Did you know that internal theft is one of the major causes of fraud losses in Australia? In fact according to the Australian Federal Police over 70% of all business fraud loss stems from either current or ex employees. Ultimately it ends up costing businesses a staggering $1.5 billion every single year.
What’s more, the Australian Retail Association states that around 55% of stock shrinkage is closely linked to employee theft. Although most companies do run background checks on employees they are looking to hire, circumstances or opportunity can bring about situations that mightn’t otherwise arise. With this in mind you can never be too careful when it comes to internal security. Here are some pointers…
Change passwords regularly
Both changing and having to remember passwords might seem a hassle, but it’s best practice if you want to keep internal security intact. Alarm codes and computer passwords should be changed every 3-6 months and ensure that only the most reliable and trustworthy employees have access to them. If you have an IT department, then it’s well worth passing the security aspect over to them.
No access for ex employees
Businesses will always have a certain amount of staff turnover. As old employees leave for pastures new, new employees join to fill the vacancy. From a security perspective however is is highly risky to continue to allow access onto your premises by ex employees, no matter how trustworthy you feel they are. If for example they can still access email accounts and or local intranet, sensitive documents may be at risk. What about entry cards or alarm codes? Do they still have access to them? If the answer is yes, then this isn’t a good position to be in. Instead have a system in place whereby physical and virtual access is disabled for every employee who leaves your business.
Have good security systems in place
If employees know that you have good security systems in place such as locker and bag checks they make think twice before stealing from you. Remember though if you are deploying searches, they need to be both regular and random. It’s no good carrying out the same search on the same people at the same time of day. Instead randomise your search activity and make it difficult for employees to steal from you. In addition a good CCTV system is often the perfect deterrent, so ensure yours is modern and of good quality.
Establishing trust
Research has shown that by establishing a level of trust with your employees it can actually help to prevent internal theft. As an example, if you’re dishonest or disingenuous with your customers or your employees, it’s liable to come back and bite you. For instance if you promise an employee a review and a potential pay rise, then stick to it. That’s not to say that you immediately give them key access to records, sensitive documentation, and cash, but by instilling a certain level of trust and reciprocating that trust, they are less likely to steal from you.
At MA Security, as well as providing security personnel for a a wide variety of businesses, events and individuals, we also carry out security audits. So if you need peace of mind, or would like to find out how you can better up your security game, then contact us on 1300 020 406 for an evaluation.
