How Internal Theft is still a Factor with a Remote Workforce.

Picture this, you have a new contractor visiting your organization to fix a minor electrical issue. They are allowed inside the building and have free reign around some of your most valuable assets. Without visitor screening, you truly have no way to properly identify who this individual really is. 

Though you may be getting less visitors and employees visiting your organization, it is still crucial to ensure you are protecting your people, IP, and reputation. Screening any new visitors that enter on-site is the most effective way to alleviate any chance of a security breach. Whether they are new visitors, contractors, volunteers, or employees coming back from being remote, instant visitor screening is a powerful way to truly identify risk and make more informed decisions.

Because so many buildings have been left empty for durations longer than ever before and with less staff consistently occupying the space, it can be easy to miss a potentially costly and time-consuming emergency. By utilizing an instant visitor screening for potential security risks, you are enhancing your situational awareness and business security.

A study of 23 large retail companies by a large loss-prevention consulting firm shows that more than $50 million was recovered in employee theft cases, up 7% from a year earlier.

Though the study didn’t provide exact numbers, in general, more recently hired employees — those with less than a year on the job and part-time employees with no vested interest in the company are the employees who tend to be apprehended more frequently, firm showed. 

We’ve attributed this rise in theft to a number of factors, including the following:

• Ineffective pre-employment screening: The first step to controlling internal theft starts at the front door. Some organizations, in an effort to reduce their costs, have lowered their pre-screening requirements and are now hiring contractors, volunteers, and employees on a whim. When statistics show one out of every 36 employees is actually caught stealing by their employer, there has likely been some type of breakdown in the pre-employment screening process.
• Less employee supervision: With facilities having less visitors and employees in the office, there is obviously less supervision of activities, which results in more opportunities to commit theft.
• Ease in selling stolen goods: Merchandise stolen by employees and contractors can be quickly and easily sold, and for a much higher price, using online auction sites. This easy access to a much larger audience for stolen goods has resulted in more theft by dishonest employees looking for quick cash.
• Decline in honesty: The almost-daily incidents of business, government, law enforcement, celebrities, sports figures, and church leaders being involved in questionable activities make it easier for “borderline” employees to steal and to rationalize their actions. In addition, the part-time workforce is growing, and it is not uncommon to find that many such workers have less loyalty to their employer and are more apt to take advantage of opportune circumstances.

Solutions like FedCheck and serve as that pre-screening and visitor screening solution when it comes to identifying if those you are hiring for a job or allowing within your facilities have been convicted of a major theft in the past. Or you can mark them within the system of theft, alerting the staff that is in office to no allow this person back.