10. Investigate
9. Audits
8. Hotline
5. Evaluate Management Controls on an annual basis
2. Create a positive working environment
Compensation for effort is a given in the sales department, but what about other departments? Does your dealership have other programs to recognize employee performance, and are they appropriate?
If employees feel overworked and under-engaged, there is a higher likelihood of fraud or theft. Consider implementing a program that turns employees into invested stakeholders by educating them on the cost of shrinkage to the company. Then set a goal of reduction in the percentage and share a portion of the savings with all employees as part of a reward system. This encourages employees to watch each other and report theft if they see it.
Measure
Measure how well your employees recognize that your success is their success. The more engaged your workforce is, the more likely they see personal benefits to saving the company money and preventing fraud and theft.
… and the number one thing you can do to prevent theft and fraud in your dealership is…
1. Be proactive: Have a “3D” plan:
Deterrance
If you don’t do anything about employee theft, you are encouraging it to happen again and again. Not only by the person who stole this time, but by every other employee as well.
Detection
Use a systemic approach for early detection.
An internal theft prevention audit works backwards to find vulnerabilities. For example: Is there a second check of your payroll records? Can you prevent kick-back schemes? How do you audit inventory?
Determination
Finding areas in your dealership where fraud can occur.