Not all internal theft is merchandise…

When it comes to employee theft there is nothing more irritating, more troublesome, than the theft of supplies.  Many employees do it; some deliberately, some accidentally, but it is so commonplace it is almost universally accepted as a simple fact of life regardless of the business.  The problem with it being so ‘accepted’ is that it is almost always disregarded and usually goes completely unpunished.  It is that kind of mentality that forces companies to waste millions of dollars on supplies.

Not only is there the waste factor, but there is the inherent frustration aspect of your business being short, or completely out of, a supply when it really needs it.  I can recall numerous instances where pens, paper towels, cleaning supplies, and even toilet paper has suddenly gone missing only to be discovered later that another employee had pilfered an obscene amount for their personal use.

A recent incident involved our warehouse becoming short on the store supplies of paper towels and water jugs for the water coolers.  At first it was just once in a while, but eventually entire stockpiles were going missing within days of shipments coming in.  After a lengthy stake-out and employee theft investigation we found that a ten-year veteran of the company had been moving large amounts of supplies to his vehicle over the course of his shifts at the beginning of each week and stockpiling them at his personal residence.  When it was acknowledged as a case of employee theft and he was brought in for an interview he denied any wrongdoing even when confronted with hard video evidence.  Eventually he admitted that he had been stealing supplies for years but claimed that he shouldn’t be punished since ‘everyone did it’.

Don’t allow your employees to think ANY kind of internal theft is okay.  Send them a message that stealing is wrong even if everyone does it.

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