Employee theft is a problem in most businesses and employers need to deal with it fast and fairly when discovered. Some of the things stolen include money, equipment and supplies. However, how is an employer supposed to investigate employee theft?
Investigating employee theft should be handled with care to avoid cases of litigation. A company should have a policy and procedures outlining how to perform theft investigations so that the process can be efficient. Employees should be made aware of the company policy regarding theft and its consequences.
Even if an employee is caught in the act or there is evidence of the stealing, the employer is advised to follow the right procedure. Sacking the employee on the spot may not be the best thing to do to avoid the risk of litigations based on breach of contract, defamation or unfair dismissal.
Steps to follow to investigate employee theft
The first thing should be to investigate any theft claims in order to acquire evidence. Depending on the magnitude of theft, a manager or private investigators can do the investigation. During this time, the employee in question may be suspended or monitored to get more evidence. Investigators and other staff should be advised to maintain confidentiality to avoid leaking information. The employee should be served with an official letter detailing the allegations, the ongoing or impending investigation, consequences of theft, whether the employee is under suspension and other relevant details.
Once the evidence is in and it shows that the employee is guilty, the employer then needs to make a decision of the appropriate action. Just make sure that the evidence is concrete in case there is a lawsuit. If the theft is of high magnitude involving large sums of money or theft for a long duration, the employee may be fired or given a summary dismissal. If it is petty theft, an employee can be disciplined by taking measures such as demotion, restitution, disciplinary letter or unpaid suspension. While determining the action to take, the employer should consider factors such as how long the employee has been working there, admission of guilt, apology and if the employees promise to repay.
It is your role as an employer to ensure that employees know the consequences of theft. You should have the right information concerning how an investigation should be conducted, ways of collecting evidence, how to have proper systems to prevent theft.
Apply these supervisory skills so that you can become a great and effective supervisor.
Supervisors do interact directly with their subordinates. Hence, it is important for them to have particular skills to ensure that the interaction is productive. What are the crucial supervisory skills should any supervisor uphold? Here is a list of a few skills that are needed for effective supervision:
Planning
One of the roles that one must take when they are appointed as supervisors is planning. There are various aspects of planning. Therefore, a supervisor should have skills in the following areas to ensure effective planning. They include:
- Scheduling- Timekeeping is the mandate of any leader. A supervisor should be able to drive the subordinates to work within sustainable timelines
- Budgeting- Often, organizations work within fixed budgets. Hence, sound planning is needed to make sure finances are located appropriately
- Tasking- It is the duty of the supervisor to plan tasks and match them to appropriate individuals
- Creating goals and objectives
- Policymaking
- Predicting the future
Leading
The key role of a supervisor is to lead others but not without specific skills. Here are a few of the leading skills:
- Decision making- While it is important to consult others, the supervisor need to be the sole decision maker
- Communicating- They must be able to communicate well with their subordinates
- Motivating- Besides, the supervisor should be in a position to persuade the employees towards goal achievement
- Developing individuals- It is the duty of the supervisor to see to the growth of the subordinates
- Appointing people- Supervisors are also responsible for selecting people whom they think are suited for various tasks
- Conflict resolution- Leaders act as mediators in conflicts that arise among the employees
Organizing
Supervisors also need organization skills such as;
- Defining tasks- It is the responsibility of a supervisor to explain work to the employees
- Grouping assignments- Supervisors are also mandated to group related tasks for effective implementation
- Assigning tasks- They are also responsible for delegating duties to the subordinates based on the skill level of the individuals
- Integrating work
Controlling
Lastly, a supervisor needs to have control over his/her subjects. They require skills in:
- Creating standards- For effective evaluation, developing standards is inherent
- Assessing performance- Supervisors should measure the performance of their subordinates
- Evaluation of performance- The supervisors should evaluate the performance results critically to point out areas of improvement
- Correcting performance- Where an employee performs averagely or poorly in their tasks, the supervisor should encourage and support them to improve their performance.