Do you have complete trust in your employees

There stands a 75 percent likelihood that one of your employees will steal from you this year, while that same figure amounts to employee thefts that business owners will never discover.

So, faced with those statistics, do you really have 100 percent trust in each and every worker that enters and leaves your office on a daily basis?

With tough economic times, along with the fact that identity theft is an ever-growing problem, more and more small business owners must deal with the fact that theft can happen right under their noses on a daily basis.

In order to lessen the chances of becoming another statistic, there are some tactics small business owners can employ, including:

1. Who Did I Just Hire? – With all that small business owners have on their plate daily, they sometimes are not part of the hiring process, leaving such decisions up to their HR person or others on the team. In those cases, they may not know the entire scope and background of the person who was just hired. Make sure your person or persons doing the interviewing and hiring know the signs to look for. Any applicants who have financial issues could be a risk, along with individuals who have any criminal past. It is important that all applicants be given a thorough background check, looking for any inaccuracies in their resume and what they tell your HR person or other team members regarding their job history;

2. Deploy security – Even in the smallest of offices, having security in place can be the difference between becoming a theft victim and running a safe operation. Along with the need to protect your employees from outside security threats, having an in-housesecurity system in place decreases the odds you will be ripped off. If you are shopping for a security system, review the different products and providers on the Internet, check to see their history when it comes to customer service, and make sure you read each and every line of any contract you might potentially sign. The biggest alert should be any hidden fees that could end up costing you much more than you originally signed up for. Lastly, decide on whether or not to make security known to your workers. Some owners make it evident there is security in the office with cameras, touchpads to enter and exit the building, while others are a little more discreet;

3. There are repercussions – Whenever you make a new hire, it is important to convey the fact that stealing from the company will not be tolerated in any shape or form. If an employee is allowed to get away with a small swipe here and there, it could lead them to think that bigger targets may be an opportunity too. Any supplies given to new employees should be recorded and accounted for. Any items that employees must take in and out of the office such as laptops while on business calls, cell phones, etc. should also be documented. If one of your employees is using the office credit card with your permission, make sure they document its usage, including providing receipts.

While many small business owners get by daily without having to worry about theft on the job, it just takes one bad experience to potentially change their business forever.