Flickr photo credit: quinn.anya

Oh yes, it’s that bad. According to a recent American DataBank survey, businesses lose $120 billion annually to employee theft. It goes well beyond taking home some company pens and paper. Employees are lifting anything not nailed down. Some companies have a harder time than others. Why are some employees more prone to stealing?

Experts agree that employees who feel valued, well compensated, and who have adopted a sense of ownership are less likely to steal than those who feel underappreciated. Yet it’s not just feelings that cause theft. Opportunity to steal can increase exponentially your hotel’s employee theft incidents. Worse, many hotels are not covering their exposures to employee dishonestly adequately. The Surety Association of America, in a recent study, found that the majority of insureds surveyed did not have large enough employee dishonesty coverage to cover their actual losses.

Start with a look at your hotel insurance policy. Are your limits high enough to cover your actual losses from previous years? If not, consult your broker or insurer to help assess your risks more appropriately.

Next, help employees avoid temptation. Not all employees need access to all areas. Keep supplies locked up and maintain control over who has access. With guest belongings, make sure you have the appropriate level of security – are you providing safes? Is your housekeeping staff vetted? What controls are in place to ensure accountability should guest items begin to disappear?

An easy way to decrease employee theft is to make sure your employees take ownership of their jobs and their teams’ performance levels. When employees take pride in their jobs and feel like valued team members, they are less likely to become angry and retaliate by stealing. Also, consider appointing one member of each team to track team performance, assume responsibility for team behavior, and report any questionable activity. And keep communication open from the top down to ensure a stronger team environment. By allowing employees to air grievances and discuss concerns with any member of hotel management, you will be improving not only working conditions but also the security in your hotel.  Is it time to check your employee dishonesty coverage?