Reduce Opportunities for Employee Theft

"With "good behavior", van der sloot might only serve 1/2 of his 28 year sentence and with Peruvian jail overcrowding..." — @ClintVanZandt

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Reduce Opportunities for Employee Theft

On 10.25.09—By Dr. Clint Van Zandt

Many of these suggestions and tips seem very simple and obvious, yet many businesses don’t use them, and in turn experience a much higher level of employee theft than they are aware of.

Only authorize a refund in the presence of the customer.
Go behind the counter to authorize a void or “over ring” so you can observe potential problems (e.g., bagged merchandise which could be handed out to friends, consumables not paid for, money not in its proper slot in the till or too much cash in the drawer).
Sign voids or “over rings” only while the customer is present.
Inspect trash dumpster at random but at least weekly, following trash collection but prior to pickup.
Don’t allow employees to write up, ring up or wrap purchases for themselves or relatives.
Review cash over/short reports every day and respond appropriately.
Provide employees with lockers or other secure area for employee handbags, purchases, coats and other belongings that are prohibited on the sales floor.
Require at least two employees to open and close the store, simultaneously.
Never allow merchandise to leave the store “on approval,” without being purchased first.
Prohibit hand-carried merchandise transfers from being taken out of the store without proper paperwork.
Instruct all employees to enter and leave through a designated employee door.
Require managers and employees to always present their belongings for inspection before leaving.
Require that all merchandise to be taken out of the store for alteration, cleaning, style show or other purpose, be signed in and out and authorized on a merchandise control log.
Do not allow employees to wear store merchandise not purchased.
Prohibit employees from browsing behind counters or in back areas of departments that they don’t work or sell in.
Prohibit employees from trying on merchandise without the knowledge of a manager or other supervisor.
Secure all shipping labels unless part of an authorized, register-validated sales receipt.
Don’t allow wrapped merchandise to be hand delivered to UPS or the post office unless authorized and recorded on a store delivery log.
Limit employee access to markdown pens and remarking machines when access is not needed.
Limit the number of employees authorized to ring up other employees’ sales, reducing the opportunities for collusion.
Require management authorization of employee purchase transactions.
Occasionally offer to assist employees in completing a customer transaction to verify that the amount paid and the merchandise in the bag is correct (particularly when suspicious).
Never allow employees to work with an open cash drawer. They must close the register drawer before ringing the next sale.
Limit the number of “NO SALE” rings by defining under what special conditions they will be permitted.
Review daily exception reports highlighting excessive voids, over rings, no sales, refunds and other suspicious activity.
Require all receipts to be given to customers.
Require employees to immediately destroy (i.e., tear twice in half) any receipts left by a customer.
Prohibit employees from using another employee’s I.D. number for any purpose whatsoever.
Prohibit cashiers from taking a reading on their cash register. If register readings cannot be done by a supervisor; require cashiers to count their cash, enter the amount on the register and place the cash in a locked deposit bag before taking a reading.
Don’t allow register transaction numbers to be cleared by anyone at the end of the day. They should continue ad infinitum to ensure that the register tape was not removed from the register.
Prohibit the possession of keys to bank deposit bags when the bank is responsible for opening locked deposit bags. There should be no reason for managers or anyone to open a locked deposit bag, whether full or empty.
Make bank deposit drops daily . . . no exceptions.
Limit access to keys that disarm the fire exit(s) security crash bar alarm(s).
Keep perimeter doors alarmed during night-fill operation and when the store is not open to customers. Supervisor authorization should be required to leave the store.
Change door cores on locks to the store when key holders are transferred, leave voluntarily or are terminated.
Require bottle return refunds over $3.00 to be co-signed at the time of the transaction by someone who is required to “eyeball” the number of bottles returned as compared with the amount of the refund slip.
Require employees to keep the receipt for merchandise they consume in the store during that day, for possible verification by the manager.
Tell employees what will happen if anyone is caught stealing . . . not what can happen, but what will happen.