Training to reduce employee theft-4 WC blog 459
Stop Shoplifting-4
You Snooze You Lose; Make Training To Reduce Employee Theft A Session Your Employees Won’t Forget With LPSI Experts
Every business or institution has some form of training for their employees. Sometimes it is an onboarding type of training to do a familiarization with the company and meet the people in the office. Other training may be more intensive, delving into company culture, history and the company’s philosophy. Recently at one of the places where I work ALL of the staff have had to take a number of new online training modules in addition to completing our regular job duties. The funny thing about the trainings is a number of them dealt with computer/cyber security issues. That in and of itself is not what I found to be funny. The odd thing was every person I spoke with about the trainings said that they did the first module and after that just let the other videos play through then took the quizzes at the end of the module. It made me start thinking about the training that retailers have their employees take part in. As an example when I was a Loss Prevention Manager I was involved in training to reduce employee theft by participating in store orientations. As I reflect on it I think there were some parts the training new employees paid attention to and other parts that they just let go in one ear and out the other.
I want to touch a little more on something I mentioned above before I continue on. Theft is a problem for every retailer and if a store owner desires to run a profitable business he or she HAS to understand how devastating theft can be on a store, especially a small “mom and pop” shop. Without trying to eliminate employee theft and stop shoplifting those stores will become the place that criminals will focus their efforts. Often one type of crime leads to another and it spirals out of control. Owners and managers need to understand that training to reduce employee theft can make an impression on individuals. Sometimes employees steal because they get away with it and feel confident that co-workers will ignore it or may even be willing accomplices. Employees who are properly trained may be more willing to report another employee knowing their concerns will be addressed. Trained staff will also know how their ability to provide customer service deters criminals and can stop shoplifting. If the training is really good employees will be taught how to identify the signs that indicate someone may be a shoplifter and how to deter that activity. At issue is where can an employer go to get effective training for their employees and will they pay attention?
In most cases owners of a small retail store won’t have the knowledge or experience to adequately train their workers on theft related issues. I have found that when a training session is repetitive (like the training we just went through at the institution where I work) or conducted by someone who does not have experience, trainees lose interest. When a trainer has real-life experience and background in a subject and knows how to conduct in interactive session THAT is when people learn and retain the material. As a Loss Prevention Manager my first few solo orientations that were to train employees about employee theft and shoplifting had mediocre response. I was new in my role as a manager and I was not completely familiar with the materials. As I grew into my position, caught a few dishonest employees and became more confident I was able to judge a group’s attention and make adjustments to my presentation. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. understands the challenges for small and medium size store owners to try to conduct training to reduce employee theft and to stop shoplifting. The owner and President of LPSI, Bill Bregar has used his many years of Loss Prevention experience to develop effective training programs tailored to meet the needs of small business owners. Once trained, owners, managers and employees have the necessary tools to prevent theft in stores and make a significant impact on shortage reduction resulting from theft.
Training to reduce employee theft and training to stop shoplifting don’t need to be boring or ineffective. Your best assets to eliminate shortage are already working for you, they just need a good training program to sharpen their skills. Find out more about what LPSI can offer you to make your stores more profitable.
For more information about training to reduce employee theft contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Every business or institution has some form of training for their employees. Sometimes it is an onboarding type of training to do a familiarization with the company and meet the people in the office. Other training may be more intensive, delving into company culture, history and the company’s philosophy. Recently at one of the places where I work ALL of the staff have had to take a number of new online training modules in addition to completing our regular job duties. The funny thing about the trainings is a number of them dealt with computer/cyber security issues. That in and of itself is not what I found to be funny. The odd thing was every person I spoke with about the trainings said that they did the first module and after that just let the other videos play through then took the quizzes at the end of the module. It made me start thinking about the training that retailers have their employees take part in. As an example when I was a Loss Prevention Manager I was involved in training to reduce employee theft by participating in store orientations. As I reflect on it I think there were some parts the training new employees paid attention to and other parts that they just let go in one ear and out the other.
I want to touch a little more on something I mentioned above before I continue on. Theft is a problem for every retailer and if a store owner desires to run a profitable business he or she HAS to understand how devastating theft can be on a store, especially a small “mom and pop” shop. Without trying to eliminate employee theft and stop shoplifting those stores will become the place that criminals will focus their efforts. Often one type of crime leads to another and it spirals out of control. Owners and managers need to understand that training to reduce employee theft can make an impression on individuals. Sometimes employees steal because they get away with it and feel confident that co-workers will ignore it or may even be willing accomplices. Employees who are properly trained may be more willing to report another employee knowing their concerns will be addressed. Trained staff will also know how their ability to provide customer service deters criminals and can stop shoplifting. If the training is really good employees will be taught how to identify the signs that indicate someone may be a shoplifter and how to deter that activity. An issue is where can an employer go to get effective training for their employees and will they pay attention?
In most cases owners of a small retail store won’t have the knowledge or experience to adequately train their workers on theft related issues. I have found that when a training session is repetitive (like the training we just went through at the institution where I work) or conducted by someone who does not have experience, trainees lose interest. When a trainer has real-life experience and background in a subject and knows how to conduct in interactive session THAT is when people learn and retain the material. As a Loss Prevention Manager my first few solo orientations that were to train employees about employee theft and shoplifting had mediocre response. I was new in my role as a manager and I was not completely familiar with the materials. As I grew into my position, caught a few dishonest employees and became more confident I was able to judge a group’s attention and make adjustments to my presentation. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. understands the challenges for small and medium size store owners to try to conduct training to reduce employee theft and to stop shoplifting. The owner and President of LPSI, Bill Bregar has used his many years of Loss Prevention experience to develop effective training programs tailored to meet the needs of small business owners. Once trained, owners, managers and employees have the necessary tools to prevent theft in stores and make a significant impact on shortage reduction resulting from theft.
Training to reduce employee theft and training to stop shoplifting don’t need to be boring or ineffective. Your best assets to eliminate shortage are already working for you, they just need a good training program to sharpen their skills. Find out more about what LPSI can offer you to make your stores more profitable.
For more information about training to reduce employee theft contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
