Employees who focus on personal career growth mostly do things that enhance business growth. Certainly, we can’t expect 100 percent of the employees in the organization to work towards business growth. There are people who do things to the organization which adversely affect business owners. Employee theft is one such thing. How to deal with such employees? Suspicious activities need to be taken care of swiftly and wisely. The employers should have a birds-eye view of the ethics and compliance risks to reveal and get rid of corruption before it impacts negatively on the business growth.

Employee Theft

Employees may steal money, data, workplace equipment, etc. Also, inappropriate timesheet entry, claiming reimbursement for items not purchased, fraudulent fund transfers, etc also can be considered as employee theft. Any kind of stealing is a criminal offense and needs to be reported to the police when necessary.

As an employer, it is essential that you should follow the procedure and rules even if you caught the doer red-handed or on the camera. You may need to report the criminal activity immediately to the police. Why because, in the absence of due process, employers may undergo the risk of claims for foul dismissal, employment contract breach, and sometimes defamation.

Policy Matters

Handling the situation of employee theft can mean the difference between a simple matter and complex litigation. If you caught one of your employees stealing, it is essential that you handle the situation carefully not exposing your organization to the lawsuit. Company Policy is everything that outlines procedures to follow. Always ensure that your company policy covers all the topics and repercussions and the same is known to everyone in the organization. Make them know that any discrepancy and dishonest behavior have serious consequences and covering the dishonesty done by another employee or failing to report the dishonesty is also subject to disciplinary actions.

What actions are to be taken?

Once the proper investigation is done and proven that the employee has stolen assets, money, or data; employers need to follow certain steps.

• Make sure the evidence against the doer is strong and clear
• Report to the police
• Terminate the people involved if required
• Give a bad score or review on a platform like Trst Score
• Do not reveal confidential information or the situation outside the organization as it may ruin the credibility of the investigation

Notifying other employees about the misconduct by their fellow colleague and its consequences might be acting as a deterrent for others and they can learn from it. Such an announcement can be justifiable for the betterment of the organization.

Employ IT security systems and surveillance and monitor to detect and prevent employee theft. Platforms like TRST Score (Trust Score) help to prevent such actions from the employees as the low score and poor review on the platform can run throughout their professional life.