“Poor pre-employment screening and a decline in supervision are contributing to the rise in employee theft incidents, new research shows.
A study of 23 large retail companies by loss-prevention consulting firm Jack L. Hayes International shows that 71,095 dishonest employees were apprehended in 2012, up 5.5 percent from 2011. In total, more than $50 million was recovered in those cases, up 7 percent from a year earlier.
“The seriousness of retail theft is a much greater problem than many people realize,” said Mark Doyle, president of Jack L. Hayes International. “These theft losses are stealing profits from retailers and driving retail prices higher for the consumer.”
Though the research didn’t provide exact numbers, in general, more recently hired employees — those with less than a year on the job — and part-time employees with no vested interest in the company are the employees who tend to be apprehended more frequently, Doyle said.
Specifically, Jack L. Hayes International attributes the increase in employee theft to a number of factors, including the following:
- Ineffective pre-employment screening: The first step to controlling internal theft starts at the point of hire. Do not hire the “bad apple.” Some retailers, in an effort to reduce their costs, have lowered their pre-screening requirements and are now hiring more “questionable” employees. When statistics show one out of every 36 employees is actually caught stealing by their employer, there has likely been some type of breakdown in the pre-employment screening process.
- Less employee supervision: With lower management levels, there is less supervision of employee activities, which results in more opportunities to commit theft.
- Ease in selling stolen goods: Merchandise stolen by employees can be quickly and easily sold, and for a much higher price, using online auction sites. This easy access to a much larger audience for stolen goods has resulted in more theft by dishonest employees looking for quick cash.
- Decline in honesty: The almost-daily incidents of business, government, law enforcement, celebrities, sports figures and church leaders being involved in questionable activities make it easier for “borderline” employees to steal and to rationalize their actions. In addition, the part-time workforce is growing, and it is not uncommon to find that many such workers have less loyalty to their employer, and are more apt to take advantage of opportune circumstances.”
Originally posted by Business News Daily and can be viewed at http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4657-employee-theft-rising.html
