seam the tag can’t be concealed. It becomes obvious to others that the person wearing the clothing intends to return it. The façade of someone trying to look like they have an ever-growing wardrobe is stripped bare.
Does the use of the Shark Tag hurt the retailer who is trying to be flexible with their customers? I don’t believe it does. The customers who are honest will understand the purpose of the tags. The tags don’t negate the ability of a customer to return defective merchandise if a tag has been removed. What they do prevent is someone wearing clothes to a party, getting them stained with food or drink or drowned in perfume or cologne and then getting a refund the next day.
Is a liberal return policy what drives profits? I don’t know that it does. I think what drives sales is great customer service, beginning with a friendly sales staff. Sales are driven when we take time to talk with our customers, learn what they are looking for and give advice on what we honestly think will enhance their purchase or their needs. Honest customers don’t expect a retailer to be the victim of return fraud or to lose money they want fair treatment and usually will reciprocate in kind.
Alpha Shark Tags are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 now.
Pre-employment screening – 3 WC Blog 428
Background check company-3
Pre-employment Screening Or Hiring Assessments; Is One A Better Tool Than The Other For Staffing Your Business? Part 1
I have a question for you store owners, ( I am addressing you but I really hope that some of those in positions of authority to make decisions regarding hiring in larger companies will read this article too). How many of you utilize those hiring assessments when you are having prospective employees complete your applications? You know the ones I’m talking about they ask a prospective employee five different times what they would do if they saw a manager stealing. The catch is that the question is worded differently each time and some of those times it is asked in a confusing manner that requires the applicant to be very careful when reading the question. I know the intent behind the surveys. The idea is to see if the applicant is being consistent and too many inconsistencies results in a failing score. When managers see the score they automatically disregard that applicant. The other problem with the assessments is that many are measuring the strength of an applicant’s responses. Too many “mediocre” responses and scores are lowered. How do I know this? First, as a Loss Prevention Manager and Logistics Manager for nearly 14 years for a major retailer I have been involved with the hiring process, I know how these things read. I have also been on the applicant’s end of one of these. I will go into that a little later. Before I do that I want to let store managers and human resource managers know that there is a more effective method of hiring great people without losing good ones due to what I consider a flawed and quite frankly, flawed evaluation process. Pre-employment Screening is a much more effective method of evaluating a potential candidate.
Pre-employment screening is the process of having a prospective employee’s history verified. The easiest way to get this done is to hire a background check company to do the legwork for you. These companies specialize in contacting references on an applicant’s application. They can validate a person’s work history along with other personal information that might include a criminal background check, a driving history, and past residences where they say they have lived. What does it matter if a person lists the wrong place where they once lived on their application? It could be that your applicant has been moving to avoid something. It might be they are trying to skip around to avoid credit collectors or worse, law enforcement officials. The professionals that work for background check companies know where to find information someone may be trying to hide and they know why that information is important.
So, why am I so vehemently opposed to hiring assessments? Am I against trying to minimize the chances of hiring a bad apple? Not at all, I just know that they can and do take strong candidates out of your hiring pool. I also know that if someone is clever they will answer what will get them through that assessment, whether they are a good applicant or not. When I was between jobs a number of years ago I applied for a department manager job for a retailer and took the assessment. Mind you I had experience as a military Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO), a Bachelor of Arts degree, about 18 years of retail experience and 14 of that in management. I failed to meet the company’s minimum score for a department manager. The store manager could not allow me to retake the test for 6 months but I could take the sales associate assessment. I knew then what the test was looking for and scored a 100%. The manager said he had never seen that score before. I was hired for the associate position. I took that knowledge and when my children were applying for jobs I told them how to answer questions. All three were able to get jobs the first time around. No, don’t worry, I won’t give away any tips but I want you to understand a Pre-employment screening is a much more reliable tool than that silly assessment.
In Part 2, I will explain further why I dislike assessments so much. I will also explain more on why I believe a Background Check Company is a much better alternative to ensure you are hiring a great team of employees.
Pre-employment screening is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
I have a question for you store owners, (I am addressing you but I really hope that some of those in positions of authority to make decisions regarding hiring in larger companies will read this article too). How many of you utilize those hiring assessments when you are having prospective employees complete your applications? You know the ones I’m talking about they ask a prospective employee five different times what they would do if they saw a manager stealing. The catch is that the question is worded differently each time and some of those times it is asked in a confusing manner that requires the applicant to be very careful when reading the question. I know the intent behind the surveys. The idea is to see if the applicant is being consistent and too many inconsistencies results in a failing score. When managers see the score they automatically disregard that applicant. The other problem with the assessments is that many are measuring the strength of an applicant’s responses. Too many “mediocre” responses and scores are lowered. How do I know this? First, as a Loss Prevention Manager and Logistics Manager for nearly 14 years for a major retailer I have been involved with the hiring process, I know how these things read. I have also been on the applicant’s end of one of these. I will go into that a little later. Before I do that I want to let store managers and human resource managers know that there is a more effective method of hiring great people without losing good ones due to what I consider a flawed and quite frankly, flawed evaluation process. Pre-employment Screening is a much more effective method of evaluating a potential candidate.
Pre-employment screening is the process of having a prospective employee’s history verified. The easiest way to get this done is to hire a background check company to do the legwork for you. These companies specialize in contacting references on an applicant’s application. They can validate a person’s work history along with other personal information that might include a criminal background check, a driving history, and past residences where they say they have lived. What does it matter if a person lists the wrong place where they once lived on their application? It could be that your applicant has been moving to avoid something. It might be they are trying to skip around to avoid credit collectors or worse, law enforcement officials. The professionals that work for background check companies know where to find information someone may be trying to hide and they know why that information is important.
So, why am I so vehemently opposed to hiring assessments? Am I against trying to minimize the chances of hiring a bad apple? Not at all, I just know that they can and do take strong candidates out of your hiring pool. I also know that if someone is clever they will answer what will get them through that assessment, whether they are a good applicant or not. When I was between jobs a number of years ago I applied for a department manager job for a retailer and took the assessment. Mind you I had experience as a military Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO), a Bachelor of Arts degree, about 18 years of retail experience and 14 of that in management. I failed to meet the company’s minimum score for a department manager. The store manager could not allow me to retake the test for 6 months but I could take the sales associate assessment. I knew then what the test was looking for and scored a 100%. The manager said he had never seen that score before. I was hired for the associate position. I took that knowledge and when my children were applying for jobs I told them how to answer questions. All three were able to get jobs the first time around. No, don’t worry, I won’t give away any tips but I want you to understand a Pre-employment screening is a much more reliable tool than that silly assessment.
In Part 2, I will explain further why I dislike assessments so much. I will also explain more on why I believe a Background Check Company is a much better alternative to ensure you are hiring a great team of employees.
Pre-employment screening is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
