Employee Theft-Sweethearting

I would love to hear from you on what your store does to decrease either internal or external theft. If you reply to these loss prevention newsletters with an idea or example you will get $5.00 off an order of any size. One coupon per customer, please. Use Coupon 9776LP. Sweethearting brings memories of long walks on the beach, candlelit dinners or a specific date in February but sweethearting for any retail store owner, manager or loss prevention professional is anything but sweet. Sweethearting in the retail loss prevention industry means stealing by employees at the cash register, by giving away merchandise or giving a great deal to "sweetheart" (family, friend another employee, etc.) Employees do this many ways including: •Price override •Invoicing scams •Not scanning an item •Refund Fraud •Gift Card Fraud •Void fraud •Passing on the employee discount •Credit card fraud Sweethearting is the most common type of employee theft. A study in the March 2012 issue of the Journal of Marketing discusses factors and staff interactions contributing to sweethearting. The extensive survey of around 800 customers and employees in the retail sector, presented the following findings: Sweethearting cost industry nearly 80 billion dollars per year, well over $14 billion a year in non-service retail alone. The study showed that a staggering 68% of employees were involved in sweethearting in the past two months. Many employees reported they were motivated to give a "sweetheart " deal because of higher tips or a good deal at the customer’s place of business or just because they were giving this super good deal to a friend or family member. Sweethearting may be the single biggest threat to your business regarding shrinkage. Sure, it is possible that your employees are different than found at other stores but are you willing to stake the health of your store on it and assume that they would never give a sweetheart deal? What can be done to prevent or reduce sweethearting you may ask? Communication Communicate with your employees, make it clear that any sweetheart deals beyond what is allowed will not be tolerated. POS reports Running reports from your POS system will help ID questionable transactions. If you are unsure if your POS system can run a report like this contact your system provider or inquire about Sell-It POS system. Cameras Investing in a high-quality video surveillance system with a camera pointed directly at the register. When looking for a camera system make sure that the resolution is high enough to see fine detail like bill denominations, faces, and other relevant detail. For the register itself at the very least 256 pixels per foot of area that you wish to cover. If you triple that, to 768 pixels per foot, you will be able to see much more detail. To achieve that resolution, look for a camera of at least five megapixels to cover an area of three to four feet wide. Mirrors A low-cost and low-tech method of keeping an eye on your employees and allowing other employees to do the same, would be to strategically place convex mirrors near the register area. Traffic flow Most employee theft occurs at the register area. It is vital for retailers to control the flow of people through the checkout area. You can accomplish this implementing a single lane queue. A single lane queue has the added benefit of better, more personalized, customer service. As an employer, part of your responsibility is to ensure that there is a healthy relationship between yourself and your employees. By doing so, you are investing not only in the longevity of that employee, but also into the bigger picture which is making your store the best place to shop in town. In creating this team-like dynamic, you are helping your business not only become more welcoming, but in the long run, more profitable as well. Bonus Tip: "Leadership is about capturing the imagination and enthusiasm of your people with clearly defined goals that cut through the fog like a beacon in the night." -Mark Turner