I’m constantly asked on ways to prevent, or stop shoplifting by store employees and managers. They see the empty packages every day and some of them are just tired of dealing with the problem. I have some managers that think by increasing the LP headcount will make a difference, while others want to lock everything up behind glass. How do you prevent shoplifters from targeting your store? Do you lock everything up and use the newest EAS devices to battle the growing shoplifting problem? What if I told you that while EAS devices are a great resource, you can implement several programs in your store that wouldn’t cost you a single penny? Interested yet?

First and most importantly, you have to build an awareness culture in the store. You employees need to be engaged and pay attention to what’s happening around them. Look at your store tomorrow. Are you team members being unproductive, are they failing to greet and assist your customers, are they task oriented? You’re probably going to answer yes to each of those questions and that’s OK. Those are all behaviors that can be addressed and corrected. How do you make them care?

It starts at the top. From the store manager on down, there needs to be clear expectations set in terms of customer service and store standards. Employees that don’t meet these expectations should be weeded out. Customer service is the greatest tool you have. If a customer knows that they can’t walk 10 feet before being assisted by your store, they will most likely return to your store. Likewise, a thief isn’t going to want that much attention and it will drive them away.

Second, start discussing shrink and loss prevention at every store meeting, morning meeting and department meeting. Give your team the knowledge of what is being lost and when. Discuss the top 5 stolen items for the month and the top shrinking department. Talk about known shoplifters and any specific products that are being targeted. This is also a great time for department employees to share new “hot” items that the rest of the store should be aware of.

Third, have a “LP communication station”. In my store, I have a large message board in the break-room. Here, I display the month/week shrink numbers, highest shrink department and top shrink skus. I also include different shrink topics each week so the team members can always gain some knowledge. I also feature an employee each week that has done something that positively impacted shrink. Maybe it was a cashier that caught a price switch, or maybe a sales team member that deterred a shoplifter. It’s a great place to recognize their behavior so they constantly strive to continue their actions to get “featured” again.

Lastly, you need to have a good cashier training program. So much fraud happens on the front end, it’s almost unbelievable. You have customers stuffing merchandise, altering prices, using fake credit cards, phony checks, counterfeit currency, hiding product under baskets, quick change artists and the list can go on and on. A well trained cashier team is your last line of defense against fraud. I constantly hold training sessions with my cashier team. It doesn’t matter if they’ve been with me for one week, or three years. There is always something they can learn to be more aware of how losses occur at their registers. Personally, I hold a contest each month with my cashiers to see who can catch the most amount of theft/fraud. You’d be surprised the results you can get if you offer up a free meal☺.

The greatest part of all of this is that it’s completely free. You can spend thousands of dollars on a camera system, EAS devices and/or a dedicated LP team in your store and still not see the same results as you would by just implementing some of these steps. There is absolutely no substitute for a well-trained and focused employee to prevent theft.