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Protecting Your Business from Theft

As a small-business owner with a lot at stake, you'd like to think your employees are honest and trustworthy.While that may be true for the most part, even the most dependable employee can be capable of theft given the right circumstances, and that's a risk you can't afford to take lightly, say experts. "Employee theft costs U.S. businesses approximately $50 billion a year," says John Case, president of EmployeeTheft .com in Del Mar, Calif., and author of "Employee Theft - The Profit Killer" (Business Security Publications; $21.95).In most cases, employee theft goes undetected until it's too late, he adds, noting that nearly one-third of U.S. business bankruptcies are caused by employee theft.

So how can you help protect your own business from pilfering?Well, it starts with hiring the right people, say experts."You need to screen your employees properly," advises Case, who recommends background checks. Too often, employers forgo employment screening in their haste to fill a position, notes Felix P. Nater of Nater Associates Ltd., a security management consultant in Freeport. But this can be a costly mistake, particularly since screening can be an effective way to weed out the bad apples, he says. "A person who has something to hide and didn't expect this kind of selective hiring may decide to have their application withdrawn," says Nater.

Keep in mind that you may need an applicant's permission to conduct a background check, which can include a criminal history and credit review, says Jeffrey M. Schlossberg, chairman of the employment law practice at Ruskin Moscou Faltischek Pc...

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