Current topic:
Employee Theft Prevention
How Background Investigations and Employee Drug Testing Save Businesses
March 2008
The Lockport Union-Sun & Journal ran an article this week about employee theft prevention, the impact of theft on the workplace, and the importance of background investigations and employee drug testing in saving American businesses billions a year.
The article mentions several local businesses who have suffered heavy financial losses at the hands of their own employees. In one case, a local optometrist discovered that one of his employees had stolen more than $185,000 from him over the course of two years. And while the employee in question went to jail, she will only be paying back a fraction of what the business has lost. Worse yet, the woman in question had a long criminal history of stealing from her employers, something that could have saved the optometrist thousands of dollars, if he'd just relied on background investigations for his potential employees.
Sadly, this is a common story these days. In today's workplace around 5% of professional hires have a criminal background, and employee theft is growing at about 15% a year. Billions of dollars are lost each year for American business owners due to employee theft, and some studies have found that 30% of business failures are directly related to poor hiring practices.
Certainly the individuals in the article have learned their lesson, and now rely on background investigations and employee drug testing to ensure the integrity of their employees. One employer noted that "so much of theft is tied to drugs," and the cost of employee drug testing is "a small price to pay to eliminate potential drug users in your employment."
Fortunately these individuals didn't have to lose everything before they could learn such a lesson. There are many who aren't so fortunate, losing their hard-won businesses before they realize that they've been taken advantage of.
Call EBI to discuss background screening for your firm through a custom program to suit your company's needs.
Our thorough background screening programs can make the difference in helping ensure you're candidates are who
they say they are
Criminal records searches. Random drug testing. Reference checks. Everything for a comprehensive picture of your prospective employees.
Call us at 800.324.7700 for details.
|
|
|
