The US Chamber of Commerce estimates that 75% of employees steal from their employers and most of them do so repeatedly.  Below we have compiled a list of tips received from several of our agents to help prevent and/or identify employee theft.

Develop written policies and procedures

• Require all monetary transactions be recorded into InsurancePro.
• Include specific rules regarding the use of office supplies and company owned equipment.
• Utilize the Daily Transaction Report by requiring all receipts to be balanced daily.
• Have a second employee involved in counting and verifying income receipts.
• In the event of a discrepancy, management should be notified immediately, prior to the employee being released for the day.

Pre-employment screening

The first step in preventing employees from stealing is to hire honest employees.  Pre-employment screening should include:

• Criminal history checks for crimes involving theft and fraud.
• Credit history check.  Individuals that are burdened with a high amount of debt are more likely to succumb to financial pressure.
• Employment verification. Pay particular attention to gaps in employment.  There is nothing wrong with taking time out of the workforce, but make sure that is the case in lieu of the applicant trying to hide a previous employer they stole from.

Separation of responsibilities

The most frequent employee theft is committed by the one trusted person assigned to handle all of the finances of a small business.  Therefore, if possible, a person other than the one receiving and uploading premiums should be responsible for reconciling the bank statement.