Employee Training

The scary shoplifting cases we hear and see on TV, or on newspapers in the United States, are becoming too commonplace to rendered us shocked. 

Shoplifting has always been a problem for stores across the globe, but now, people are losing their lives because we put more value on a bag of cookies than a human’s life. The incidents that are happening now concerning shoplifting should make us ponder whether the reactions, lives lost and the way our employees conduct themselves during a shoplifting incident merits those responses.

We should not forget that Shoplifting is a crime and that as an owner of a retail store your livelihood depends on the profits that you can gain by being a responsible owner. But, we cannot forget that we are dealing with human lives as well. 

If the price of a bag of cookies has the same value to you as a shop owner than a human life, then deterrents to prevent shoplifting are probably of no interest to you. But, if you believe that prevention to these crimes is the beginning of solving a major social issue in this country, then maybe prevention methods and other solutions are likely to be of interest to you as an owner.

  1. Training  — We have read more than once about the death of an accused shoplifter in a store.  Authorities are called to the business when the shoplifting incident has gone out of hands and the resulting confrontation has led to the death of the accused shoplifter. Now, what?  Lawyers, police departments and customers are involved, and the incident has become a national news piece.  Providing training to your employees to respond appropriately to a shoplifting incident has proven to be an investment that you will not regret and lives that will not be lost.
  2. CCTV cameras, prevention systems, and facial recognition software are some of the preventable shoplifting measures you can use to prevent, deter and fight shoplifting in your stores.  These are some of the investments that apart from your employees will become invaluable to you and pay for themselves in the short run.
  3. Inventory — If you know what you are selling, what is being stolen, and what are some of the items that are more enticing for shoplifters-because of the resale value or ease of trading — you may be able to use more of your resources to protect those aisles or move them to a safer place.  Being aware of what is happening in your store is instrumental in the prevention of shoplifting.
  4. Employees that care what is happening in your store is an issue that is too important to ignore.  Studies have shown that happy employees make great employees and can boost the morale of the people that work with them.  Your responsibility as an owner begins by rewarding your employees – By increasing their salary, offering incentives, and/or offering praise-your business can gain the caring you need to protect your store.
  5. Hiring the right people for your store begins by using the tools at your disposal that can make a difference in your hiring.  Background checks are the first step in ensuring you have the right people in place.

The rewards of paying for your employees’ training can be seen almost immediately.  There is no reason why the investment should be put elsewhere when employee ’s training has been shown to be a great and continues asset for the business owner.


Cashiers Stealing?!?!? Yes They Do! From You Also!

Recently, I conducted an employee theft investigation for a client. I want to share some of the findings from that investigation in the hopes that you can use it to review your own potential for losses.

A Cashier had befriended a frequent customer. This Retailer sells merchandise to Contractors. The customer in question had an outstanding credit on their account of a few hundred dollars. As they went through the Point Of Sale (POS/cash register) the Cashier looked up and then applied the credit to the current sale. This is normal practice for this particular Retailer. The customer then said to the Cashier “if you have more of those, I will take them”. So the Cashier looked up some other credits, from other customers that were quite aged and never used. She found that she was able to reassign the credit to this customer and applied another credit to their current purchase.

As you can imagine this became a regular occurrence. However, no one caught on. This went on for some time. It was not discovered until a recent credit was used and raised a red flag. The CFO began an investigation and revealed that there had been thousands of dollars stolen this way. The POS activity is recorded with video cameras but the full extent could not be confirmed because the video recorder hard drive did not have the capacity for more than about three days of video.

I was asked to investigate. After review of the evidence and information, I interviewed the Cashier. She is a 21-year-old single mother of 3. She has no property, car or house. Her Mother brings her back and forth to work. An Aunt watches the children.

The first thing I do when I talk to an employee under investigation is what is called a Behavioral Analysis Interview (BAI). A BAI tells me two things: first, if the person is involved in the loss (not if they did it or not) and second what they do when they lie. Some refer to this as body language. It is a comparison of verbal and non-verbal responses to a structured set of questions. Once I have both of these pieces in place, I am in control of the conversation. If they lie to me I know it. I should add that I have conducted over 2300 of these interviews/interrogations.

I then switched to interrogation mode. An interrogation is a structured conversation. My voice stays level and calm. There are no threats, promises, abuse, bright lights, rubber hoses….. (no, you can’t use your antique thumb screw collection). After a while, she “broke” and confessed to what she did. She told me that she had been doing this for 10 months totaling over $11,000. The customer was paying her off outside of work. I then went through the evidence which up to this point is never shown to a subject. She confirmed what we had. She then incorporated her admissions into a written statement.

After reviewing the facts with the Senior Management of the company, I was instructed to contact the Police. Officers responded and took her into custody. She was charged with felonies both theft and embezzlement. Needless to say, she was terminated at that time. The company will decide at a later point whether to file a civil suit against her or not. You may be asking yourself right now “why would the company waste time/money filing a civil suit against someone that has no assets?” There are actually very good reasons to do this. In most cases, it is about ensuring that everyone else understands what will happen if someone steals from YOUR business.

You should ask these questions about your operation:

  • Does your POS system allow a Cashier to reassign customer credits without Manager approval and signature?
  • Do all customer returns require a Manager to review and sign off at the time of the return (customer & merchandise present)?
  • Are all credits, returns, voids, and no-sales reviewed at end of the day by a Manager?
  • Are any discrepancies reviewed with the Cashier that day or the next day to gain an explanation? Is corrective action taken right away if the Cashier is not following policy/procedure?
  • Is someone else then reviewing what the store turned in? Managers can be involved in theft also.
  • How much video can your DVR hold? Hard drive space is cheap. You should have at least the last sixty to ninety days of activity. You do record Cashier activity….Right?
  • Do you REALLY know your employees? Does their lifestyle fit their circumstances? Do they live above their means? Are they struggling to survive? I teach this in my live Employee Theft Seminar (in-person or webinar).

Employee theft occurs every day. It happens at your business also, whether or not you see it is up to you. Don’t bury your head in the sand. Be proactive to PREVENT losses. If you need help, contact us. Loss Prevention is what we specialize in!


Preventing Shoplifting and Retail Shrink

Many small and big chain businesses across the country are fed up with the amount they lose due to shoplifting and employee theft.  The solutions are seemingly unavailable for these businesses and they are teaming up with local police departments to address this issue.

The Chico Police Department, The Chico Chamber of commerce and the Chico Business Association are teaming up in an effort to prevent shoplifting in their community.  This is not the only joint effort, many other states’ police departments and communities are getting together to form a coalition to find a solution to shoplifting. 

Shoplifting puts an additional strain on these businesses that in some cases are already having difficulty staying afloat and the losses incurred due to this crime make it an impossible business to sustain.

One the many ways they lose to shoplifting is to organized retail theft that involves many individuals and can cost a store thousands of dollars in a single day.  Home Improvements stores targeted by individuals can damage the bottom line of these stores even though they are big retail chains that can offset the cost due to shoplifting better than the small business owner.

In some states, theft legislation has put many business owners scratching their heads. The losses they incurred due to shoplifting, they see as a direct consequence to the legislation government officials passed in their states.  Preventive measures are not enough, youth programs to prevent shoplifting and violent crimes are not enough for these businesses because they do not see it happening soon enough for the well being of their stores.

What are some other alternatives to prevent shoplifting?

  1. Training – Trained personnel can make a big difference in your store. Recent reports in the UK have shown a dramatic increase in violent incidents from the previous year due to shoplifting.  The difference between a trained employee and one that is not can be the difference between life and death
  2. Shoplifting prevention systems – If you do not have one and rely solely on your employees, the losses your store is suffering may be staggering.  A shoplifting prevention system is a necessity for a retail business, and the amount invested in such system may be the best investment you can make for the success of your store.
  3. Software that works together with the loss prevention system and the trained personnel in your store are pivotal to the success of your retail business.  It is a process that needs all the parts to work together to be successful and to achieve its purpose.

Shoplifting is a crime that affects society in general, and the prevention of such crime seems to be the only alternative retail businesses have. Prevention includes training your personnel, investing in a loss prevention system and software that can help you mitigate the losses due to this crime.  Those three preventive measures cannot work if your employees are not engaged and are not willing to work with you in the prevention of this crime.  Happiness in the workplace is important but if you are dealing with disgruntled employees, preventing shoplifting may be very hard to achieve.  Talk to your employees and find out if you need to address that issue first and foremost.


Management Communication And Cohesion Lead To Stronger Teams

 A unified leadership team for any business can be a catalyst for driving great results. When managers are all communicating with each other, sharing information and giving honest feedback an entire team benefits. Managers in those environments tend to see the big picture and can assist a peer in another department in their absence. As the staff members see this cohesion they understand that they can’t get one over on a supervisor or pit one against another. A management team that works well together can prevent situations where an employee may lie and not get caught or manipulate managers by playing what I call the “Mom vs. Dad” card.

Working in a library, I see student workers trying to manipulate one or two “nice” staff members on a somewhat regular basis. The students may not see what they are doing as lying or being dishonest, they just know that there are certain supervisors who will probably say “Yes” to almost any request. The request may be to leave early or they want to call out of work for silly reasons. I had one employee who wanted to leave early because her pet fish was sick, even though she had spent one hour of her two-hour shift at work when she made the request. Now seriously, was she going to take this fish to a veterinarian? She chose the wrong supervisor to approach because the supervisor came to me and told me of the request and asked me for my opinion. While I gave the student the option to stay she was reminded that requests for leaving early impacted hiring decisions for the next semester. She stayed for her next hour.

In another situation, I had to have a conversation with a worker over her behavior with co-workers and supervisors. I made it clear the behavior would have to change and steps on how to improve. I did let her know I wanted her to be successful but I would not allow the behavior to continue if she was going to work for us. The employee came back later and attempted to give her resignation and turn in her equipment to one of our nicer staff members. The staff member was super sweet and was going to let it go with a, “I’m sorry to see you go.” The supervisor who was with me when I spoke with the employee walked in on the conversation and the mood changed. The employee tried to lie about the conversation and what was said to her. This supervisor cut off her excuses and reminded her what was really said during our talk. The employee left in a huff but the blame game was shut down. When the first supervisor was asked why she was just going to let the employee make her complaints and leave the supervisor said she liked to give people the benefit of the doubt. It’s no wonder why employees like to go to her to get what they want.

While we have a great team of supervisors, I do have problems with some who do not like to be the “bad guy”. A management team needs to share the burden of holding employees accountable for their actions. It is unfair to expect one or two supervisors to conduct discussions involving poor performance or behavior problems and/or administer corrective actions. These supervisors are the ones who appear to be the mean ones to the team members and acquire an undeserved reputation as being “unfair” or “harsh”. The best management teams are those in which everyone participates in the corrective action process. They document talks with employees and record them in some form of record keeping so when review time comes around those notes play a part in the scoring. These teams also have supervisors taking partners with each other making it harder for one person to be pitted against another.

There will always be those employees who try to get away with something whether it is not working as hard as their co-workers to outright lying to a supervisor. Those management teams that communicate amongst themselves and share the responsibility for administering correction or discipline when necessary will find it easier to identify and keep the best workers. Build a great store team by creating a cohesive management team that communicates with each other and shares the responsibilities of leadership.


 Getting To The Heart Of The Matter, Hiring The Wrong People Can Dishearten Your Staff

Hopefully, your store is one of those places where employees look forward to coming to work. You know what I’m talking about it’s that environment where everyone is happy to be there. Employees know they are there to get a job done and take pride in the service they offer to the customers. It’s the type of job where people may have an off day but their co-workers are supportive and help pick them up. It happens to all of us. These jobs have a manager who interacts with the employees and takes a real interest in each of them. The boss may take time to say hello and greet everyone. They know their employees by name and may even know their families. Unfortunately, not every workplace has such a camaraderie amongst the team members. There is any number of reasons this can happen but a major contributor to an unhappy workplace can be the hiring of an employee with a poor attitude.

Unhappy employees don’t always start out that way. They can get through an interview without any problem and they may begin working and get along fine. It is after they are hired that their true colors begin to show. These people are the type who start to complain to their co-workers when they are unhappy about something. It could be a work schedule they don’t care for that triggers the griping. The complaints tend to be general and not geared toward any particular person at first. When no one addresses the complaining the employee gets more vocal over time and begins to find other issues they don’t like. They are never limited to one gripe and constantly find perceived problems and share those perceptions with others. The complaining spreads as this person talk to others and suddenly people who were perfectly happy with their jobs and managers are taking exception to things. Where someone was fine with working at night or on weekends in the past they now feel they should not be expected to work when other jobs don’t require these types of hours. Never mind that they chose to work in retail which does require night and weekend workers. People begin to show up to work in bad moods anticipating that a non-existent problem is going to impact them again.

Now that the workplace has been infected with the virus of negativity and people are coming to the job with poor attitudes the problem manifests itself in other forms. Those who used to smile and engage customers with pleasantries are now frowning and giving curt, “Hello’s” to patrons. Customers get annoyed and share their experiences with friends and family. The atmosphere of the store is poisoned and like any poison, people avoid it lest they become ill or worse.

Guess what, this is not where the problem for your business ends. When workers become dissatisfied their performance wanes as well. The person who used to take care to stock the shelves properly and put merchandise where it belongs now puts merchandise in the general area. Clothing on racks that were once sized and straightened are now fortunate to make it onto a hanger let alone the arm of a fixture. The appearance of the store declines and employees don’t care. There is a malaise that sets in and an employee thinks to himself, “Why should I bother to fix it if no one else cares why should I?” If customers refuse to come in due to poor service they certainly won’t come in to shop in a store that is trashed.

To get to the heart of the matter you have to look at the culture of your store and what it is that is causing your store to decline. If everything was going well until you brought in that new hire then you have to get rid of that infection quickly. Afterwards be careful in your hiring process. Take a careful look at the applications, resumes and employment stability. Coupled with background checks and pre-employment screening your workplace can get back to the place it was but it is never easy. Bad habits are easier to create than break and your team may now have a bunch to break. Have a heart and be thoughtful in your hiring practices, your employees will love you for it.


Employee Training And Shoplifting

After the holidays, you probably have a whole array of chores you must do to decide whether you had a good or bad year.  The holidays are behind us, and if you seem eager to have new strategies to put in place, it is not uncommon, and you are not alone.  New year resolutions are abundant during this time of year, and even though many of them are related to exercise, eating and health issues, yours can be directed completely to the business side of your life.

For a retail business owner, employee training is always an important issue they should not neglect.  There are many aspects of every business that owners must take care of to ensure a well-run business and employee training is one of those important issues they must keep in mind.

Employee training has been shown to help businesses keep more of the profits, and to reduce the shoplifting happening at their stores.  Paying for employee training is one way of investing in your business, and seeing the return of investment right away.

One of the many benefits of employee training is the certainty your employees will know what to do in case a shoplifting incident occurs.  From the way they approach the suspected shoplifter, to the way they apprehend them, their training can be the difference between a lawsuit for your store or not.  The guidelines they are supposed to follow are clear for trained employees when dealing with a difficult situation, and a dangerous situation is clearly assessed and dealt with before lives are endangered.

Employee training can also be a deterrent to shoplifters.  Shoplifters will be less eager to enter your place of business if they know they will be approached and even questioned or apprehended if they do something illegal.  Making your business a place where shoplifting is hard can get around to other shoplifters.  Sharing the names of “easy” places to shoplift is well known among them, make yours the “hard” place shoplifters are unwilling to try.

Trained employees know how shoplifters behave and how they try to get away with stolen merchandise.  They know which items may be a target for shoplifters, and which ones if the opportunity presents itself will be stolen without a second thought.


 

 

Don’t Let The Dark Days Of Winter Catch You Unsecure

With darker daylight hours comes the need for more coffee, the use of lights earlier and a plan to keep crime away from your store or business. Have you considered that one of the following types of crime could affect you?

Burglary – This is where a bad guy, low life scum type, breaks into your property when you and your staff are gone for the day. First and foremost you must have an alarm system. Not just the $99 special either. Invest enough that you have ALL exterior doors contacted. Yes, this also should apply to doors that are not used frequently or at all. Add glass break detectors on all exterior glass that can be easily reached. Enough motion detectors to create a trap effect. In other words so that no one can move around very far without a motion detector seeing them. Bad guys do not like light and sound, so add several sirens and strobe lights with at least one strobe on the front exterior and the back exterior. This will help to draw attention to your property by other citizens and the Police. You should always have an alarm control that uses cellular to communicate instead of phone or internet lines which can be cut or compromised.

Leave select lights on in the store to make it easy for the Police to see movement. The bad guys would prefer it to be dark. Are your doors and windows secure, I mean REALLY secure? Check the locks and make sure they operate correctly and are not simply cheap hardware that will give with a push or kick.

Robbery – This is the nightmare situation where someone presents you with a gun. Not as a present either. I have been involved in many shooting situations and have looked down the barrel of a few from the wrong side. It’s kind of funny how a barrel of a 9mm pistol looks like the opening of a 55 gallon barrel.

The key here is being prepared. Deterrents include well-lit stores and alert employees. Keep the cash drawers drained. Only keep the minimum amount of money in the till, the rest needs to go into a drop safe below the register or to the safe in the office. The lower form of life that commits robberies in many cases will make small purchases even a day or two ahead to see how much money is in the drawer. And yes, they know all about larger, excess bills being kept under the till tray in the drawer.

This is where a CCTV system that is adequately covering your point of sale comes in. The DVR should never be in plain sight at the point of sale; preferably in the office. Cameras should look at the point of sale from several different angles. Invest a couple of hundred dollars in a camera that mounts on the door frame at eye level. This will get a great face shot of anyone leaving.

All cameras should record 24/7 since hard drive space is cheap. You should easily get 30 to 60 days of recording. Another awesome deterrent is a Public View Monitor (PVM). A PVM is a monitor that is placed so that everyone entering the store sees themselves as they come in. It lets everyone know the system is active. A larger monitor in the 27+” range is preferred.

Employee Theft – I do not think employee theft picks up any more than other times of the year but it should get an honorable mention. Make sure you have adequate key and door control. Trash should be inspected by a manager before it goes out. Employees that steal will use the trash to get merchandise out picking it up later or have a friend get it. Employee bags should be inspected when they leave. I can send you a policy draft if needed.

Shoplifting – Shoplifters thrive and seek out concealment. Darkness adds to their psychological comfort. This is another reason for a well-lit store. Replace any burned out bulbs. Walk your store when it is dark outside to help discover any areas such as back corners that will provide aid and comfort to the shoplifting enemy. Make sure your Checkpoint system is operating correctly. If not call us for a service call. Ensure that your staff knows how to approach potential shoplifters with customer service techniques. I teach a live seminar on this for our customers, free of charge, whenever they need it.

Existing customers can call us at 770-426-7593 x103 to schedule a seminar. I also suggest that you pick up a copy of my new book: “Protect Your Store! The shoplifting prevention guide for small to medium retailers”. It is available online at Amazon and Kindle. The book has tools to shut off shoplifters right away.

Of course, these tips are good practice year round. However, take a hard, objective look at your store as it is better to prevent than recover from an incident. If we can help you, please reach out to us since we are only a call or email away.


 

Store Safety Impacts Profits: Keep Your Store Safe During The Winter Months

Accidents can be costly to businesses. In fact, according to the OSHA website, “It has been estimated that employers pay almost $1 billion dollars a week for direct workers’ compensation costs alone. Direct costs include workers’ compensation payments, medical expenses and costs for legal services.”

This does not take into consideration expenditures on general liability claims made by customers against businesses for accidents. The impact of a customer claim can be significant as well and according to thehartford.com “The Hartford Reports: More Than 40% Of Small Businesses Will Experience A Claim In The Next 10 Years,” March 30, 2015, the average cost of a customer injury or damage claim is $30,000 while a customer slip and fall incident is $20,000. A struck by object claim not identified as being specific to a customer or employee is listed at an average cost of $10,000. Consider then that the risk of these accidents taking place during the winter months increases significantly. What steps can you take to reduce the possibility you may have to pay out on a claim, especially during the winter months?

Slips and Falls

Slips and falls are not uncommon all year round, however, winter increases the chances of a slip on icy sidewalks and parking lots. Additionally, people will track ice and snow into the building leaving puddles of water that contribute to slip accidents. It is necessary for store employees to be diligent in placing wet floor signs near entrances and drying those areas too. Allowing standing water to remain because “people just keep tracking it in” is not an excuse that will hold water in an accident settlement case (pun intended). It is worth investing in wet area or all weather mats for the front doors to aid in the drying of shoes as customers enter the building. Have umbrella bags available for wet umbrellas. Bure sure to have deicers and anti-icers on hand for unexpected snow and ice storms to help keep sidewalks and curbs safe for patrons and employees. Stores located in traditionally warmer climates must be even more diligent because ice and snow are not as common; finding shovels and proper equipment when that rare snow or ice storm strikes can be a difficult task. Hardware stores run out of necessary items quickly as people without the tools come in at the sudden threat of storms.

Strains and Sprains

You or one of your staff may go outside to shovel snow from your sidewalks. Be careful! Not only is there the danger of being exposed to the cold too long, there is also a chance of a strain injury resulting from the shoveling of snow and ice. In an article in webmd.com titled, “Shoveling Snow Injures Thousands Each Year,” Jan 20, 2011, by Kelli Miller, the author points out that shoveling sends on average 11,000 adults and children to the hospital each year. She continues in her article, “The American Journal of Emergency Medicine details the most common health hazards associated with shoveling snow. Snow shoveling can lead to bad backs, broken bones, head injuries and even deadly heart problems.” Carefully watch those you may send out to shovel and rotate them in and out. Look for signs of excessive stress or pain and if necessary contact a local EMS station.

Parking Lots

Ensure your employees are safe if you send them outside to collect shopping carts or clear snow from parking spaces. Have orange or yellow reflective safety vests on hand and require those working outside to wear them. Moving vehicles in a parking lot may not stop quickly enough on the icy pavement if they don’t see the employee in time. The safety vest provides additional visibility to help alert drivers. While it should go without saying make sure weather appropriate clothing such as jackets, gloves and even scarfs are available for employees to help them avoid frostbite or other cold-weather ailments.

Struck-by’s

Don’t overlook the risk of ice falling from a rooftop. Too much weight from accumulated snow and ice or a slight increase in temperatures may result in ice and snow sliding off an overhang or roof. Be sure to monitor for such hazards and take proactive measures to clear potential problems before they result in an injury.

Accidents can happen anytime but winter offers unique challenges. Be pro-active and make sure you and your managers are doing all you can to make your employees and customers safe when they visit the store to work or shop.


Now that the holidays are over does that mean theft is too?

 Whew! You made it through the holidays and hopefully, you were successful in deterring shoplifters and survived the fraudulent return attempts but does that mean you can rest on your laurels? Unfortunately, the answer is “No”. Criminals do not take a break because you do. As a matter of fact, you could find that this is a prime time for criminal activity to increase. Why would that be? It is during these next few weeks and months that traditionally retail owners and managers begin to tighten up payroll. They release their seasonal employees and reduce the hours budgeted to the various work centers. This leads to several theft concerns:

  • If given too much advance notice that the end of their employment is imminent there are workers that may get angry and justify stealing because of a perceived injustice. This person may think they worked hard enough to earn a permanent spot on the team or assumed they would be retained based on what they thought they were told when hired. Some managers feel a bit guilty for having to let seasonal employees go and feel an obligation to give a significant amount of advance notice so the person can look for new work. The best way to avoid this situation is to give a seasonal employee a date they will work up to and no later than during the interview process. By doing so the employer can give a reminder a week out that the last day is approaching. This gives the worker time to start looking for other employment and does not give too much lead-up time for them to start stealing if they may be so inclined.
  • As sales decline after the holiday season, managers and owners have to make budget decisions on payroll expenditures. It is not reasonable to spend the same amount of money on sales floor coverage with reduced customer counts. Where you had three or four cashiers during the last few months to ensure customers were served quickly you may now have only one cashier. The staff members that were getting 32 hours a week may be down to 25 hours a week. If the employee is dependent on that income to make ends meet and their hours are cut they may decide that stealing is a way to make up for what they have lost. 
  • When seasonal employees are released and hours reduced to cut back on payroll expenses, sales floor coverage starts to wane. This means there are fewer people to provide customer service that is one of the critical components in theft deterrence. Shoplifters know when there are fewer employees present and find it easier to avoid those few workers that are on the floor. Remember that one of the three things needed to shoplift is the opportunity and with less chance at discovery, more opportunities to steal present themselves.
  • There are operational functions that may suffer due to a reduction of payroll hours. Specifically, merchandise protection strategies including electronic article surveillance tagging of merchandise may not be as thorough. As an example, if a freight pusher is responsible for tagging products with retail anti-theft devices but they are struggling just to get freight stocked on the floor in the allotted period tagging could be a secondary issue. The focus may be on filling the floor in order to sell rather than protecting it to prevent theft.

Criminals are not going to take a vacation after the holidays. They will look for stores that lower their defenses and then take advantage of them. Be on guard as you come out of the busy season and things seem to slow down. Be wise in how you reduce seasonal employee staff and do what you can to encourage the people you are keeping. Make plans to identify and address potential problems that may arise from those decisions. Strategic planning and follow-up can minimize the chances thieves will try to target your store.


Retailers’ Biggest Nightmare: Shoplifting

Big corporations across the globe worry about cybersecurity attacks and the repercussions those attacks have on the corporation’s bottom line. These cybersecurity attacks to their servers and information databases can be costly and can bring with them costly lawsuits as well.  But, according to many analysts, employee theft and shoplifting are the more concerning issues affecting the retail industry.  They alone account for more than two-thirds of their shrinkage and that figure seems to be rising every year.  During the holiday season, those issues become more problematic and costly, and the retail industry looks for ways to prevent the great loses they will certainly suffer during this jolly time.

For more about this and other stories, follow the links below.


This crime in the workplace is costing US businesses $50 billion a year

There is a hidden risk facing small businesses across the country that often goes unnoticed until it suddenly rips through a firm’s finances: employee theft. It’s a crime that is costing U.S. businesses $50 billion annually, according to Statistic Brain.

Matt Ham can attest to that. He has had two run-ins with thefts by employees at his small business, Computer Repair Doctor, which has eight stores in Florida, Ohio and South Carolina, which collectively totals 30 employees.

At a store in Florida, two employees were caught stealing parts from inventory and skimming cash about a year and half ago, he said. After a thorough investigation, Ham sat them down with his attorney and they came up with a plan for restitution. Both employees had to pay back the thousands of dollars they stole. The chain has now put more safeguards in place, such as better inventory controls and a strict cash-counting process.


Survey finds no let up in one of retailers’ biggest threats

Nearly all retailers fell victim to organized retail crime during the past year. And the losses are mounting.

 Ninety-six percent of responding retailers experienced ORC in the past year, according to the 13th annual ORC study by the National Retail Federation. And 67% reported an increase in this type of activity during the past year.

The survey of retail loss prevention employees found that losses averaged $726,351 per $1 billion in sales, up from $700,259 last year. Los Angeles continued to be the hardest-hit area for ORC in the nation, a position it has held since 2012. Following in order were New York City, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, Orlando, San Francisco/Oakland, Orange County, Calif., and Northern New Jersey.

“Organized retail crime continues to be one of the biggest challenges to retailers of all sizes,” NRF VP for loss prevention Bob Moraca said. “These crimes happen across the country every day, with criminals getting smarter, more brazen, more aggressive and sometimes even attacking store employees and shoppers. Fighting ORC is a full-time job, and retailers must learn how to stay a step ahead of these thieves.”


Loss Prevention Trends to Watch During the Holiday Shopping Season

All retail eyes are focused on online security and digital transactions during the holiday season. But according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), shoplifting and employee theft accounted for more than two-thirds of inventory shrinkage in 2016. Retailers need to improve their internal security systems to boost their loss prevention abilities and keep their shrink rate from rising above last year’s historical high of 1.44 percent.

Retail store shrinkage is a known part of the industry, but with all the attention centered around cybertheft of customer information and implementing proper security measures at point-of-sale (POS) systems, the age-old problem of losing products at the physical store has taken a back seat.

Leveraging Cybersecurity Technology for Loss Prevention

Technology is playing a larger role across all retail efforts, and some of the tactics employed in the back office to protect the company’s digital data can be expanded to store-level prevention. The specifics of the skills needed differ between cybersleuths and on-the-floor store personnel, but more education and discussion between these disciplines can help.