How to Stop Employee Theft

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Here's how to keep employee theft from happening.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

1. Make sure you have a strong, clear policy in place regarding company property, and that employees know about it.
2. Retain the right to inspect desks, lockers and other company property.
3. Call the authorities if there's a need to investigate private property, such as purses, briefcases and automobiles.
4. Provide employees with a secure place to store their personal belongings, such as locking file cabinets and desks.

Tips & Warnings

• While they cannot be used as the sole reason for a hiring decision, there are tests that assess integrity and honesty. See Related Sites for further information.
• Be wary of invading your employees' privacy. It's one thing to search company property, another to search purses, cars and other private belongings. Inappropriate searches increase the possibility of lawsuits and destroy company morale.