Caught on Tape?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2o0Wh8dVZY

Caught on Tape! and Smile, You’re on Candid Camera! are just two television programs that remind Americans how often they are being watched by someone – big brother, mall security, the superintendent, the town council even your own neighbor san set up an IP camera and monitor the comings and goings of people/things over the internet. How safe is your business? What are you looking for?

• Are there restricted entrances that employees are not permitted to enter after hours?
• Do you want to see who is going into the conference room after it’s been closed and locked for the day? 
•  Are there criminals in your parking lots stealing your employees’ headlights? 
•  Do you come in on Monday morning only to see 2 sofas stuffed into your dumpster? 
•  Has there been equipment stolen from your facility?
• Have you been the recent target of vandalism costing you not only money to fix but time to file a claim and have the mess cleaned up?
• Have you recently had to fire or lay off an employee and fear some level of retribution?

• Don't hire problems. A well-thought-out background screening is your best tool. With a candidate's permission, you may do a legal check, which costs from $50 to $500. Be careful, though. In many instances you cannot legally discriminate against an applicant based on an arrest record.
• Establish checks and balances. Restructure your staff so that different employees handle purchasing, receiving, and accounts payable. When you're a small business, you tend to place those functions in the hands of one person which is risky. You save in salary expense by having one person do it all but you can be setting yourself up for theft.
• Control inventory. Consider instituting a perpetual inventory system. Have staff check finished goods and raw materials every day instead of only once at the end of the month, and hire an outside firm to do a year-end audit. Also consider rotating inventory responsibility. Retail chains, for example, should have managers from different stores take inventory for one another.
• Educate employees. Show your employees how bottom-line repercussions of theft affect the company and encourage their help. Outline procedures for reporting theft, ensure confidentiality, and lay out the consequences of dishonesty. Employees who deal directly with customers, vendors, and the public should have a good understanding of the company's policy on gifts -- and when they're considered implicit bribes.
• Take a preventive approach. An employee-assistance program can help prevent workplace theft. Plain old-fashioned greed is a prime motivator, but financial difficulties, substance abuse, and even mental-health problems can also lead to theft. Provide a problem-solving forum for your workers and you may be helping to defuse their impulse to steal. 

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