Retail Theft Prevention – 3 WC Blog 711
Sensormatic security system – 3
Retail Theft Prevention – Lessons For Those Considering A Career In Loss Prevention Part 2
In Part 1 I talked about lessons I had to pick up about retail theft prevention as I transitioned into a career of Loss Prevention. I came into the job having been a U.S. Air Force Law Enforcement Specialist and after leaving the service attended college. I was hired and after a brief training period I was starting to catch shoplifters. I got pretty good at it and found I liked the adrenaline rush of watching a suspect as he/she started giving the signals they might steal. There were very few rules other than don’t make a bad stop. We were able to give chase and do what needed to be done to apprehend a bad guy. I made a lot of friends and contacts on the police department. They would race to get to where I was if I was chasing a shoplifter because they knew the cases we called them for were going to be solid. We didn’t call them just because someone set off our Sensormatic security system and got away.
Unfortunately all I really learned in this first job was how to catch a shoplifter primarily using closed circuit television. I learned a little about employee theft, setting up a covert camera and some signals to look for to identify a dishonest worker. I did not learn about the part retail theft prevention plays in store profitability. I also didn’t learn about managing a team or managing a schedule. I had experience in the Air Force training others and a little supervisory background but I chose to leave before I had a significant amount of supervisory training. Four and a half years later I was hired as a Loss Prevention Manager for a big box retail store and though I thought I was ready I was in for a rude awakening my first year. I had no real idea what it was to interview people to work for me. I also had a rookie District Manager who was new to his job which was not very helpful to me. He had stores to supervise up to 4 hours distant from my store which was in a new market for this company. Yes, I had gone through several weeks of training but I didn’t learn about interviewing a team. In hindsight here are some of the things I would like to have known if I had it to do over again:
• Don’t necessarily hire people with a background in Loss Prevention. Some of the best people I hired later were those I could train from scratch. That does not mean I would not consider someone with an L.P. background. Unfortunately some had ways of doing things that were not in our best practices. An example might be they make apprehensions based on a Sensormatic security system alarm only. They could be harder to train and some had bad or risky behaviors they brought with them.
• Surround yourself with people who have skill sets different from your own. Don’t be afraid to hire someone who may surpass you. Hire great people that can help you be better.
• Don’t allow others to push a candidate on you. They may give you an opinion but ultimately you have to supervise that person.
There were mistakes I made in my hiring decisions and I own that but if I had some choices to do over again I guarantee I would.
I mentioned a Sensormatic security system so let me add this to my tips for those considering a career in Loss Prevention. If you work in a store that doesn’t have one ask the store owner or manager to consider installing a system. If the store does have a system, learn how it operates and how to troubleshoot it. Be able to teach associates how to respond to electronic article surveillance alarms because they will be the first ones to conduct the receipt checks. A well-trained associate can save a store a LOT of money by properly answering alarms.
Retail theft prevention can be rewarding. You must be aware that there is more to it than just watching cameras and “catching bad guys”. A good Associate or Manager will learn the operational side of the store business and become a partner to the store manager. You can be worth your weight in gold to a management team but you have to see the role as bigger than just preventing shoplifting. In the next installment I will cover a few more tips I wish someone had given me as I embarked on my Loss Prevention journey.
Retail theft prevention is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 for more information.
In Part 1 I talked about lessons I had to pick up about retail theft prevention as I transitioned into a career of Loss Prevention. I came into the job having been a U.S. Air Force Law Enforcement Specialist and after leaving the service attended college. I was hired and after a brief training period I was starting to catch shoplifters. I got pretty good at it and found I liked the adrenaline rush of watching a suspect as he/she started giving the signals they might steal. There were very few rules other than don’t make a bad stop. We were able to give chase and do what needed to be done to apprehend a bad guy. I made a lot of friends and contacts on the police department. They would race to get to where I was if I was chasing a shoplifter because they knew the cases we called them for were going to be solid. We didn’t call them just because someone set off our Sensormatic security system and got away.
Unfortunately all I really learned in this first job was how to catch a shoplifter primarily using closed circuit television. I learned a little about employee theft, setting up a covert camera and some signals to look for to identify a dishonest worker. I did not learn about the part retail theft prevention plays in store profitability. I also didn’t learn about managing a team or managing a schedule. I had experience in the Air Force training others and a little supervisory background but I chose to leave before I had a significant amount of supervisory training. Four and a half years later I was hired as a Loss Prevention Manager for a big box retail store and though I thought I was ready I was in for a rude awakening my first year. I had no real idea what it was to interview people to work for me. I also had a rookie District Manager who was new to his job which was not very helpful to me. He had stores to supervise up to 4 hours distant from my store which was in a new market for this company. Yes, I had gone through several weeks of training but I didn’t learn about interviewing a team. In hindsight here are some of the things I would like to have known if I had it to do over again:
• Don’t necessarily hire people with a background in Loss Prevention. Some of the best people I hired later were those I could train from scratch. That does not mean I would not consider someone with an L.P. background. Unfortunately some had ways of doing things that were not in our best practices. An example might be they make apprehensions based on a Sensormatic security system alarm only. They could be harder to train and some had bad or risky behaviors they brought with them.
• Surround yourself with people who have skill sets different from your own. Don’t be afraid to hire someone who may surpass you. Hire great people that can help you be better.
• Don’t allow others to push a candidate on you. They may give you an opinion but ultimately you have to supervise that person.
There were mistakes I made in my hiring decisions and I own that but if I had some choices to do over again I guarantee I would.
I mentioned a Sensormatic security system so let me add this to my tips for those considering a career in Loss Prevention. If you work in a store that doesn’t have one ask the store owner or manager to consider installing a system. If the store does have a system, learn how it operates and how to troubleshoot it. Be able to teach associates how to respond to electronic article surveillance alarms because they will be the first ones to conduct the receipt checks. A well-trained associate can save a store a LOT of money by properly answering alarms.
Retail theft prevention can be rewarding. You must be aware that there is more to it than just watching cameras and “catching bad guys”. A good Associate or Manager will learn the operational side of the store business and become a partner to the store manager. You can be worth your weight in gold to a management team but you have to see the role as bigger than just preventing shoplifting. In the next installment I will cover a few more tips I wish someone had given me as I embarked on my Loss Prevention journey.
Retail theft prevention is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 for more information.
