All business owners recognize the importance of online security, and they invest a lot of money into it. When you are first starting a business and you are deciding where to spend and where to save, it’s likely that you will set a good amount of money aside for cybersecurity. But have you thought about your physical security? Business owners don’t like to admit it, but they are often more likely to lose money to employees than they are to outsiders that are attacking them online. Employee theft is more common than people like to think, and if you are not willing to accept it, you will never be able to protect your business. There are a few key things that you need to do if you want to protect yourself from employee theft.
This is a contributed post. Please refer to my disclosure for more information
Improve Your Hiring Process
The easiest way to protect your business from employee theft is to hire the right people in the first place. If you improve your hiring process and make sure that you carry out thorough background checks on people before bringing them on board, you can reduce the chances of hiring somebody that is going to steal from the business. However, it’s important to remember that there is always a first time and even if somebody appears to have a clean record, that doesn’t guarantee that you are safe from employee theft.
Track Access To The Building
Tracking access to the building is a great deterrent because employees know that they will immediately be suspected if money or equipment does go missing, and in the event of a theft, it’s a lot easier to identify the culprit. If you go to this website, you can get some great ID card printers so you can make cost-effective ID cards for all of your employees and have them checked on the way into the building. When you know exactly who is in the building and when it’s easy to track exactly when and where theft is happening and who is to blame.
Improve Inventory Management
It’s not just cash that you need to be careful with because employees may steal expensive equipment or items from the business as well. In some cases, employees aren’t looking to make lots of money by stealing things, but they may steal products from the business for personal use, and that’s still costing you. If your inventory management systems aren’t up to scratch, you make it a lot easier for thieves, so make sure that you spend time improving inventory management, so you have a clear idea of exactly what stock levels are and you can identify any discrepancies.
Boost Computer Security
If employees have completely free access to computer systems, they may be able to alter accounts or inventory levels, which makes it a lot easier for their employee theft to go unnoticed. It’s important that you use strong passwords on all accounts, but particularly those of high-level employees with access to accounts and inventory, and always track who is logged into which computer.
Employee theft can be devastating to your business, especially if it goes unnoticed for a long time. But if you follow these simple tips, you can protect your business from internal theft.
NFIB recommends that small business employers perform background checks on potential hires. Checking references is one important step. But for employees entrusted with handling your money or financial records, a background check is better.