Prevent Shoplifting – 3 WC Blog 531
Gaming Keepers-4
Alpha Keepers-4
Showcases Slow Down Sales; Use Gaming Keepers Instead
I just had an experience at a big box retailer that made me turn to my wife and tell her I had to get home because I had to write about how to prevent shoplifting. No, it wasn’t what the store or the associate did right that got me into a ranting mood it was what they were doing wrong that got my attention. It also got me to thinking what the CEO of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. Bill Bregar would say to the employee if he had been in my shoes. My wife and I were shopping for a video game as a gift for one of our son’s upcoming birthday. Now this store uses lock-up display cases for many of their video games, mostly the newer games on the market. I don’t like display cases but I get it, many stores don’t know about the benefits of Alpha Keepers to protect electronics. HOWEVER, this store already uses gaming keepers to prevent shoplifting of…you guessed it, VIDEO GAMES!
I will continue with my rant momentarily but I want to be sure everyone knows what I am referencing when I talk about Alpha Keepers. They are see-through, tough, plastic cases that function using electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology. The boxes allow merchants to avoid the hassle of unlocking merchandise in a showcase. The showcase is supposed to require an employee to remove an item, allow one or two things to be looked at and the employee carries the item(s) to the register for the customer. A Keeper allows a customer like me to view the item, read labels and carry it around the store until I am ready to make a purchase. No assistance is required so staff members can help more customers in a store and drive sales. Should a customer turn out to be a shoplifter and try to walk out the door with merchandise protected in gaming keepers an EAS tower at the doors will detect the keeper and sound an alarm. Front end employees respond to the alarm and retrieve the merchandise from the would-be thief.
What could have possibly happened that would make me so insane? I located the game I wanted in the showcase. No employees were in the immediate vicinity so I walked to the cash stand and found an employee cleaning around the register. The employee said she would be with me in a minute. I walked back to the showcase and waited for a couple minutes and the employee finally came over. She unlocked the case with her key and removed the game, closed and locked the case and handed me the game. I asked if I had to pay for it at the cash stand where she had been. No, I could continue shopping and pay for it up front. I am not sure how a store can prevent shoplifting if they are locking merchandise up only to hand it over to a customer. My wife and I took the game and walked through the rest of the electronics department. I came to a dump bin filled with marked down video games and all of them were secured in gaming keepers! I just shook my head in disbelief.
I have to wonder how much money has been lost in markdowns for these games that did not sell when they were new and popular. Had the store trusted the protection of Alpha Keepers to put the games within the reach of customers when they were new releases there would not be as many on hand today. Customers do not want to wait for assistance to browse merchandise. The effort to locate a sales associate and get them to assist you at a display case can be frustrating and there is no way to measure the lost sales this causes. By offering gaming keepers to their clients, Loss Prevention Systems Inc. sees the potential for increasing profits through sales and still delivering merchandise protection that reduces shortage.
I bought the game and the store made their money but not all of their customers are me and neither are yours. Lost profit due to markdowns because of unnecessary showcases can be avoided. Get merchandise into the hands of your customers by using Alpha keepers for games and much more.
Need more information on gaming keepers? Contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today
I just had an experience at a big box retailer that made me turn to my wife and tell her I had to get home because I had to write about how to prevent shoplifting. No, it wasn’t what the store or the associate did right that got me into a ranting mood it was what they were doing wrong that got my attention. It also got me to thinking what the CEO of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. Bill Bregar would say to the employee if he had been in my shoes. My wife and I were shopping for a video game as a gift for one of our son’s upcoming birthday. Now this store uses lock-up display cases for many of their video games, mostly the newer games on the market. I don’t like display cases but I get it, many stores don’t know about the benefits of Keepers to protect electronics. HOWEVER, this store already uses gaming keepers to prevent shoplifting of…you guessed it, VIDEO GAMES!
I will continue with my rant momentarily but I want to be sure everyone knows what I am referencing when I talk about Keepers. They are see-through, tough, plastic cases that function using electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology. The boxes allow merchants to avoid the hassle of unlocking merchandise in a showcase. The showcase is supposed to require an employee to remove an item, allow one or two things to be looked at and the employee carries the item(s) to the register for the customer. A Keeper allows a customer like me to view the item, read labels and carry it around the store until I am ready to make a purchase. No assistance is required so staff members can help more customers in a store and drive sales. Should a customer turn out to be a shoplifter and try to walk out the door with merchandise protected in gaming keepers an EAS tower at the doors will detect the keeper and sound an alarm. Front end employees respond to the alarm and retrieve the merchandise from the would-be thief.
What could have possibly happened that would make me so insane? I located the game I wanted in the showcase. No employees were in the immediate vicinity so I walked to the cash stand and found an employee cleaning around the register. The employee said she would be with me in a minute. I walked back to the showcase and waited for a couple minutes and the employee finally came over. She unlocked the case with her key and removed the game, closed and locked the case and handed me the game. I asked if I had to pay for it at the cash stand where she had been. No, I could continue shopping and pay for it up front. I am not sure how a store can prevent shoplifting if they are locking merchandise up only to hand it over to a customer. My wife and I took the game and walked through the rest of the electronics department. I came to a dump bin filled with marked down video games and all of them were secured in gaming keepers! I just shook my head in disbelief.
I have to wonder how much money has been lost in markdowns for these games that did not sell when they were new and popular. Had the store trusted the protection of Keepers to put the games within the reach of customers when they were new releases there would not be as many on hand today. Customers do not want to wait for assistance to browse merchandise. The effort to locate a sales associate and get them to assist you at a display case can be frustrating and there is no way to measure the lost sales this causes. By offering gaming keepers to their clients, Loss Prevention Systems Inc. sees the potential for increasing profits through sales and still delivering merchandise protection that reduces shortage.
I bought the game and the store made their money but not all of their customers are me and neither are yours. Lost profit due to markdowns because of unnecessary showcases can be avoided. Get merchandise into the hands of your customers by using keepers for games and much more.
Need more information on gaming keepers? Contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today
Applicant Management System-3 WC Blog 558
Applicant Tracking System-3
Pre-employment Screening-4
Streamline Your Hiring Process With An Applicant Management System
When you are hiring a new employee do you conduct pre-employment screening? Do you have an Applicant Management System in place? What are the resources you use to know who it is you are hiring? I ask these questions because I recently attended a training session, where I work at, conducted by our Human Resources Department. The training was to instruct faculty and staff in the proper methods of conducting position searches. I have been doing hiring for a lot of years and different employers have different methods of conducting job searches. Several take-aways came out of our session. For starters, one of the things that has bothered me about my current employer is that much of our process is still paper based. During this training we were excited to learn that our college is going to transition to an Applicant Tracking System. Our Human Resources instructor was ecstatic, apparently those of us having to keep track of all of this paperwork are not the only ones frustrated with the current system. While this will be a state initiated program you can have your own job Applicant Management System without being a government agency. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. offers a system of their own that can help businesses with a more efficient process.
“What is an Applicant Management System?” you may be wondering (at least I hope you are asking the question at this point). It is a system that can keep the majority of your hiring process in an electronic format. You know all of those file folders that probably have loose papers hanging out with personal information on each of the job candidates you have considered? They are either drastically reduced in size or eliminated altogether. In each folder you may have had three or four pages of application, resume, background check release forms, and perhaps drug testing consent forms. You might have applicant questionnaires and I-9 forms filed in there too. I know that some of these papers fall out or get misplaced and who knows what kind of personal information is then floating around and potentially winding up in the wrong hands. Bill Bregar, CEO of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. (LPSI) recognized all of the problems associated with the traditional hiring process and found a way to ease that burden on retail owners who already have enough on their plates to deal with. With the system offered by Bill’s team at LPSI employers can customize applications to flag only those applicants that meet specific criteria. No more need to go through 100 applications to find the 10 candidates that truly meet the skill sets you are seeking. How about an electronic release form from candidates so you can have pre-employment screening checks conducted by LPSI? All of it done in one central electronic location. These are just a few of the many benefits an Applicant Tracking System offers.
In our training we were also taught to stick to the process for interviewing and stay away from outside sources of information about a candidate. You might find this useful in your hiring process as well. With all of the social media platforms it seems on the surface that there would be nothing wrong with looking up an applicant’s social media pages. Are they putting things out there that would raise a red flag with you and could influence your hiring decision? It was brought to our attention that if we were to look at an applicant’s social media and see that they are a single mom, pregnant, have some type medical issue or any number of other things we could be putting our employer at risk. For example if an applicant posts that they are having migraine headaches (and add a frowny face) and they are not hired and they find out we did view their post they might say they were discriminated against. It could be alleged we were concerned they would call out of work regularly so for that reason they were not hired. The message for us in the training was that additional information outside of the application and interviews should come from pre-employment screening and reference checks.
Owners and managers of retail stores are constantly pulled in many directions for their time and attention. Making the hiring process easier so that energy can be focused elsewhere is important. Hiring properly and avoiding legal issues is also important. Let LPSI get you started with a pre-employment screening process and Applicant Tracking System that will make the applicant search a breeze. You can also avoid all of those legal landmines in the process.
Need information on an Applicant Tracking System? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
When you are hiring a new employee do you conduct pre-employment screening? Do you have an Applicant Management System in place? What are the resources you use to know who it is you are hiring? I ask these questions because I recently attended a training session, where I work at, conducted by our Human Resources Department. The training was to instruct faculty and staff in the proper methods of conducting position searches. I have been doing hiring for a lot of years and different employers have different methods of conducting job searches. Several take-aways came out of our session. For starters, one of the things that has bothered me about my current employer is that much of our process is still paper based. During this training we were excited to learn that our college is going to transition to an Applicant Tracking System. Our Human Resources instructor was ecstatic, apparently those of us having to keep track of all of this paperwork are not the only ones frustrated with the current system. While this will be a state initiated program you can have your own job Applicant Management System without being a government agency. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. offers a system of their own that can help businesses with a more efficient process.
“What is an Applicant Management System?” you may be wondering (at least I hope you are asking the question at this point). It is a system that can keep the majority of your hiring process in an electronic format. You know all of those file folders that probably have loose papers hanging out with personal information on each of the job candidates you have considered? They are either drastically reduced in size or eliminated altogether. In each folder you may have had three or four pages of application, resume, background check release forms, and perhaps drug testing consent forms. You might have applicant questionnaires and I-9 forms filed in there too. I know that some of these papers fall out or get misplaced and who knows what kind of personal information is then floating around and potentially winding up in the wrong hands. Bill Bregar, CEO of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. (LPSI) recognized all of the problems associated with the traditional hiring process and found a way to ease that burden on retail owners who already have enough on their plates to deal with. With the system offered by Bill’s team at LPSI employers can customize applications to flag only those applicants that meet specific criteria. No more need to go through 100 applications to find the 10 candidates that truly meet the skill sets you are seeking. How about an electronic release form from candidates so you can have pre-employment screening checks conducted by LPSI? All of it done in one central electronic location. These are just a few of the many benefits an Applicant Tracking System offers.
In our training we were also taught to stick to the process for interviewing and stay away from outside sources of information about a candidate. You might find this useful in your hiring process as well. With all of the social media platforms it seems on the surface that there would be nothing wrong with looking up an applicant’s social media pages. Are they putting things out there that would raise a red flag with you and could influence your hiring decision? It was brought to our attention that if we were to look at an applicant’s social media and see that they are a single mom, pregnant, have some type medical issue or any number of other things we could be putting our employer at risk. For example if an applicant posts that they are having migraine headaches (and add a frowny face) and they are not hired and they find out we did view their post they might say they were discriminated against. It could be alleged we were concerned they would call out of work regularly so for that reason they were not hired. The message for us in the training was that additional information outside of the application and interviews should come from pre-employment screening and reference checks.
Owners and managers of retail stores are constantly pulled in many directions for their time and attention. Making the hiring process easier so that energy can be focused elsewhere is important. Hiring properly and avoiding legal issues is also important. Let LPSI get you started with a pre-employment screening process and Applicant Tracking System that will make the applicant search a breeze. You can also avoid all of those legal landmines in the process.
Need information on an Applicant Tracking System? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Employee Theft -3 wc blog 574
Training To Reduce Employee Theft-3
Want To Run A Profitable Store? Get Training To Reduce Employee Theft
When I started out as a Loss Prevention Manager I knew about employee theft from my work as a Loss Prevention Associate for another retailer. I had experience assisting in a couple of dishonest employee investigations so I knew it could be a problem. What I didn’t realize was how big a problem it could be and why training to reduce employee theft was so important for me. I mean let’s be real, I had 4 ½ years of Loss Prevention experience under my belt what was there to learn? As it turned out I went off for four weeks of training at another store in order to learn about all of the aspects of the company’s Loss Prevention program. From hiring and managing a team to learning their procedures for shoplifter apprehensions to how to initiate and investigate employees I found out there was more than I imagined.
Many readers are store owners and managers and may be thinking that this is an article for Loss Prevention Managers not for them. WAIT! Don’t stop reading! This is an article for you because you are most likely the owner of a small to medium size business and will not have a Loss Prevention department. You need to know that if you have people working for you then at some point you will have an issue with employee’s stealing from you. You have to be able to recognize theft when it transpires and know what steps to take to deal with it. Unfortunately without someone to help you learn how to identify it you could experience grievous losses before you can stop it in time. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. offers training to reduce employee theft so that you won’t be caught off guard. Through live seminars and online training sessions store managers and owners can get the information they need to take keep dishonest workers from taking advantage of them.
Providing you with some of the lessons I learned as a new Loss Prevention Manager will hopefully be helpful to you as a manager of a retail business.
• The value of employee orientations in deterring employee theft. I had never thought about it prior to my job and, to be honest, it took some time for me to see the value in it. What I learned was, by including Loss Prevention in employee orientations, expectations were clearly defined. New workers knew what was expected of them and consequences if they were caught. It was during this time we also made sure new hires understood what would be considered theft and fraud. From stealing cash and merchandise to fraudulent refunds and even time card theft, all were considered employee theft and would not be tolerated.
• Conducting Background Checks. While I did not conduct them, our company did. I learned, by working with the Human Resources department manager, how many people will get caught lying about criminal pasts. Background checks uncovered their dishonestly and prevented these people from getting hired and potentially stealing from the store.
• Prior to my training, I did not understand the importance of putting controls in place. Requiring employee bag checks at the end of a shift and receipt checks of purchases was an important tool in stopping theft.
• Not allowing employees to wear coats at a register and not permitting food or drinks while working wasn’t intended to be a punishment. Coats gave a place to hide cash or merchandise at a point of sale. Food and drinks, aside from being a distraction, were easy to steal at the register and a receipt could just be retained from an earlier purchase.
These were just a few of the lessons I learned, and I came to the job with a Loss Prevention background.
Dishonest employees can be creative in the methods they use to steal. Training to reduce employee theft is necessary if a store owner is going to be able to identify and stop theft activity. Let Loss Prevention Systems Inc. be your resource for training to ensure you keep your store operating profitably.
Employee theft is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
When I started out as a Loss Prevention Manager I knew about employee theft from my work as a Loss Prevention Associate for another retailer. I had experience assisting in a couple of dishonest employee investigations so I knew it could be a problem. What I didn’t realize was how big a problem it could be and why training to reduce employee theft was so important for me. I mean let’s be real, I had 4 ½ years of Loss Prevention experience under my belt what was there to learn? As it turned out I went off for four weeks of training at another store in order to learn about all of the aspects of the company’s Loss Prevention program. From hiring and managing a team to learning their procedures for shoplifter apprehensions to how to initiate and investigate employees I found out there was more than I imagined.
Many readers are store owners and managers and may be thinking that this is an article for Loss Prevention Managers not for them. WAIT! Don’t stop reading! This is an article for you because you are most likely the owner of a small to medium size business and will not have a Loss Prevention department. You need to know that if you have people working for you then at some point you will have an issue with employee’s stealing from you. You have to be able to recognize theft when it transpires and know what steps to take to deal with it. Unfortunately without someone to help you learn how to identify it you could experience grievous losses before you can stop it in time. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. offers training to reduce employee theft so that you won’t be caught off guard. Through live seminars and online training sessions store managers and owners can get the information they need to take keep dishonest workers from taking advantage of them.
Providing you with some of the lessons I learned as a new Loss Prevention Manager will hopefully be helpful to you as a manager of a retail business.
• The value of employee orientations in deterring employee theft. I had never thought about it prior to my job and, to be honest, it took some time for me to see the value in it. What I learned was, by including Loss Prevention in employee orientations, expectations were clearly defined. New workers knew what was expected of them and consequences if they were caught. It was during this time we also made sure new hires understood what would be considered theft and fraud. From stealing cash and merchandise to fraudulent refunds and even time card theft, all were considered employee theft and would not be tolerated.
• Conducting Background Checks. While I did not conduct them, our company did. I learned, by working with the Human Resources department manager, how many people will get caught lying about criminal pasts. Background checks uncovered their dishonestly and prevented these people from getting hired and potentially stealing from the store.
• Prior to my training, I did not understand the importance of putting controls in place. Requiring employee bag checks at the end of a shift and receipt checks of purchases was an important tool in stopping theft.
• Not allowing employees to wear coats at a register and not permitting food or drinks while working wasn’t intended to be a punishment. Coats gave a place to hide cash or merchandise at a point of sale. Food and drinks, aside from being a distraction, were easy to steal at the register and a receipt could just be retained from an earlier purchase.
These were just a few of the lessons I learned, and I came to the job with a Loss Prevention background.
Dishonest employees can be creative in the methods they use to steal. Training to reduce employee theft is necessary if a store owner is going to be able to identify and stop theft activity. Let Loss Prevention Systems Inc. be your resource for training to ensure you keep your store operating profitably.
Employee theft is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Return Fraud is a common problem for retailers and often it is difficult to distinguish a fraudulent return from a legitimate return. Finding methods to reduce the risk of a fraudulent return can be even trickier. Those who commit return fraud often use the same reasons for a refund that honest shoppers use for their refunds and exchanges. Here is a list of the most common reasons for merchandise returns from https://chargebacks911.com/knowledge-base/9-reasons-why-consumers-return-products/ chargebacks911.com:
- The customer bought the wrong item
- The product is no longer needed
- The product did not match its description
- The customer wasn’t familiar with the product
- A gift purchase was incorrect
- The customer didn’t want the item
- The product was damaged upon arrival
- The merchant shipped the wrong item
- ***The customer engages in wardrobing
Reasons 1 through 8 are understandable, I have had to return items for some of these reasons and working in retail I have assisted customers by ordering something for them through our warehouse. I have had customers who received the wrong item even when I correctly input the information in the computer, it happens from time to time. I found it interesting that the number 9 reason on their list was wardrobing. This is one of the most difficult forms of fraud to combat because reasons 1 through 8 are frequently used to get away with reason 9. I will go into more detail on it in a moment but I want to assure you that wardrobing CAN be prevented by using Shark Tags.
This would be a good time for me to clarify what wardrobing is for readers who are not familiar with the term even if they are familiar with the practice. Have you ever had a customer bring in an article of clothing for a return a day or two after they purchased it? They probably had the receipt, the manufacturer labels were intact and hanging from the garment and they may tell you one of the excuses I listed above. You may have been suspicious of the return because the clothing smelled like it had perfume or other odors on it such as food. There may even be a little stain somewhere and the customer stated that it was there already and they must have missed it when they bought the item. Everything is in line with your store policies so you give the refund to keep the customer happy. You may have to damage the product out of stock and try to get some vendor credit back but you still lose money. What you didn’t know was that the customer had worn the item to a party the night before and taped the tags inside a sleeve or down the neck so others wouldn’t see them. You didn’t know the customer had no intention of keeping the items they just wanted to appear to have a new outfit. You are the victim of wardrobing. Shark Tags prevent this activity because they are attached to clothing in a highly visible place and have to be removed by the customer when the customer gets the item home and decides to keep it. Stores using the Shark Tag make policies that clearly let consumers know that no refunds are given for merchandise which has had a Tag removed. Because they are red the tags are going to stand out like a sore thumb if someone were to attempt to wear a garment with the tag attached. If a shopper needs to make a return for reasons 1 through 8 and the tag is intact you can be certain you are not the victim of this type of return fraud.
Every retailer wants to provide a good customer service experience and sometimes that means the return policy has to be a bit on the lenient side. Allowances must be made for purchasing errors, poor gift choices or products not meeting buyer expectations. On the other hand that does not mean that store owners need to go so far in their leniency that they are being taken advantage of and becoming victims of return fraud. Retail anti-theft devices can help prevent fraudulent returns due to theft and Shark Tags can prevent fraud due to customers taking advantage of refund policies. Help keep your shoppers happy by keeping prices lower when you don’t have to be concerned marking up products to offset costs due to fraud. Use Shark Tags and stop the bad guys from eating up your profits.
For more information about wardrobing, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Employee Background Checks-4 WC Blog 498
Pre-employment screening-4
The Cost Of Not Conducting Employee Background Checks
Are employee background checks really necessary? With tight budgets and an unemployment rate that is hitting new lows, hiring can be difficult especially for small retailers. National retail chains are now starting their entry level employees at $9 and $10 an hour in order to fill cashiering, salesfloor and stocking positions. Some offer a shift differential to employees who work overnight or early morning hours. Those same retailers can also cut prices to the point that it makes it difficult for the mom and pop shops to compete with them and keep customers. In this competitive environment it becomes increasingly difficult for the small and medium shops to not just retain help but hire new workers. On the surface it would seem that pre-employment screening would increase that difficulty. A prospective employee may be swayed to another job by the prospect of higher pay or a quicker start date. What about the cost of conducting those employee background checks? Is it even in the budget? I would like to pose another question to retail owners who are on the fence on this. Can you afford not to conduct checks?
Employee background checks conducted by a company that specializes in them will identify potential applicants with criminal histories or other anomalies in their past. A pre-employment screening can be customized to what the prospective employer wants to be sure is NOT on an applicant’s record. A delivery company may be concerned about a driving record. Someone who is going to be working around heavy equipment probably should not have an arrest record for drug or alcohol related offenses. A quality check will look at where an applicant has indicated they have lived on their application. Why is this important? If a person is moving around a lot they could be running from a criminal past. Maybe they are trying to avoid bill collectors. That carries its own concerns do you want to hire someone with financial problems? There are a number of other items that can be checked and the details can be discussed with the company you hire to do your checks.
At this point you may be thinking that you have an application in hand and you will conduct an interview so you should be able to determine whether a candidate will be okay. If this is your position consider this story from whotv.com, “Fort Dodge Sex Offender Accused of New Charges Against Minors”, October 10, 2017 by Kelly Maricle. According to the report a hospital worker was charged with three counts of sexual abuse 3rd degree (2nd offense) and three counts of sex offender registry violations against minors. http://whotv.com/2017/10/10/fort-dodge-sex-offender-accused-of-new-charges-against-minors/ How did a registered sex offender get a job in a location where he would be in contact with minors? There is no indication whether employee background checks were conducted by the hospital. If there was not a check conducted then it seems there would be negligence on the part of the hospital. If a pre-employment screening WAS conducted then one has to ask just how detailed was the check or how good was the company that completed the check?
In case you aren’t quite convinced you should check out your prospective new hires before you bring them on board, check out this story about a retail employee. In a July 12, 2017 story on wqad.com, “A Des Moines County jury found him guilty in February of theft and burglary for stealing the safe and more than $4700 in cash from the hardware store where he had been working.” The story reported that he was, “sentenced as a habitual criminal because of his previous convictions.” http://wqad.com/2017/07/12/man-gets-15-years-for-stealing-safe-money-from-his-employer/ Again the question I have to ask is did this retailer complete a criminal history check before bringing this man on to their staff?
It may seem to you that you can’t afford to conduct pre-employment screening but you have to evaluate what your cost may be by not clearing applicants before they join your team. Let Loss Prevention Systems Inc. help you stay profitable and safe by checking out your candidates prior to you giving them a job offer.
Employee background checks are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Are employee background checks really necessary? With tight budgets and an unemployment rate that is hitting new lows, hiring can be difficult especially for small retailers. National retail chains are now starting their entry level employees at $9 and $10 an hour in order to fill cashiering, salesfloor and stocking positions. Some offer a shift differential to employees who work overnight or early morning hours. Those same retailers can also cut prices to the point that it makes it difficult for the mom and pop shops to compete with them and keep customers. In this competitive environment it becomes increasingly difficult for the small and medium shops to not just retain help but hire new workers. On the surface it would seem that pre-employment screening would increase that difficulty. A prospective employee may be swayed to another job by the prospect of higher pay or a quicker start date. What about the cost of conducting those employee background checks? Is it even in the budget? I would like to pose another question to retail owners who are on the fence on this. Can you afford not to conduct checks?
Employee background checks conducted by a company that specializes in them will identify potential applicants with criminal histories or other anomalies in their past. A pre-employment screening can be customized to what the prospective employer wants to be sure is NOT on an applicant’s record. A delivery company may be concerned about a driving record. Someone who is going to be working around heavy equipment probably should not have an arrest record for drug or alcohol related offenses. A quality check will look at where an applicant has indicated they have lived on their application. Why is this important? If a person is moving around a lot they could be running from a criminal past. Maybe they are trying to avoid bill collectors. That carries its own concerns do you want to hire someone with financial problems? There are a number of other items that can be checked and the details can be discussed with the company you hire to do your checks.
At this point you may be thinking that you have an application in hand and you will conduct an interview so you should be able to determine whether a candidate will be okay. If this is your position consider this story from whotv.com, “Fort Dodge Sex Offender Accused of New Charges Against Minors”, October 10, 2017 by Kelly Maricle. According to the report a hospital worker was charged with three counts of sexual abuse 3rd degree (2nd offense) and three counts of sex offender registry violations against minors. http://whotv.com/2017/10/10/fort-dodge-sex-offender-accused-of-new-charges-against-minors/ How did a registered sex offender get a job in a location where he would be in contact with minors? There is no indication whether employee background checks were conducted by the hospital. If there was not a check conducted then it seems there would be negligence on the part of the hospital. If a pre-employment screening WAS conducted then one has to ask just how detailed was the check or how good was the company that completed the check?
In case you aren’t quite convinced you should check out your prospective new hires before you bring them on board, check out this story about a retail employee. In a July 12, 2017 story on wqad.com, “A Des Moines County jury found him guilty in February of theft and burglary for stealing the safe and more than $4700 in cash from the hardware store where he had been working.” The story reported that he was, “sentenced as a habitual criminal because of his previous convictions.” http://wqad.com/2017/07/12/man-gets-15-years-for-stealing-safe-money-from-his-employer/ Again the question I have to ask is did this retailer complete a criminal history check before bringing this man on to their staff?
It may seem to you that you can’t afford to conduct pre-employment screening but you have to evaluate what your cost may be by not clearing applicants before they join your team. Let Loss Prevention Systems Inc. help you stay profitable and safe by checking out your candidates prior to you giving them a job offer.
Employee background checks are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
