Plastics Recruiter - Employee Theft

Small business fraud is on the rise. Depending on which survey you look at, small businesses are classified as a business with 100-1,000 employees or even 1,000 to 5,000 employees. So if you own or operate a small business that falls in one of those two categories, what can you do to help prevent your profit margin from going out the back door in an employee pocket?

Business consultants provide some very sound advice. Their step 1 starts off with “one of the most basic steps in preventing employee fraud is not to hire employees who have stolen previously”. They continue on in their article about other steps that a company can take, but step 1 seems almost to be an obvious answer.

Check past employment history. If an employer will provide dates and title only, see if an employee is eligible for rehire. That may or may not provide some insight in to that employee. Do criminal background checks and drug screening. If an employee is a frequent drug user, they may be more prone to theft or fraud. Also call on references. Many employers don’t contact references because they feel that an employee isn’t going to provide someone who gives a bad reference. However, the employee may be giving you a list of names that sound important assuming that you won’t call.

Other things an organization can do are to host audits, both surprise audits and external audits. Also consider job rotation if that is applicable within your organization. Set up an internal anonymous reporting policy where employees can contact a tip line to report information.

Business fraud costs organizations billions of dollars a year. A study in 2006 by the Association of Certified Fraud Examines (ACFE) reported the median loss of $159,000 with organizations of fewer than 100 employees suffering disproportionate losses in occupational fraud.

Start with the basics. Do background checking on employees to start. Get programs going in the organization that will help detect fraud after the employee is hired. The steps can help a company stay healthy and profitable.

Plastics recruiter employee theft

Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group LLC
Mentor, OH 44060
danregovich@gmail.com
(440) 357-7600