Ways to Stop Shrink Casued By Your Employees

Employees cause to forms of shrink.  Paper shrink caused by mistakes and theft.  Here is a list of what you can do to control your shrink problem.  Set your self up with a Loss prevention program now before its too late. 

 Its everybody's  job to control Shrink.

1. Keep your store and stockroom organized.  Messy stockrooms are great places to hide things.  Employees take advantage of your organizational skills.  Don't be fooled by people who are your friends.  A good thief will use friendship to con you.  Everything has a place and if its out of place question why?   Your questions are a deterrent to employees.  They will know you will notice when something is out of place and think twice before trying to steal something.    If your stepping of merchandise, your creating shrink by damaging merchandise.   Lead by example, if you do it then your employees will do it.  
2. Check the Garbage before it leaves the store.  Do it in front of employees as much as possible so that they are kept off guard.  Hiding something to steal in the garbage and then taking out to the dumpster to retrieve later is very common with a thief.  Also I look for merchandise in small boxes that got accidentally mixed into the garbage.  I have often found cosmetics, stationary and other small items left behind and mixed with similar empty boxes.
3. Check that Price changes are done correctly.   Don't assume that because your told Price changes are completed that they are.  Follow up on your employees and they will be less likely to try and get one over on you.  Markup are more important then markdowns.  No one has ever complained at the register when things come up at lower prices.  Shrink happens when the register rings up higher price then marked on the box and the customer demands the marked price.  Now there is a difference between what your inventory price and what your actually sold it for.  Even .10 cents can per item can add up if not corrected right away.
4. Checks and balances.  Use daily record keeping inventories for high shrink items like electronics or cigarettes.   Check counts daily to what sold the previous day.  If employees know your checking they will be less likely to try to steal one.  From time to time let the employee do the inventory count and audit it.  Make them part of the team and they will become more concerned when mistakes are made and less likely to steal. 
5. Use Anti-Theft Deterrents.  Real or fake, they make a real difference.  If employees and customers know that they might be watched, they are less likely to steal.  Never tell someone that a silver dome in the ceiling doesn't have a camera inside it.  Signs and fake devices work as deterrents.  Having at least one working camera that you show working works even better.   
6. Teach your employees what to look for in customers and employee theft.   Let them know your looking and get them looking at each other.  The more eyes looking the less chances someone will try to steal. 
7. Hire the right people from the start.  Do an in depth interview. Ask the right questions.  Don't be afraid to ask, "Have you ever taken something that didn't belong to you".    If you don't ask you wont know! 
8. Check deliveries for correctness.  If your paying for merchandise your not getting, your losing money by shrink your inventory. 
9. Take yearly inventories of the whole store.  If your don't know what you have on hand in inventory you won't know when something is missing.  Your employees will know this and take advantage of you.  Make not causing shrink a priority to your employees.  Let them know what your expect and celebrate and reward beating that number. 

Over all the best thing you can do is just be concerned about shrink.  Let your employees know your concerned with out blaming everyone.  Because if your employees are stealing, your the only one to blame.

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