Marketing does a lot for a business. It is usually the first impression that the customer base gets to experience. It is usually what draws shoppers into the store with appealing graphics, catchy phrases and jingles, and carefully refined logos. Once the customer gets into the store, advertising doesn’t do much to keep them there. This is where the employees come in—they are the face of the entire organization for each customer that they interact with. So, what will this impression be? Will it be one that they remember for a great and caring experience? That all depends who that face belongs to, and who those faces belong to depends upon which employees you hired based upon their background checks.
Many organizations will hire just about any body that is available to fill the position; either to keep their payroll numbers high or to make sure staffing is sufficient enough to get the job done. I have been there and I get it. What cannot be forgotten, however, is that all business begins and ends with people. It is people that come to businesses looking to satisfy their needs. It is people who dream and create businesses to serve those other people. It is people that support the business and allow it to be successful. That is why when making a hiring decision, it is important to look for genuine people, and not just bodies. Pre-employment screening is one of the most critical ways to make sure you are hiring the type of person you want to represent you and your organization.
We all know what happens when the wrong person gets hired for the job; they come to work when they want to (as opposed to when they are scheduled), shirt untucked like they just rolled out of bed, with an attitude like they are just entitled from birth to collect their payroll checks and get on with it. That may seem like an anomaly but I think we have all known that guy. We can usually spot them in an interview and avoid that situation. However, an even greater nightmare is the guy who comes to work early every day, does a fantastic job with greeting the customers, looks clean cut, and steals from right under your nose every day. It doesn’t take long for this guy to clean house and quit, moving onto the next job to do the same thing.
Outsourcing to a background check company that is experienced with investigating and specializing in the field is going to be your safest investment to protect your business. While working loss prevention for a retail chain store, I became aware of a sales person, we’ll call him James, who had a hidden history. After noticing that James was copying customers’ social security numbers while signing them up for credit, I knew that James was the nightmare employee that we all fear. After those customers complained of unauthorized charges, I decided to leverage some local law enforcement connections to look into his history.
It turns out that James had been involved in auto theft, robberies, and a number of property crimes. Just imagine; if it can happen to a large retail chain, it can surely happen to you if you are not careful. Employees are not just inanimate assets; they are the most important asset to your organization—they are people. Choose quality people, and ensure that you utilize background check experts when making your hiring decision.
For more information contact us: Background Checks or call 1.770.426.0547
Marketing does a lot for a business. It is usually the first impression that the customer base gets to experience. It is usually what draws shoppers into the store with appealing graphics, catchy phrases and jingles, and carefully refined logos. Once the customer gets into the store, advertising doesn’t do much to keep them there. This is where the employees come in—they are the face of the entire organization for each customer that they interact with. So, what will this impression be? Will it be one that they remember for a great and caring experience? That all depends who that face belongs to, and who those faces belong to depends upon which employees you hired based upon their background checks.
Many organizations will hire just about any body that is available to fill the position; either to keep their payroll numbers high or to make sure staffing is sufficient enough to get the job done. I have been there and I get it. What cannot be forgotten, however, is that all business begins and ends with people. It is people that come to businesses looking to satisfy their needs. It is people who dream and create businesses to serve those other people. It is people that support the business and allow it to be successful. That is why when making a hiring decision, it is important to look for genuine people, and not just bodies. Pre-employment screening is one of the most critical ways to make sure you are hiring the type of person you want to represent you and your organization.
We all know what happens when the wrong person gets hired for the job; they come to work when they want to (as opposed to when they are scheduled), shirt untucked like they just rolled out of bed, with an attitude like they are just entitled from birth to collect their payroll checks and get on with it. That may seem like an anomaly but I think we have all known that guy. We can usually spot them in an interview and avoid that situation. However, an even greater nightmare is the guy who comes to work early every day, does a fantastic job with greeting the customers, looks clean cut, and steals from right under your nose every day. It doesn’t take long for this guy to clean house and quit, moving onto the next job to do the same thing.
Outsourcing to a background check company that is experienced with investigating and specializing in the field is going to be your safest investment to protect your business. While working loss prevention for a retail chain store, I became aware of a sales person, we’ll call him James, who had a hidden history. After noticing that James was copying customers’ social security numbers while signing them up for credit, I knew that James was the nightmare employee that we all fear. After those customers complained of unauthorized charges, I decided to leverage some local law enforcement connections to look into his history.
It turns out that James had been involved in auto theft, robberies, and a number of property crimes. Just imagine; if it can happen to a large retail chain, it can surely happen to you if you are not careful. Employees are not just inanimate assets; they are the most important asset to your organization—they are people. Choose quality people, and ensure that you utilize background check experts when making your hiring decision.
For more information contact us: Background Checks or call 1.770.426.0547
I attended a Loss Prevention Seminar back in 2008. It changed the way I see people and their reactions to stressful situations. Now I pay more attention to their body language and cues they give without even knowing it. Unless they are professional liars, people will likely show signs of deception or simply nervousness almost immediately. You won’t become a human lie detector, but you will pick up on things you probably never would have given a second thought to.
Once during the start of an interview with an employee that was only being questioned about her knowledge of a particular incident in a store, her heart was racing so fast I could see the pulse beating in her throat. I was actually worried about her physical state. It became apparent either she knew a lot about the situation we were there to inquire about, or she was involved in losses of her own. Her autonomic nervous system sold her out. Once we got her to spill the story of the other employee’s involvement in the theft we had come to talk about, she settled down a bit. However, we still went on with the interview to see what she may react to about other issues. We went through the different ways to cause losses to a company: taking cash, taking merchandise, damaging company property, etc. She showed the slightest change in posture when we mentioned merchandise theft so we went back with that direction. She actually did admit to a theft. She said she had brought balloons to the store one day the manager happened to not be on duty, filled them with helium, and left. She said she did it, and then wondered later if it was a violation, but was too nervous to ask for fear she would lose her job over it. She was given a written counseling just to cover our bases, but she was not terminated for her “theft.”
Loss prevention seminars will educate you on that autonomic nervous system. Most people can’t help but want to protect themselves when they are caught. They may cross their arms and/or legs to shield themselves. Some will stretch all the way out, legs straight, to increase their distance from the person questioning them. They do this without ever thinking about it. Increased blood flow will cause sudden and ongoing itching, especially around the face. Some people may begin to redden and begin perspiring. I always clear my desk or area where I’m going to be conducting an interview. It takes away the opportunity for created “jobs.” Some people will move a pencil, or fidget with a stapler if they are allowed access to these items. If you take these away, they will simply have to pick the lint from their clothing instead. Eye contact is a big issue for some interviewers, but you can’t solely rely on that to be a person’s telltale sign of deception. Some people naturally avoid eye contact because they are shy; some cultures are more apt to avoid direct eye contact as well.
If you get the chance to attend a Loss Prevention Seminar, get on the attendee list as fast as you can. Take the time and take lots of notes, and you’ll be glad you went. As a business owner or manager, the invaluable information you will get from one of these will stay with you and help you for years to come.
For more information contact us: LossPreventionSeminar.com or 1.770.426.0547
I attended a Loss Prevention Seminar back in 2008. It changed the way I see people and their reactions to stressful situations. Now I pay more attention to their body language and cues they give without even knowing it. Unless they are professional liars, people will likely show signs of deception or simply nervousness almost immediately. You won’t become a human lie detector, but you will pick up on things you probably never would have given a second thought to.
Once during the start of an interview with an employee that was only being questioned about her knowledge of a particular incident in a store, her heart was racing so fast I could see the pulse beating in her throat. I was actually worried about her physical state. It became apparent either she knew a lot about the situation we were there to inquire about, or she was involved in losses of her own. Her autonomic nervous system sold her out. Once we got her to spill the story of the other employee’s involvement in the theft we had come to talk about, she settled down a bit. However, we still went on with the interview to see what she may react to about other issues. We went through the different ways to cause losses to a company: taking cash, taking merchandise, damaging company property, etc. She showed the slightest change in posture when we mentioned merchandise theft so we went back with that direction. She actually did admit to a theft. She said she had brought balloons to the store one day the manager happened to not be on duty, filled them with helium, and left. She said she did it, and then wondered later if it was a violation, but was too nervous to ask for fear she would lose her job over it. She was given a written counseling just to cover our bases, but she was not terminated for her “theft.”
Loss prevention seminars will educate you on that autonomic nervous system. Most people can’t help but want to protect themselves when they are caught. They may cross their arms and/or legs to shield themselves. Some will stretch all the way out, legs straight, to increase their distance from the person questioning them. They do this without ever thinking about it. Increased blood flow will cause sudden and ongoing itching, especially around the face. Some people may begin to redden and begin perspiring. I always clear my desk or area where I’m going to be conducting an interview. It takes away the opportunity for created “jobs.” Some people will move a pencil, or fidget with a stapler if they are allowed access to these items. If you take these away, they will simply have to pick the lint from their clothing instead. Eye contact is a big issue for some interviewers, but you can’t solely rely on that to be a person’s telltale sign of deception. Some people naturally avoid eye contact because they are shy; some cultures are more apt to avoid direct eye contact as well.
If you get the chance to attend a Loss Prevention Seminar, get on the attendee list as fast as you can. Take the time and take lots of notes, and you’ll be glad you went. As a business owner or manager, the invaluable information you will get from one of these will stay with you and help you for years to come.
For more information contact us: LossPreventionSeminar.com or 1.770.426.0547
There is nothing worse than learning that a thousand dollars’ worth of your clothing inventory just walked out the front door, without receiving a dime of payment. In the many years I have worked in the Loss Prevention field, I have unfortunately observed this happen on several occasions. Fortunately I apprehended most of the bandits when they left the store with the merchandise. Other times, we weren’t so lucky. If we had a good clothing security strategy at the time, it might not have been so easy for the thieves to make off with the merchandise.
It doesn’t take long for a couple of people to fill up a shopping cart or two with bundles of your clothing. Not all shoplifters go after just one or two items and take their time stealing it. They can be in and out in a matter of minutes with racks of your precious inventory. You can bet that if they get away with the theft, it won’t take them long to come back and do it again, or tell others how easy it was to do at your store. How long do you think it would take you to make up the loss from a large theft and once again become profitable?
The good news is, you don’t have to wait to become a victim of theft to take action. You can start protecting your merchandise right now. The easiest way to start the process is by ordering security tags that will work for your situation, and then you can attach the security tags on clothes that you think feel have the highest theft risk. Evaluate your needs and make a plan as to what the best course of action would be for your business. Every business is different, so there is no fix-all solution to all of your problems, but this is a good place to start if you are already incurring a loss.
Make sure that along with the clothing security program you have in place, you also implement good training for attaching the tags as well. The reason for this is that I have seen employees that were not properly trained do damage to the merchandise by sticking part of the tags right through the clothing. You want to ensure that the tag is visible, yet not placed on the garment in a way that could cause damage.
You may think that you would want to hide the tag so that the shoplifter will not notice the tag, and set the alarm off at the door upon exiting the store. I have seen this strategy used in the past, but my opinion is leaving the tag highly visible is the best choice. Concealing the tag in the clothing will give you assurance that the shoplifter has left the store with the merchandise, but will provide no deterrence for the would-be thief if they don’t know it is on the clothing. Leaving visible security tags on clothes provides an immediate deterrent for the shoplifter.
No matter which strategy you choose for your clothing security program, the important thing is that you take action. This will be a step in the right direction, and have a positive impact on your bottom line.
For more information contact us: (Clothing Security) or call 1.770.426.0547
There is nothing worse than learning that a thousand dollars’ worth of your clothing inventory just walked out the front door, without receiving a dime of payment. In the many years I have worked in the Loss Prevention field, I have unfortunately observed this happen on several occasions.
Fortunately I apprehended most of the bandits when they left the store with the merchandise. Other times, we weren’t so lucky. If we had a good clothing security strategy at the time, it might not have been so easy for the thieves to make off with the merchandise.
It doesn’t take long for a couple of people to fill up a shopping cart or two with bundles of your clothing. Not all shoplifters go after just one or two items and take their time stealing it. They can be in and out in a matter of minutes with racks of your precious inventory. You can bet that if they get away with the theft, it won’t take them long to come back and do it again, or tell others how easy it was to do at your store. How long do you think it would take you to make up the loss from a large theft and once again become profitable?
The good news is, you don’t have to wait to become a victim of theft to take action. You can start protecting your merchandise right now. The easiest way to start the process is by ordering security tags that will work for your situation, and then you can attach the security tags on clothes that you think feel have the highest theft risk. Evaluate your needs and make a plan as to what the best course of action would be for your business. Every business is different, so there is no fix-all solution to all of your problems, but this is a good place to start if you are already incurring a loss.
Make sure that along with the clothing security program you have in place, you also implement good training for attaching the tags as well. The reason for this is that I have seen employees that were not properly trained do damage to the merchandise by sticking part of the tags right through the clothing. You want to ensure that the tag is visible, yet not placed on the garment in a way that could cause damage.
You may think that you would want to hide the tag so that the shoplifter will not notice the tag, and set the alarm off at the door upon exiting the store. I have seen this strategy used in the past, but my opinion is leaving the tag highly visible is the best choice. Concealing the tag in the clothing will give you assurance that the shoplifter has left the store with the merchandise, but will provide no deterrence for the would-be thief if they don’t know it is on the clothing. Leaving visible security tags on clothes provides an immediate deterrent for the shoplifter.
No matter which strategy you choose for your clothing security program, the important thing is that you take action. This will be a step in the right direction, and have a positive impact on your bottom line.
For more information contact us: (Clothing Security) or call 1.770.426.0547
