Up to 40% of all losses suffered by many companies occur during the year-end period because of inadequate security measures when staff levels are at their lowest, according to security company GriffithsReid managing director Jenny Reid.
“Our research into stock loss trends alone shows that sometimes more than half of all theft occurs during the holiday periods, simply because the company has not taken any extra security measures over the holiday period,” said Reid.
She added that the problem is most often caused by the fact that as the year-end approaches, company management and staff take leave — and no-one thinks of taking any measures to ensure that there is always some type of control at the warehouse or factory during that time.
“We have encountered cases where almost an entire management team, senior and middle, has taken leave at the same time, leaving the company’s stock almost unsupervised for up to two weeks at a time,” Reid pointed out.
“It then becomes an easy matter for crooked employees to simply walk in and remove goods under the guise of a conventional shipment with the aid of outside
criminals.”
There are two solutions to this increasingly widespread problem, Reid said: “Firstly, the human resources department must put measures in place to ensure that not all senior management members take leave at the same time.”
But often this is not enough: in many cases, a skeleton staff is almost as ineffective as no staff at all, Reid said.
In such cases, companies must give serious consideration to bringing in a temporary security management service over the end of year shut down period.
“The costs are surprisingly low — especially when compared against the potential losses — and senior executives can go on holiday without having to be concerned about what is happening back at their business premises,” Reid said.
A professional security manager takes control of all the basic functions, and brings in whatever staff is necessary to keep a tight rein on the security aspect of a business. Because they are outsiders, they also have the advantage of dispassionate objectivism in their dealings, and this further reduces the potential for lapses, she added.
In addition, Reid said that undercover agents — placed within workforces — are particularly valuable at the year-end time period.
“With so many temporary staff being employed, the risk for theft and fraud increases exponentially — and an undercover agent is invaluable in helping to detect fraud, theft or general staff issues before they become serious.” – I-Net Bridge