Does your business deal with a lot of cash? According to studies, retailers in the United States may be losing up to $60 billion in cash every year due to employee theft. Even if you do trust your employees, employees can easily make mistakes, and you need to be the one who can track it. Here are some things that you can do to prevent this.
By counting money at the beginning and end of shifts, you ensure that you know whensomeone lost the money. By having people count the money in their register with the person taking over their shift, you also know who lost the money. Of course, most people are going to lose money from time to time, whether through giving incorrect change or simply miscounting. But this will give you a way to determine if there's a pattern for the loss.
When someone does come up short, there should be a system in place that not only keeps a record of this but also has clear consequences. Coming up short once or twice is going to happen to many people, but coming up short over a certain amount or a certain amount of times a month should be cause for either an employee review or termination. By having a clear system of consequences and punishment in place, you can reduce the temptation to steal.
In areas where employees could be alone with the money, there should be visible security cameras. These security cameras will be able to prove that theft has occurred in the event that you pursue legal action. Visible security cameras also serve as a deterrent, as employees will know that they are likely to be caught if they do try to steal money.
Letting employees count the money on their own is often asking for errors to take place. Not only could employees easily miscount (and throw off the next person's register), but they may need to count money repeatedly and waste time doing so. Using a mechanical or digital cash counting machine is an easy way to reduce the potential for error and increase accountability. Otherwise, employees can easily claim that the cash was counted wrong.
Employee theft can happen for many reasons, such as simply overspending. But more commonly employee theft occurs when an employee is going through a particularly difficult time, either financially or emotionally. Talking to employees can reveal employees that are more likely to steal, and can be a way to prevent stealing from the beginning. Employees who feel as though they are not appreciated are also, as a whole, more likely to steal.
Employees may not want to be complicit in theft, but may not want to be pinpointed as the person "ratting another employee out." That could lead to a hostile and unpleasant work environment for them. To avoid this problem, you can instead make an anonymous tip line. Whether it's a box by your desk or a number that they can actually call, employees can report other employees without fear of consequences.
By reducing employee theft, you can improve your own profits and your bottom line. But in general, the best way to prevent employee theft and loss is by keeping track of your cash. A cash counter can help you do that. Contact Banker Money Counting Systems
for all your money counting needs.
