Employee theft will never go away. As long as there are things to steal, there will be people who want to steal them. I'm not being cynical, I'm just being realistic. Knowing this, your company should take every measure possible to reduce the risk of employee theft and employee fraud. Failing to do so could put your company out of business.

What are some measures your company can take to reduce the risk of hiring someone willing to steal from your business? There are several different measures you and your business can take, most of which occur during the hiring process. There are some measures your business can take after a person is hired, but these measures should be used sparingly because you do not want to create an adversarial relationship between employees and management.

Reducing Employee Theft

The easiest way to reduce employee theft, it would seem, is to hire honest, responsible people who would never consider stealing from your company. That is much easier said than done because the best thieves are the best actors. They know exactly what to say in the interview process to create an image of integrity and trust. They charm their potential employers and collectively take them for millions and millions of dollars every year.

Pre-employment screening measures like criminal background checks, reference checks, and identity validations will drastically reduce the number of possible thieves your company could hire. Companies always find out about these people after the fact and end up on some evening news program playing the role of victim. I have very little sympathy for companies that fall victim to employee theft because there are a number of affordable screening services available to prevent this.