Whether you’re running a small, local business or a major Fortune 500 company, employee theft is a real issue within every type of business that needs to be investigated and remedied. It can have serious negative effects on your business which may lead to plummeting profits or even bankruptcy.
At the J.P. Investigative Group, our Charlotte, NC, private investigators understand how important it is to eliminate threats to your bottom line caused by employee theft. We can gather evidence of suspected theft and help you bring these employees to justice.
What Is Employee Theft?
Employee theft can take different forms depending on the type of business that you operate and the goods or services you provide. When an employee uses, misuses, or steals an employer’s assets without their permission. This can be money (one of the most common assets) or other items such as supplies (paper, pens, computers, food, silverware, etc.), time (getting paid for hours an employee doesn’t actually work), merchandise regularly sold in the store, or information or intellectual property.
How to Identify Employee Theft
Depending on the scale of your company and how often inventory is completed, it may be difficult to identify when an employee is stealing from the business. However, there may be evidence that supplies are missing, inventory has been depleted, or time cards are off.
For many larger businesses, examples of thievery may include time theft, embezzlement, payroll and billing issues, or skimming.
Ways to Eliminate Employee Theft
There are a few important methods for helping to prevent or eliminate employee theft. Some of them can be done prior to hiring the employee and others are easily done post-employment if suspicion of theft has occurred.
Background Checks
It has become quite standard that employers will conduct a thorough background check of potential employees. At J.P. Investigative Group, we can conduct background checks for you to ensure you are employing the highest quality employees who are the least likely to steal from your business.
Rules and Regulations
During the hiring process or the on-boarding process (orientation), employees should be given a handbook of rules and regulations for operating in the business. This is where you, as the employer, can explain your policy on theft. It should be a zero-tolerance policy to illustrate that you will not tolerate theft in any form and consequences should be outlined in unambiguous detail.
Checks and Balances
You cannot be the sole person keeping an eye (and ear) on all of your employees as well as all the other aspects of your business. For major parts of your company such as payroll, accounts payable, bank information, and many others, you should have a team of people who can keep each other accountable.
If there is suspicion of theft, your employees should also feel comfortable enough to approach you about it. Once there is suspicion, you should consult a private investigator to help you identify any type of stealing and conduct a thorough employee theft investigation. Our Charlotte, NC, private investigators are a neutral third party who will conduct the investigation without bias and provide you with a detailed report.
Importance of Hiring a Charlotte, NC, Private Investigator
At the J.P. Investigative Group, we are a top investigation company licensed in 16 states throughout the US and have over 25 years of experience investigating fraud and theft cases for businesses like yours. If you have suspicions that your company is experiencing some type of fraud, contact our Charlotte, NC, private investigators. We will gather the evidence you need to support your theft claim without compromising our integrity, and we will provide you with the definitive answer concerning employee theft. Our staff is available 24/7 to hear and assess your situation so call us today.
