Employee background checks are a fair way to validate information from a potential job applicant. Because there is no bias into the information found, this data can provide a better insight into the true nature of a job applicant. Typically, these checks will validate things like education and degree completion, employment with a specific company, and length of employment and job position. There might also be a criminal background check that looks for convictions (not arrests) within a court of law.
When this information can be determined, employers have another resource to determine if they want to hire a particular candidate. It also provides an incentive for a job candidate to be honest about whom they claim to be, as an employee background check should uncover any discrepancies.
So what happens if you cannot validate an applicant’s claims? As thorough as most checks are, sometimes there are pieces of information that cannot be substantiated. It is a result of a lack of data that has been reported. While many larger companies report employment histories to reporting agencies, some smaller businesses do not report.
Additionally, employees who have had their employment terminated for theft, but are not prosecuted, may not show up on reports for theft. It may show that the employment was terminated, but the reason might not be disclosed. In fact, for many companies, the actual reason for employee separation may not be revealed.
Previous employers have been successfully sued in the past for disclosing negative information about an employee. The judgments usually state that the employee is unfairly discriminated against when they seek future employment. The end result is that the next employer may know that the employee was terminated, but has no idea if it was for something as innocuous as absences, or something bigger like violence or theft.
Just because a previous employer does not, or will not report specifics about an employee does not mean you have no recourse to protect yourself and your business from a potentially bad hire. You may ask the employee why they left a certain company. You can ask them to disclose what they liked or disliked about their last job- that may lead to their sharing of information that gives you a better understanding of what was going on behind the scenes.
I recently had an applicant come in who had switched jobs every six months or so. After a combination of interviews and employee background checks it was revealed that the employee had been caught stealing at a previous job, and they were making him pay back the restitution. This employee then started stealing at several of his next employers to pay back the original employer’s restitution.
We had a hard time determining any information at first. The employee had worked for several small businesses that did not have any reporting systems in place. It wasn’t until we found the tiniest blip on the radar from the employee he stole from first. The only way we figured out what was going on was because his checks were being garnished for the restitution.
Even if we had not been able to uncover the previous thefts, we might still have turned down this applicant because of his quick turn around at his employers. We were looking for an employee who could reasonably give us a year’s worth of employment, not a month or two.
To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547
Employee background checks are a fair way to validate information from a potential job applicant. Because there is no bias into the information found, this data can provide a better insight into the true nature of a job applicant. Typically, these checks will validate things like education and degree completion, employment with a specific company, and length of employment and job position. There might also be a criminal background check that looks for convictions (not arrests) within a court of law.
When this information can be determined, employers have another resource to determine if they want to hire a particular candidate. It also provides an incentive for a job candidate to be honest about whom they claim to be, as an employee background check should uncover any discrepancies.
So what happens if you cannot validate an applicant’s claims? As thorough as most checks are, sometimes there are pieces of information that cannot be substantiated. It is a result of a lack of data that has been reported. While many larger companies report employment histories to reporting agencies, some smaller businesses do not report.
Additionally, employees who have had their employment terminated for theft, but are not prosecuted, may not show up on reports for theft. It may show that the employment was terminated, but the reason might not be disclosed. In fact, for many companies, the actual reason for employee separation may not be revealed.
Previous employers have been successfully sued in the past for disclosing negative information about an employee. The judgments usually state that the employee is unfairly discriminated against when they seek future employment. The end result is that the next employer may know that the employee was terminated, but has no idea if it was for something as innocuous as absences, or something bigger like violence or theft.
Just because a previous employer does not, or will not report specifics about an employee does not mean you have no recourse to protect yourself and your business from a potentially bad hire. You may ask the employee why they left a certain company. You can ask them to disclose what they liked or disliked about their last job- that may lead to their sharing of information that gives you a better understanding of what was going on behind the scenes.
I recently had an applicant come in who had switched jobs every six months or so. After a combination of interviews and employee background checks it was revealed that the employee had been caught stealing at a previous job, and they were making him pay back the restitution.This employee then started stealing at several of his next employers to pay back the original employer’s restitution.
We had a hard time determining any information at first. The employee had worked for several small businesses that did not have any reporting systems in place. It wasn’t until we found the tiniest blip on the radar from the employee he stole from first. The only way we figured out what was going on was because his checks were being garnished for the restitution.
Even if we had not been able to uncover the previous thefts, we might still have turned down this applicant because of his quick turn around at his employers. We were looking for an employee who could reasonably give us a year’s worth of employment, not a month or two.
To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547
One of the inevitable facts of owning or managing a retail store is that at some point you will be a victim of either shoplifting or employee theft. How you handle your assets during these losses, as well as what did you do to prevent them (previously or in the future), will be the determining factor as to whether or not you are set up for failure.
What many businesses run into is a lack of information as to how to effectively reduce the risk of shoplifting, or employee theft before it happens. Not every store has a budget for expensive EAS systems and the maintenance package to keep them running. Training employees to stop shoplifters can also be a no-go, depending upon the skill set of your average employees. Many small businesses cannot afford to hire employees who have reliable, complex decision making skills. Trusting them to manage a high impact situation is out of the question. Having a full time, dedicated loss prevention employee can also be a non-option due to payroll restraints.
That doesn’t mean that there are not other options to help you protect your assets and investments, as well as the reputation of your store. Loss prevention workshops are designed to help you find small business solutions that fit into your budget and your store’s specific needs.
This loss prevention training is essential for anyone in your organizational structure that would be in a position to execute loss prevention strategies. This could be any managers and key carriers. This could also be a great training for any employee working in your store.
Cashiers are usually the first and last person a customer sees because the cash wrap stands are positioned near entrance and exit doors. Training your cashiers on how customer service is an effective extension of loss prevention can help reduce your in store crimes, plus increase your customer loyalty.
If the employees working your sales floor understand that a clean, stocked and organized store makes it easier to spot missing merchandise, therefore increasing a shoplifter’s risk of getting caught, the employees might be more willing to do their jobs properly.
Even making small moves to inventory layouts within a store can make a reduction in the quantity of theft losses on a particular item. If you have an issue with a product, move it closer to a cash register where someone is frequently around to deter theft.
Having a set shelf quantity of an item can also help monitor a high theft item to determine where it is going an when. Instead of filling a hook or a shelf with all available product, limit it to only four or five pieces. Train your employees to count every time they pass the item. If one is missing, and has not been sold, you can narrow down the time since someone last saw it.
These are a few loss prevention techniques that would come from a training workshop that can effectively reduce inventory and asset losses, without ever having to make an apprehension of a shoplifter. These tactics do not require decision-making skills above the normal scope of an employee’s job description. They also do not require additional payroll expenses to ensure the programs execution.
Having a clearer understanding how each individual employee can make a positive impact of theft reduction, while continuing to operate within the standard job description strengthens your store’s defenses against theft and losses.
For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia
Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.
One of the inevitable facts of owning or managing a retail store is that at some point you will be a victim of either shoplifting or employee theft. How you handle your assets during these losses, as well as what did you do to prevent them (previously or in the future), will be the determining factor as to whether or not you are set up for failure.
What many businesses run into is a lack of information as to how to effectively reduce the risk of shoplifting, or employee theft before it happens. Not every store has a budget for expensive EAS systems and the maintenance package to keep them running. Training employees to stop shoplifters can also be a no-go, depending upon the skill set of your average employees. Many small businesses cannot afford to hire employees who have reliable, complex decision making skills. Trusting them to manage a high impact situation is out of the question. Having a full time, dedicated loss prevention employee can also be a non-option due to payroll restraints.
That doesn’t mean that there are not other options to help you protect your assets and investments, as well as the reputation of your store. Loss prevention workshops are designed to help you find small business solutions that fit into your budget and your store’s specific needs.
This loss prevention training is essential for anyone in your organizational structure that would be in a position to execute loss prevention strategies. This could be any managers and key carriers. This could also be a great training for any employee working in your store.
Cashiers are usually the first and last person a customer sees because the cash wrap stands are positioned near entrance and exit doors. Training your cashiers on how customer service is an effective extension of loss prevention can help reduce your in store crimes, plus increase your customer loyalty.
If the employees working your sales floor understand that a clean, stocked and organized store makes it easier to spot missing merchandise, therefore increasing a shoplifter’s risk of getting caught, the employees might be more willing to do their jobs properly. Even making small moves to inventory layouts within a store can make a reduction in the quantity of theft losses on a particular item. If you have an issue with a product, move it closer to a cash register where someone is frequently around to deter theft.
Having a set shelf quantity of an item can also help monitor a high theft item to determine where it is going an when. Instead of filling a hook or a shelf with all available product, limit it to only four or five pieces. Train your employees to count every time they pass the item. If one is missing, and has not been sold, you can narrow down the time since someone last saw it.
These are a few loss prevention techniques that would come from a training workshop that can effectively reduce inventory and asset losses, without ever having to make an apprehension of a shoplifter. These tactics do not require decision-making skills above the normal scope of an employee’s job description. They also do not require additional payroll expenses to ensure the programs execution.
Having a clearer understanding how each individual employee can make a positive impact of theft reduction, while continuing to operate within the standard job description strengthens your store’s defenses against theft and losses.
For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia
Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.
With Halloween right around the corner, we see the plethora of Halloween themed clothing and merchandise start to infiltrate our stores. From witches to black cats, even ghosts and goblins, my stores always seem to find the scariest thing around- the Phantom Clothing Alarm!
The phantom clothing alarm is an EAS alarm that seems to activate all on its own. There never seems to be a plausible reason why it goes off. It was like that when the employees came in at the beginning of the day, or it was working earlier, and something must have happened when they were on their breaks.
Indeed, the phantom alarm has a spooky life all on its own, which is why I seem to be the one they call on to figure out what is going on. I don’t remember ghost buster as part of my job description, but somehow I have a knack for stopping these phantom alarms from haunting my employees and customers.
Obviously stores do not experience routine hauntings that affect only the clothing alarm system. That means there is a more logical, physical reason as to why the alarm is being activated without customers or merchandise present. That reason is usually a hidden EAS or clothing security tag in the area.
A hidden EAS tag usually has nothing to do with shoplifting. These are not tags that have been discarded by a shoplifter on their way out the door. That would be counterintuitive to a shoplifter trying to make their way out of a store without drawing attention to themselves.
These tags are often still on merchandise. One of the more common reasons for a phantom alarm is that there was a remerchandising initiative at some point over night. When clothing racks and tables are moved around, the are often moved too close to the EAS towers, without anyone realizing it. As the merchandise (containing EAS tags) is put back on these tables and racks, the EAS alarms go off. Putting the product back is one of the last steps, and happens around the time the day shift is coming in. As the employees come and go for the day, it is generally much later that someone realizes the alarm is going off.
Luckily, this is a simple fix. By moving tables and racks away from the towers, the alarms should subside. There is no need to retune the towers or shorten the fields around them. Often the remerchandised fixtures only need to be moved back maybe 6 to 8 inches or so, depending upon how close to the EAS towers they were originally staged.
Another common cause of phantom alarms is that a tag was thrown into a trashcan by the EAS towers. It is not unheard of for a customer to want to wear a new clothing item out of the store. Once paid for, the customers will tear the tags off, and leave them in a trashcan on their way out of the store. Soft clothing security tags that are imbedded in these price tags will then set of the alarm, since the tag was scanned at purchase, but not deactivated.
Upon closer inspection, probably 99% of these unexplained phantom alarms are explained by having an EAS tag in the area. Sometimes it just takes a little more looking to find the culprit.
Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Checkpoint Tags, a Clothing Alarm, Clothing Security or Clothing Security Tags to put Security Tags on Clothes and an Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system.
For more information on Checkpoint tags, clothing security, clothing alarm, or clothing security tags how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at security tags on clothes or call 1.770.426.0547
With Halloween right around the corner, we see the plethora of Halloween themed clothing and merchandise start to infiltrate our stores. From witches to black cats, even ghosts and goblins, my stores always seem to find the scariest things around- the Phantom Clothing Alarm!
The phantom clothing alarm is an EAS alarm that seems to activate all on its own. There never seems to be a plausible reason why it goes off. It was like that when the employees came in at the beginning of the day, or it was working earlier, and something must have happened when they were on their breaks.
Indeed, the phantom alarm has a spooky life all on its own, which is why I seem to be the one they call on to figure out what is going on. I don’t remember ghost buster as part of my job description, but somehow I have a knack for stopping these phantom alarms from haunting my employees and customers.
Obviously stores do not experience routine hauntings that affect only the clothing alarm system. That means there is a more logical, physical reason as to why the alarm is being activated without customers or merchandise present. That reason is usually a hidden EAS or clothing security tag in the area.
A hidden EAS tag usually has nothing to do with shoplifting. These are not tags that have been discarded by a shoplifter on their way out the door. That would be counterintuitive to a shoplifter trying to make their way out of a store without drawing attention to themselves.
These tags are often still on merchandise. One of the more common reasons for a phantom alarm is that there was a remerchandising initiative at some point over night. When clothing racks and tables are moved around, the are often moved too close to the EAS towers, without anyone realizing it. As the merchandise (containing EAS tags) is put back on these tables and racks, the EAS alarms go off. Putting the product back is one of the last steps, and happens around the time the day shift is coming in. As the employees come and go for the day, it is generally much later that someone realizes the alarm is going off.
Luckily, this is a simple fix. By moving tables and racks away from the towers, the alarms should subside. There is no need to retune the towers or shorten the fields around them. Often the remerchandised fixtures only need to be moved back maybe 6 to 8 inches or so, depending upon how close to the EAS towers they were originally staged.
Another common cause of phantom alarms is that a tag was thrown into a trashcan by the EAS towers. It is not unheard of for a customer to want to wear a new clothing item out of the store. Once paid for, the customers will tear the tags off, and leave them in a trashcan on their way out of the store. Soft clothing security tags that are imbedded in these price tags will then set of the alarm, since the tag was scanned at purchase, but not deactivated.
Upon closer inspection, probably 99% of these unexplained phantom alarms are explained by having an EAS tag in the area. Sometimes it just takes a little more looking to find the culprit.
Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Checkpoint Tags, a Clothing Alarm, Clothing Security or Clothing Security Tags to put Security Tags on Clothes and an Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system.
For more information on Checkpoint tags, clothing security, clothing alarm, or clothing security tags how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at security tags on clothes or call 1.770.426.0547
After several months of investigating a completely unrelated incident of employee theft, we decided that we should do an informal investigation of the rest of our employees. We had been loosing inventory at an alarming rate and needed to make sure we had caught all of the culprits.
During these investigations, we noticed that one of our bottle service waitresses was taking an unusually high number of drinks from her tables. We do not allow our employees to drink on the clock, but do offer them leeway if the take a drink or a shot glass from a customer to avoid offending the customers. The policy is that the employees are to take the drinks back to the bar and dispose of them down the drain.
This particular employee was taking drinks and shots, not back to the bar, but out on the floor. We started to notice that the employee was selling the drinks (for cash) to other patrons. Hmm. Well she wasn’t causing a loss to our nightclub, but she definitely had no right to sell off another customer’s purchased liquor.
We watched her carefully for a few weeks to see how frequently this occurred. It was frequent enough that we could see she was making an extra several hundred dollars each week from these under the table drinks. We knew it was time to put an end to this employee’s deceit, and her employment with our nightclub.
We sat her down at the end of the night and asked her a few questions about what was going on. She said that she just recently started doing it when a table gave her a drink, and as she was going back to the bar to dump it out, a guy asked her to get him a drink. She told him he could have the one she was carrying. She didn’t expect him to give her any money for it, but when he did, she kept the cash. From there she realized how easy it would be to make some extra money.
She never felt like she was stealing because the bottle service table had paid in full for all of the liquor, mixers, etc. If they wanted to give drinks away, she would accept them. She never asked any of her tables for the drinks. She never felt like she was doing something illegal, since the club wasn’t out any money for the drinks.
The conversation was a real eye opener for us on just how easy it was for an employee to be dishonest, without throwing up any red flags or inventory losses. We were lucky that none of the VIP clients ever found out about her scheme. If they did, we might have lost their invaluable business, and may not have been alerted to the problem, the VIPs might have decided to simply never come back.
The employee was terminated for her actions. Even though she did not cause an inventory loss, she did, in fact, steal sales from our club. Every drink that was sold under the table was one less sale that we were able to make.
For more information on Bottle Caps, Bottle Lock, Bottle Locks, EASy Bottle or Bottle Services in your Nightclub please contact us at Bottle Service or call 1.770.426.0547
All of the most prominent nightclubs, bars and venues in New York, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, New Orleans, Dallas, Denver, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Virginia Beach, Washington D.C., and Las Vegas use Bottle Services for their best clientele. Don’t let your nightclub miss out on this VIP experience.
After several months of investigating a completely unrelated incident of employee theft, we decided that we should do an informal investigation of the rest of our employees. We had been loosing inventory at an alarming rate and needed to make sure we had caught all of the culprits.
During these investigations, we noticed that one of our bottle service waitresses was taking an unusually high number of drinks from her tables. We do not allow our employees to drink on the clock, but do offer them leeway if the take a drink or a shot glass from a customer to avoid offending the customers. The policy is that the employees are to take the drinks back to the bar and dispose of them down the drain.
This particular employee was taking drinks and shots, not back to the bar, but out on the floor. We started to notice that the employee was selling the drinks (for cash) to other patrons. Hmm. Well she wasn’t causing a loss to our nightclub, but she definitely had no right to sell off another customer’s purchased liquor.
We watched her carefully for a few weeks to see how frequently this occurred. It was frequent enough that we could see she was making an extra several hundred dollars each week from these under the table drinks. We knew it was time to put an end to this employee’s deceit, and her employment with our nightclub.
We sat her down at the end of the night and asked her a few questions about what was going on. She said that she just recently started doing it when a table gave her a drink, and as she was going back to the bar to dump it out, a guy asked her to get him a drink. She told him he could have the one she was carrying. She didn’t expect him to give her any money for it, but when he did, she kept the cash. From there she realized how easy it would be to make some extra money.
She never felt like she was stealing because the bottle service table had paid in full for all of the liquor, mixers, etc. If they wanted to give drinks away, she would accept them. She never asked any of her tables for the drinks. She never felt like she was doing something illegal, since the club wasn’t out any money for the drinks.
The conversation was a real eye opener for us on just how easy it was for an employee to be dishonest, without throwing up any red flags or inventory losses. We were lucky that none of the VIP clients ever found out about her scheme. If they did, we might have lost their invaluable business, and may not have been alerted to the problem, the VIPs might have decided to simply never come back.
The employee was terminated for her actions. Even though she did not cause an inventory loss, she did, in fact, steal sales from our club. Every drink that was sold under the table was one less sale that we were able to make.
For more information on Bottle Caps, Bottle Lock, Bottle Locks, EASy Bottle or Bottle Services in your Nightclub please contact us at Bottle Service or call 1.770.426.0547
All of the most prominent nightclubs, bars and venues in New York, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, New Orleans, Dallas, Denver, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Virginia Beach, Washington D.C., and Las Vegas use Bottle Services for their best clientele. Don’t let your nightclub miss out on this VIP experience.
A men’s clothing store was recently hit by a group of very nonchalant thieves. The group came into the store one by one, and scattered to each of the sides of the store. Each shoplifter had a bag with them and started to stuff the bags full of merchandise. Slowly each shoplifter made their way to the exit doors. As they left, the Checkpoint System alarmed notifying store management to their thievery.
As the shoplifters sped off, a few of them dropped their bags, and the store was able to recover some of the merchandise- and gain some insight into how much merchandise had been taken. After reviewing CCTV footage from their Checkpoint System video, they determined that these suspects actually had been in recently to scope out the store. Since they did not take anything then, the Checkpoint System did not alert store management as to what was going on.
What if there was a device that could help identify a large theft ring before the actual theft took place?
Retail customer traffic counters can potentially do just that. Because the purpose of VisiPlus, or any other brand of retail customer traffic counters, is to track the number of customers coming into a store during a specified hour of the day, any large influxes should be readily noticed.
When the VisiPlus reports started to show increases in traffic during a few hours of the day, but no sales to correspond, it would be prudent to investigate. Why were so many people coming in and out (several times in this particular instance) but there were no sales? Was there a problem with customer service, or with merchandise availability? If not, then maybe this is an indicator of a larger issue of organized theft.
VisiPlus reports to a store data garnered from its retail customer traffic counters. If the store analyzes this data in a timely fashion, there is no telling what issues they can catch before they become a problem.
A men’s clothing store was recently hit by a group of very nonchalant thieves. The group came into the store one by one, and scattered to each of the sides of the store. Each shoplifter had a bag with them and started to stuff the bags full of merchandise. Slowly each shoplifter made their way to the exit doors. As they left, the Checkpoint System alarmed notifying store management to their thievery.
As the shoplifters sped off, a few of them dropped their bags, and the store was able to recover some of the merchandise- and gain some insight into how much merchandise had been taken. After reviewing CCTV footage from their Checkpoint System video, they determined that these suspects actually had been in recently to scope out the store. Since they did not take anything then, the Checkpoint System did not alert store management as to what was going on.
What if there was a device that could help identify a large theft ring before the actual theft took place?
Retail customer traffic counters can potentially do just that. Because the purpose of VisiPlus, or any other brand of retail customer traffic counters, is to track the number of customers coming into a store during a specified hour of the day, any large influxes should be readily noticed.
When the VisiPlus reports started to show increases in traffic during a few hours of the day, but no sales to correspond, it would be prudent to investigate. Why were so many people coming in and out (several times in this particular instance) but there were no sales? Was there a problem with customer service, or with merchandise availability? If not, then maybe this is an indicator of a larger issue of organized theft.
VisiPlus reports to a store data garnered from its retail customer traffic counters. If the store analyzes this data in a timely fashion, there is no telling what issues they can catch before they become a problem.
The easiest way for someone to shoplift merchandise from a retailer is to have someone working on the inside. The shoplifter can access more merchandise, in both quantity and in dollar value when they are getting out of the store with a little help from an employee.
Sometimes the shoplifter approaches random employees that might be up for making a little extra cash on the side. If the employee bites, the shoplifter will cut them in for a share of the profits they make from selling the stolen merchandise. If the employee says no, the shoplifter will continue to make their rounds until they find an employee who will say yes.
It is very hard to stop the shoplifter from propositioning your employees, as there is often too little evidence to actually have the shoplifter arrested, or even for management to get close enough to kick them out of the store. These shoplifters are quick to be in and out of the stores, lest anyone pick up on what they are trying to do.
Another scenario, popular within organized crime rings, is to send one of their own associates in to apply for a job. Once this stooge is hired, the crime ring has an employee inside your organization for the sole purpose of making it easier for the crime ring to steal from you. Because you have hired this employee, it will probably take you longer to determine where the inventory losses are coming from, compared to if a shoplifter was acting on their own.
In both of these worst-case scenarios, a criminal background check may or may not provide you with an early warning. An employee who has been solicited probably had no previous criminal activity; they were simply tempted by an opportunity that presented itself. An employee that is planted by a crime ring has more than likely been chosen because they can pass a criminal background check.
That does not mean pre employment screening should not be used, on the contrary it is even more critical than before. An employee, who is thoroughly scrutinized prior to being hired, will be less likely to agree to become a part of an underhanded scheme. The key is to deter potential criminals by making it a more difficult process to become hired on.
Criminals are looking for the path of least resistance. This applies to when they are stealing merchandise, but also when they are putting their plans together to commit the crime. Faced with the task of having one of their own undergo the scrutiny of pre employment screening, or applying at a business that does not check backgrounds, the criminals will opt for the latter.
Same principal applies to the employee who is being solicited by a shoplifter. If they are aware of how protective a company is over whom they hire, there are more than likely going to be more controls in place. The employee who knows that they have a very real risk of getting caught will be less likely to steal for a stranger, even if it is just looking the other way. The screening and checks are the first look into what kind of company an employee is going to work for.
To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547
The easiest way for someone to shoplift merchandise from a retailer is to have someone working on the inside. The shoplifter can access more merchandise, in both quantity and in dollar value when they are getting out of the store with a little help from an employee.
Sometimes the shoplifter approaches random employees that might be up for making a little extra cash on the side. If the employee bites, the shoplifter will cut them in for a share of the profits they make from selling the stolen merchandise. If the employee says no, the shoplifter will continue to make their rounds until they find an employee who will say yes.
It is very hard to stop the shoplifter from propositioning your employees, as there is often too little evidence to actually have the shoplifter arrested, or even for management to get close enough to kick them out of the store. These shoplifters are quick to be in and out of the stores, lest anyone pick up on what they are trying to do.
Another scenario, popular within organized crime rings, is to send one of their own associates in to apply for a job. Once this stooge is hired, the crime ring has an employee inside your organization for the sole purpose of making it easier for the crime ring to steal from you. Because you have hired this employee, it will probably take you longer to determine where the inventory losses are coming from, compared to if a shoplifter was acting on their own.
In both of these worst-case scenarios, a criminal background check may or may not provide you with an early warning. An employee who has been solicited probably had no previous criminal activity; they were simply tempted by an opportunity that presented itself. An employee that is planted by a crime ring has more than likely been chosen because they can pass a criminal background check.
That does not mean pre employment screening should not be used, on the contrary it is even more critical than before. An employee, who is thoroughly scrutinized prior to being hired, will be less likely to agree to become a part of an underhanded scheme. The key is to deter potential criminals by making it a more difficult process to become hired on.
Criminals are looking for the path of least resistance. This applies to when they are stealing merchandise, but also when they are putting their plans together to commit the crime. Faced with the task of having one of their own undergo the scrutiny of pre employment screening, or applying at a business that does not check backgrounds, the criminals will opt for the latter.
Same principal applies to the employee who is being solicited by a shoplifter. If they are aware of how protective a company is over whom they hire, there are more than likely going to be more controls in place. The employee who knows that they have a very real risk of getting caught will be less likely to steal for a stranger, even if it is just looking the other way. The screening and checks are the first look into what kind of company an employee is going to work for.
To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547
