It’s official folks. It’s December and the year is almost over. It also means that you’ve probably hired some additional help around the store. Whether they be temporary, part-time or full-time employees, they all have one thing in common; they have the potential to steal from you. I hate to sound so cynical, but I’m a realist. With December historically being the biggest month for internal theft, I’d thought I’d share some of my tips on how to spot a potential dishonest employee.

1. Are they in their assigned department?

Just recently, I worked an employee theft case that I caught on to after seeing this warehouse worker spend a little too much time in the clothing department. Turns out, he was layering clothing in the fitting room stalls when no one was around. While a good manager will always encourage cross-training and the learning of other areas of the store, an employee that is always somewhere they shouldn’t be may be a red flag that their intentions are less than honest.

1. Break the rules much?

Do you find yourself always telling this one employee to tuck their shirt in, or put away their cell phone? Do you find that you have to keep “reminding” them of the store policies that they continue to break? While there is much to be said about the work ethic of some of today’s youth, sometimes this could be an indicator of a potential thief. I think back to every internal case I’ve ever worked and they all have the same thing in common. During the interview, when I ask do they know why they are talking to LP, most of them start rattling off the copious amounts of policies they’ve violated. People who can’t follow company rules can easily slip into theft without so much a thought. Always address store policy violations and weed out those who can’t seem to follow the rules.

1. Let’s talk work ethic

Now this one can really go two ways. First, the obvious; if you have a lazy employee, you have someone with the potential to steal from you. If they aren’t happy about their job, if they resent you or the management team, or they are simply not satisfied with life, it will show in their job performance. Poor performers almost always lead to internal theft. They couldn’t care less about anything, so why would they care if they steal a few hundred bucks worth of goodies, right?

Without sounding like I’m talking out of both sides of my mouth, I’ve also found that there are some occasions where a star employee is also doing a fantastic job of stealing from you. Everyone has that one employee that will give their heart and soul to the store. They stay late, come in early, work their off days, volunteer for projects, run the bake sale, clean the toilets and mow the lawn… granted, this is how some people are. I’m one of those people. I have often seen this trait in employees that operated some of the most sophisticated, complex and downright amazing internal theft schemes. I’m not saying that all your bad employees are thieves, and so are all of your good ones, but merely that this trait, along with any other inklings should be looked at.

1. Who cares when I get to work?

Poor attendance is also a great starting point when looking for dishonest employees. While some people just have a problem with being on time (present company INCLUDED), attendance falls right in line with work ethic and following the rules. Pay attention to those employees who just can’t do what’s expected.

1. No Money, Mo Problems

You have that one employee. You know the one. Every single store has that one employee. The one that constantly talks about how little money they have, how little hours they get and how they just can’t keep up with their bills. Everyone has financial trouble every now and then, but these employees take it to the extreme. You say, “Good morning, Susie” and Susie responds with, “well it would be good if I had more money…” Every time I have missing money in a store, I immediately have the management team point me in the direction of this employee.

Look, you could have an employee that exhibits all five of these traits and guess what? They may not steal so much as a bag of chips from you. Unfortunately, there is no loss prevention inspired crystal ball that can predict with certainty what employees will steal from you and which ones’ wont. As a manager, it’s up to you to know your employees. It’s up to you to spot those inconsistencies and raise those red flags yourself. It’s your merchandise and ultimately your profits at stake. Don’t let an employee theft ruin your 4^th quarter.