How To Prevent Employee Theft By Hiring the Right People

With employee theft estimated to cost U.S. businesses $50 billion annually, it’s become a major problem for this country’s companies. In fact, it is estimated that 33% of all business bankruptcies are a direct result of employee theft.

That’s why taking measures to prevent theft should be a major concern of for every business owner and management team.

Beating employee theft is a battle that must be fought on many levels. Everything from access control systems to full business security solutions can be used with great success. However, it all starts with good hiring practices. Hiring the right people can significantly decrease the likelihood of problems down the road.

Here are some good hiring practices that you should implement at your business:

• Get The Applicant’s Consent – There are federal and state laws that govern the collection of information about someone you’re looking to hire. It’s important to get written agreement from someone before you take any of the other steps outlined in this post. You’ll also want to check with your lawyer for more precise details.

• Verify Education And Certification Claims – Make sure that your interviewee has attended the school(s) they posted on their resume, and make sure they are in good standing with any organization that they say they are certified by. Remember, just because they had certification at one time, doesn’t mean that their certification hasn’t been revoked.

• Contact Past Employers – Calling past employers is a great way to learn more about a job applicant. Even if they will only give you position and employment dates, their tone often tells a lot about what they really thought.

• Check References – Few employers actually check references and job applicants know this. By actually talking with someone’s references, you’ll learn a lot of valuable information that will help you make a hiring decision.

• Check Criminal Record – Unless you want to hire felons, it’s important that you know that your new employee has a clean criminal record.

• Do A Google Search – These days there’s a lot more on the web than people realize. Enter the candidate’s name into Google and see what pops up. Look for any articles about the person, check their Facebook page, and make sure that he/she looks like a trustable person. Just remember to make sure that any information you gather is actually about the person you’re hiring and not someone else with the same name.

By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to fighting employee theft. But it’s only a start. A lot of employee theft comes from trusted employees with no record of wrong doing. Stay tuned to our blog to learn more about how you can stop employee theft.