Selecting the right person

Employee theft is an enormous problem for the Ziko ABC company, and not just cash. For
example, the cleaner/spotter often opens the store without a manager present, to get the day’s
work started, and it is not unusual for that person to “run a route.” Running a route means that
an employee canvasses his or her neighborhood to pick up people’s clothes for cleaning and
then secretly cleans and presses them in the ABC store, using the company’s supplies, gas,
and power. It would also not be unusual for an unsupervised person (or his or her supervisor,
for that matter) to accept a 1-hour rush order for cleaning or laundering, quickly clean and
press the item, and return it to the customer for payment without making out a proper ticket
for the item posting the sale. The money, of course, goes into the worker’s pocket instead of
into the cash register. The more serious problem concerns the store manager and the counter
workers who actually handle the cash. According to Jack, “You would not believe the
creativity employees use to get around the management controls we set up to cut down on
employee theft.” As one extreme example of this felonious creativity, Jack tells the following
story: “To cut down on the amount of money my employees were stealing, I had a small sign
painted and placed in front of all our cash registers. The sign said: YOUR ENTIRE ORDER
FREE IF WE DON’T GIVE YOU A CASH REGISTER RECEIPT WHEN YOU PAY.
CALL 01818xxxx97. It was my intention with this sign to force all our cash-handling
employees to give receipts so the cash register would record them for my accountants. After
all, if all the cash that comes in is recorded in the cash register, then we should have a much
better handle on stealing in our stores. Well, one of our managers found a way around this. I
came into the store one night and noticed that the cash register this particular manager was
using just didn’t look right, although the sign was placed in front of it. It turned out that every
afternoon at about 5:00 p.m. when the other employees left, this character would pull his own
cash register out of a box that he hid underneath our supplies. Customers coming in would
notice the sign and, of course, the fact that he was meticulous in ringing up every sale. But
unknown to them, for about 5 months the sales that came in for about an hour every day went
into his cash register, not mine. It took us that long to figure out where our cash for that store
was going.” Here is what Jennifer would like you to answer:

Questions

1. What other screening techniques could the company use to screen out theft-prone and
turnover-prone employees, and how exactly could these be used?

2. How should her company terminate employees caught stealing, and what kind of
procedure should be set up for handling reference calls about these employees when
they go to other companies looking for jobs?
Ans to the Q. No 1
As part of ethical responsibility, no company should hire employees without doing proper
background research about them. As employees deal with a company's customers very
closely and get to know most of the customers' information, no company should put their
customers in danger by hiring employees without reference, background check, and most
importantly, using the selection tools properly. From the case, we can see that Ziko ABC
Company's employees are unethical at their job, which became an enormous problem for the
company. The counter workers are also involved in theft as they handle the cash. Not only
money but also without the manager's concern, the cleaners often open the store. The
employees rush to get the customer's payment without making out a proper ticket for the item
and posting the sale. All this occurred due to negligent hiring procedures, and an effective
hiring process needs to be followed. Through prescreening tools, honesty tests have been
shown to eliminate theft and reduce turnover.
Some screening techniques will be beneficial to screen out theft-prone and turnover-prone
employees:
Background Investigation: Before hiring an employee, the company should check her/his all
personal information. The company should check whether the applicant was involved in any
sorts of criminal or fraudulent activities. Most importantly, the company should verify
whether all the information that the applicant has provided is accurate and whether it is
authorized or the employee has hidden any info. The company should also check an
employee's social media background, such as Facebook or Linked-In profile, to uncover any
unknown information. A company should have an honest investigation officer to perform the
proper background check.

Reference Checks: Proper reference checks can be used to avoid hiring someone who does
not meet or qualify company standards. HR managers can call the employees' previous
employer to take information about the employee. In this way, the company will get the
applicants' pre-employment information. All these can be used to screen out theft-prone
employees and reduce turnover.
Honesty Test & Substance Abuse Screening: This type of screening can also be outsourced to
a private security agency. However, the cost might be a factor for Ziko ABC Company. Still,
the company can do a cost-benefit analysis and check if savings from reduced theft would
offset an outside agency's cost. Company theft policies should also be communicated to new
employees.
Proper Security System & Hidden Security Cameras: Professional security guards should be
appointed who will check the number of clothes that have been brought to the company and
make sure that no clothes can be taken out from the company premises without the clearance
of payment receipt. Hidden security cameras can also help a lot as the company will quickly
find out the thief.
Performance Appraisal: The company can start giving out incentives and bonuses to reduce
theft and turnover. If incentives and rewards are provided the employees will be motivated
and dedicated to the company and there is less chance that they would like to shift to other
companies. So, employee turnover will decrease. Also, giving out financial rewards,
incentives and bonuses means employees will have some extra money which might keep
them away from stealing. Moreover, all employees should be given equal opportunity while
promotion and proper selection tools should be used while hiring employees and promoting
employees as well. In this way, the employees will feel that the company is standard and they
are not biased towards anyone as the company follows a strict selection process maintaining
all the selection techniques.
Ans to the Q. No. 2
The company can terminate employees caught stealing as follows:
Jennifer can set the Ziko ABC Company's internal policies; if the company has a protocol for
investigations, it must be followed. So the juries instruct that the employers follow these
procedures strictly. If they do not mind that, Jennifer can file a case, and the employer has a
chance of going to trial, where there will be solid evidence of their criminal activities. If the
procedures are not followed and if any theft is committed and they will admit that they stole.
This way, they can catch an employee then fire them according to their policies and have a
meeting afterward with other co-workers to let them know about the incident.
Jennifer can also develop evidence and involve the police to find reliable information on
whether or not the employer has committed theft or not. Proper authorities should be included
after actual proof of the employee caught stealing through CCTV camera footages,
videotapes, witness, or written confessions signed.
There should be copies of these records, and they should also be moved from their usual
location and be stored in a safe place so that this video and recording-based evidence is not
destroyed. Furthermore, the investigator, such as the jury who watches these videos, can take
this as solid proof and enough for them to witness the truth—taking strict actions such as
demoting the employee or not giving him benefits or bonuses. Cutting their pay will send a
message to the other company employees that they will not tolerate these harmful activities
by taking legal action or terminating them from the job.
When it comes to handling reference calls, most employers and managers place restrictions
on who can send out details. For example, if another company contacts Ziko ABC Company
to do references on an employee who was fired for fraud, Ziko ABC Company should be
very careful of how the evidence is handled. Only the authorized personnel should be in
charge of answering such calls and determining if relevant fraud information should be
shared. For any other employee not involved in stealing, the only information that should be
shared is hiring date, title and last salary reported. Companies should keep in mind that
defamation is a serious offence when giving out references. The company should only share
anything confidently if the company has saved any particular information about the employee
regarding any incident which should always be on record for future references.