Employee theft and Peer Pressure: a Dangerous Combination

As long as your business has employees, there will always be the possibility of an internal theft problem. Many business owners think it will never happen to them; however all it takes is one dishonest employee to dramatically cut into your businesses profits.

One recent employee theft investigation that I worked involved a dishonest employee and her friend. It was obvious from video and interviews that over the course of time the dishonest employee became more confident as she got away with discount abuse time after time. As her friend saw her get away with the abuse, she became involved in the discount abuse as well. She allowed many of her friends and family members to use her discount to receive merchandise for half off retail price. This type of internal theft heavily impacted the store’s sales numbers and after the two employees were fired we saw an increase in the store’s profits.

Employee theft like this highlights an important point: if other employees notice a dishonest employee getting away with doing something wrong, they maybe more influenced to become involved in dishonest behaviors as well. It could result from peer pressure or simply the allure of seeing someone take advantage of the system and not get caught.

The best defense against employee theft is to keep an open ear. An employee who talks about having no money but is constantly shopping is a major red flag. Another red flag is employees whose friends and family members frequently shop in the store on regular intervals. If you suspect you may have an internal theft problem, consider hiring an LP professional to conduct a full employee theft investigation.

For more information on employee theft , employee theft investigation or internal contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia