Employee theft and embezzlement comes in various forms and is different for every small business.
However, it is something that every small business owner should look out for, regardless of the industry in which they work.
Embezzlement can occur either through employees lying about how much they work or through employees actually stealing physical goods (larceny).
Either way, it is a serious issue if your employees are taking any action that is causing lost revenue for your business when, clearly, they were hired to do just the opposite.
A good small business owner is one who is savvy about picking up on the signs long before they cause real problems for the business.
Here are several tips for how to avoid embezzlement at your small business: 1.
Install Security Cameras Though it may not be the preferred method of keeping your employees honest, it may in fact be necessary to install security cameras at your business.
If you suspect that your employees are lying about when they came in or when they left, security cameras will keep their behavior in check.
Also, if any physical item goes missing, cameras can help pinpoint who was near the object and what happened.
2.
Hire a Pro Bookkeeper Suspicious about how much your employees are billing to the company account? You probably have too much on your plate to truly deal with looking over your employees' expenses.
Not to mention, it can be hard for someone with limited financial experience to identify fraudulent spending.
However, professional bookkeepers can typically catch onto dishonest behavior in the blink of an eye.
Therefore, although they may be expensive, the money that you can potentially save by keeping your employees honest about their expenses will make it worth the investment to hire a professional bookkeeper.
3.
Conduct Background Checks on Potential Employees What's the best way to avoid dishonest employees? Not hiring them in the first place.
Conducting background checks on your employees not only filters out those with an unclean employee history, but it sends a signal to future interview candidates that you take employee honesty and legal compliance very seriously at your small business.
4.
Keep Your Employees Aware that You Are Paying Attention For obvious reasons, employee theft is more likely to occur when employees feel that their actions are not being monitored.
Whether or not it's true, send consistent signals and reminders to your staff that you are staying aware of what they are doing and how they are handling money.
Though not ideal, one of the most effective ways of communicating this to your employees is to catch someone red-handed and to fire them - and to keep your other employees well aware of what happened.
In most cases, your employees will do whatever it takes to keep their jobs; showing your staff that you have a zero tolerance policy for theft will them help keep their own behavior in line.