Employees are given much responsibility and are essential to running a business. That can also create a significant risk. Employee theft is a big issue that small business owners face in the United States. According to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), nearly two-thirds of small businesses fall victim to employee theft and forty percent of employee theft is monetary.
Most businesses that do have issues of employee theft will not seek legal action. Only sixteen percent of companies report employee theft to police because companies don’t believe it’s worth their time to pursue it. Large companies may think it’s not worth their trouble, but smaller businesses take a harder hit and can’t risk it. There are many ways to be proactive to stop employee theft before it even happens.
Check Background
Criminal background checks are one way to prevent hiring employees with records of employee theft. While there is no way to protect against employee theft or prevent first-time offenders entirely, the best way to prevent employee theft is to make smart hiring decisions.
Knowing the background of your applicant can be your greatest indicator of the ability to do their job with honesty and integrity. The only way to truly know is to check their criminal and work history for specific incidents that indicate such behavior. By conducting criminal background checks on job candidates, a company can be sure that applicants don’t have any previous record of misusing company property.
Check References
Although criminal background checks will give you valuable information about an applicant’s criminal history, a character reference check is the best way to get others’ perceptions of your applicant. References will give you information on the applicant’s character. This is essential information when making a hiring decision that will reflect on your business and ethical values.
It’s a good idea to consistently look out for any red flags, such as unexplained debt or missing financial records throughout employment.
SELECTiON.COM® will develop a pre-employment and post-employment system to mitigate the risk of employee theft. Our pre-employment background check options along with our Quarterly Watch®, which can be run yearly as well, will help keep you on the right track.
Contact us today to see how SELECTiON.COM® can take your employment background check process to the next level.
NOTE: The contents of this article are not legal advice for your particular situation. You should neither act nor rely upon anything stated in this article without first consulting your legal counsel.
