As an employer you probably hate to think about employees stealing from you. However, statistically you’ll be lucky if you don’t experience theft occasionally. Almost £200 million is lost from businesses annually in the UK as a result of employee theft.

Whilst the vast majority of employees are trustworthy a few ‘rotten apples’ usually exist within many businesses. Large corporations may be able to absorb the loss but this is seldom the case for SMEs.  Theft can seriously affect your bottom line and damage your reputation immeasurably.

Since most employers don’t think like criminals our private lie detector test examiners have identified some ways employees stealing from you occur. They have a wealth of experience in delving into the criminal mind! We’ve also come up with some solutions if you are unfortunate enough for this to happen to you:

Stealing from the cash register

Since the first cash register was invented in 1879 unscrupulous employees have found ways to dip their fingers in the till.  A customer pays in cash and it appears as a void on the register so that the till balances at the end of the day.

The way to resolve this is to check on the amount of void entries there are. Security cameras can help eliminate this problem especially those that are live streamed on the internet.

You can go one step further by insisting that employees notify a supervisor of voiding a transaction before they actually do it.  This would necessitate ensuring that you or a supervisor is always onsite during opening hours.

Falsifying expenses claims

With the amount of stories you read in the press about politicians fiddling their expenses, it’s not hard to imagine that employees do it too.  Indeed it is rife in business. Fake or duplicate receipts are submitted sometimes on multiple occasions.

The best way to deal with expense claims is to monitor them closely.  If you think the receipts are fake, call the business that issued them.  Also cross check to ensure they haven’t already been paid.

Data theft

The digital age has made it easy for smart fraudsters to steal digital assets as well as client records from your business.  Selling data to competitors may not only cause you to lose your reputation but also your business.

Of all theft this is the most difficult to manage because with each new security measure you take, you present a challenge to already adept hackers and thieves. Restricting access to data to only those on a ‘need to know’ basis can thwart some attempts.  Solutions available on the Cloud are generally likely to be more secure. When an employee leaves, close their account and set up a new one for their replacement. Change passwords frequently.

Lie detector tests to prevent employees stealing from you

As technology has progressed polygraph examinations have become more affordable.  They can be used in two main ways.

  • As part of the pre-employment screening process
  • As a regular procedure for the workforce

Lie detector tests combined with other normal background checks complete the profile of a candidate.  They give you the best chance of employing inherently honest people.

As a regular procedure for current employees, knowing the tests are part of company policy will deter employees stealing from you.

For more information about commercial lie detector tests contact us today, for a confidential discussion about your specific requirements.

Visit our blog regularly to learn about more innovative ways dishonest employees use to steal from your business.