A Safer Workplace: Spotting and Preventing Office Theft

Apr 25

Office Theft is on the Rise

Small businesses owners collectively share a common, underlying threat: Office theft. Stolen time, supplies, money, and products serve as a primary cause of a significant percentage of small business failures and cost U.S. businesses $50 billion every year, but many owners don't even notice any criminal activity until they're faced with the resulting heavy financial consequences.

Unfortunately, office theft is becoming an increasingly prevalent issue, with theft costs continually rising by 15% per year. The good news, however, is that this crime is preventable. Here are some ways to secure your workspaces against office theft.

Know the Facts

A key component of preventing office theft is knowing the facts behind the crimes with sources to back them up.

Check out our previous blog about employee theft statistics.

Present Employees with Theft Policies

While some instances of office theft occur with clear, malicious intentions, other incidents happen due to miscommunications or employees' misunderstanding of company theft policy, or what constitutes office theft in the first place. Presenting employees with straightforward, thorough rules and theft policies helps stop these incidents of misidentifying personal vs. company property before they can even happen.

Implement Supply Request Procedures

Office theft tends to slip under the radar due to owners not knowing what has been stolen, or when. Assigning someone in the workplace, such as an office manager, to take charge of inventory is an effective way to prevent office theft and catch it if it happens. They can also serve as mediators between employees and extra supplies, providing workers with needed supplies through request procedures.

Utilize Access Control

With Access Control, you can easily control which employees have access to which spaces.

With traditional keys, there is the worry of whether keys will be copied and misplaced or if you will have to change locks when employees leave. With Access control, each employee gets a unique code with an individualized time stamp. Upon leaving the company, the employee's code can be easily disabled. If you notice a suspicious code entry, you can check your surveillance footage to ensure the code matches the user. This timestamp comes in handy when you want to be sure employees are clocking in on time. If you are worried codes are being misused, pair your access control system with video surveillance for maximum security. Click here for more information about our Access Control systems.

Keep Employees Accountable with Video Surveillance

Let's say someone's valuables go missing. You know the last time it was seen and when it was reported missing. Your first thought is to check surveillance cameras. However, what if this time period spans up to 6 hours? That is a long time to sit and wait to see if, or when, the item was stolen. Now, there is a rule set in place that allows you to put a motion detector on a desired spot of the feed, and the system will stop if the chosen item is moved. This system ensures workplace honesty and saves time when there is a mishap. Click here for more information about our Video Surveillance systems.

Ready to Upgrade Your Office?

With office theft on the rise, there is no better time to upgrade your workplace. Contact us today to get set up with new, innovative technology that ensures employee safety and the well-being of your office.

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