How to Stop Office Supply Theft
Some employees may consider bringing home a few office supplies from work to be a victimless crime. The truth is that companies rely on their office supplies to perform the daily tasks that run the business, and when employee theft causes the need for purchasing extra office supplies, the company bottom line suffers. Tight control on office supplies and a centralized inventory system will help deter employees from doing their office supply shopping at work.
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Instructions
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Work with your office manager to set an office supply limit per month for each employee. For example, determine the number of pens an average employee would need each month and then use that as a limit. Even if the number is one, if the office manager feels that is reasonable then use that number.
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Assign one person from the human resources department to be in charge of maintaining the office supply inventory. That includes distributing supplies to employees as they request them. Keep all office supplies in a locked closet and limit access to that closet. Keep a log of who has the key to the closet, and then create a sign-in sheet that must be signed each time someone accesses the closet.
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Create a request form that employees must fill out when they need office supplies. The form must be approved by the employee's immediate manager with a signature. If an employee has requested supplies beyond their predetermined monthly maximum, they must provide a reason as to why they need the supply. That request must be signed by their immediate manager and the human resources director.
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Have the office supply administrator sign off on each employee request once it is fulfilled. Make sure there is a running inventory kept of the supplies that are in the closet versus the supplies that are distributed.
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Have the office supply administrator and their manager perform an inventory each month of the office supplies. Order only the supplies that seem low based on the history of employee requests.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep the act of monitoring office supplies a company responsibility and avoid offering incentives for employees who report office supply theft. Programs such as rewards for identifying corporate thieves will only breed contempt and a lack of trust in the workplace. Create a solid inventory control system and you will not need to rely on employees to monitor office supply theft.
Do not underestimate the need for this kind of control on office supplies. A system such as this will deter employees from requesting supplies they do not need, and that is money saved for the company on office supply purchases.
