Human Resources Management & Leadership Expert Blog - Dr. Mercer

Stealing on The Rise: Pre-Employment Tests Reduces Theft

Pre-employment tests plus two other techniques help reduce stealing and theft by your employees.  “Wall Street Journal” and Fox News reported (a) increases in employees stealing plus (b) employee theft’s financial drain on companies.

 

How financially draining is employee stealing and theft? 
(A) The value of stolen items rose one-third in just two years, according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers’s survey of 5,400 companies. 
(B) 20% of employers consider employee theft a moderate to very big problem, found Institute for Corporate Productivity research.

And how does employee theft impact your non-stealing employees?  First, your honest employees feel dismayed when co-workers steal.  It proves you hired lousy humans.  Second, employees know anything reducing profits impacts job security.  If a company loses too much to theft or stealing, eventually employees may get “de-employed” to decrease losses.

Fortunately, managers can use pre-employment tests and other methods to (a) avoid hiring job applicants who are thieves and (b) discover which employees steal.

1^st WEAPON = PRE-EMPLOYMENT TESTS to HELP HIRE NON-THIEVES

Pre-employment tests that specifically predict or forecast dependability can help you hire Non-Thieves.  After all, the fastest, easiest and cheapest way to avoid stealing by employees is obvious:  Avoid hiring job applicants who will steal. 

For example, in my pre-employment test research to create the Theft/Stealing prediction on the “Dependability Forecaster(tm) Test,” I used a two-step method to find out which test questions predict if someone may steal.  First, two groups of people answered my extensive list of research questions:  (1) One group was Thieves – hundreds of prisoners locked-up in jails for stealing and theft crimes.  (2) The second group was hundreds of Non-Thieves.  Then, I did statistics to find out which specific questions the Thieves answered significantly differently than the Non-Thieves. 

Those questions became the pre-employment test’s section that helps predict if a job applicant may steal.

When applicants take the pre-employment test, companies immediately see if a job applicant scored like the Thieves or the Non-Thieves.  Of course, managers prefer hiring applicants who get the test scores of the Non-Thieves. 

2^ND WEAPON = BACKGROUND CHECKS

In addition to pre-employment tests that help predict Theft/Stealing, a company also might conduct a criminal background check to see if the applicant was convicted of stealing crimes. 

Problem:  Unfortunately, a background check only will tell you if the applicant was convicted in the locale where you do the check, for example, your county.  Warning:  If an applicant was convicted in another locale, then you will not find out. 

Solution:  First, administer a pre-employment test to help predict Theft/Stealing – before you spend your time and budget on background checks.  Then, if employment test scores show an applicant scored like Thieves, then you probably will not bother to waste budget doing a theft or criminal background check.

 

3^RD WEAPON = ACT LIKE JAMES BOND

After you use pre-employment tests to hire the best, you still need to watch your employees to make sure they do not steal.  It may not sound nice, but you need to “spy” on employees.  You can install video cameras, tracking devices and other spying instruments that are allowed.

For example, an executive at one company called me for help to stop employee theft and stealing that harmed the company’s finances. 

First, I helped the executive start using the pre-employment test that predicts possible Theft/Stealing concerns – so the company could avoid hiring thieves.  Second, I recommended the company “spy” on current employees by installing location-tracking devices on its delivery trucks. 

Results = The pre-employment test helped the company hire Non-Thieves.  Among employees, the company discovered delivery drivers were (a) driving away from their most direct routes and then (b) selling company goods during their off-route driving.  The company’s stealing by employees came to a screeching halt.  And new employees were Non-Thieves.

 

Suggestion:  Make 100% certain employees realize you watch them.  Some may complain about “Big Brother” for awhile, but they will know your rules.  Your rules include no stealing is tolerated.  Plus, employees realize you use multiple tools to catch employees who steal.  Also, point out that stealing by employees creates less job security for everyone.  That will make them thank you for “spying.”

 

PRE-EMPLOYMENT TESTS, CRIMINAL CHECKS, & SPYING HELP YOU STOP
EMPLOYEE STEALING

Employee stealing drains a company’s financial resources.  It also creates a lousy workplace for employees.  Research and news reports indicate employee stealing is a big, growing and expensive problem.  So, managers need to take three steps to stop theft by employees. 

 

First, give pre-employment tests to job applicants to help you avoid hiring possible Thieves or people who may steal.  Second, conduct criminal background checks on job applicants who did well on the pre-employment test.  Third, monitoring devices catch employees who try to steal your company’s possessions. 

Pre-employment tests, criminal theft background checks and “spying” give you a fantastic 1-2-3punch to knock-out employee stealing in your company.

 COPYRIGHT 2009 MICHAEL MERCER, www.MercerSystems.com

“PUBLIC EXECUTIONS” + PRE-EMPLOYMENT TESTS = YOUR COMPANY GROWS

Opportunity knocks.  You want a workforce of only productive, responsible, dependable employees.  Right?

Problem = You have some (A) unproductive or underachieving employees, (B) irresponsible employees, plus (C) employees you cannot depend on.

YOU HAVE FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY = HOLD “PUBLIC EXECUTIONS” NOW

Yes, you read that right.  I recommend you hold “public executions” at your company. 

I do not mean you “cancel” harm anyone physically.  Do not hang anyone at dawn.

Instead, de-employ employees who are any of the following:

>  unproductive or only average in productivity

>  irresponsible

>  undependable

>  trouble-maker – who harms other employees’ productivity

And here is how to de-employ scumbags – oops, I mean lousy employees:  Hold a “public execution.”  By that, I mean make sure every employee in your company knows those lousy employees are being tossed out the door because they were
(A) unproductive,
(B) irresponsible, and
(C) undependable.

You could hold an all-employee meeting after your de-employ underachievers.  Clearly explain your company

A.  values and adores employees who are productive, responsible, and dependable

B.  will ‘throw out the door’ anyone who is unproductive, irresponsible, and undependable

End the meeting by saying all the survivors are appreciated – but do not give them any employment guarantees.  Remaining at your company is based on being productive, responsible, and dependable.  If any employees fall off the wagon, the management team will throw them off the wagon, that is, de-employ underachievers.

PRE-EMPLOYMENT TESTS TO THE RESCUE

Pre-employment tests give you the quickest and most accurate way to hire applicants likely to perform on-the-job like your company’s high-achievers.

 

How do pre-employment tests do that?  Two ways. 

First, for “white-collar” jobs, you readily can custom-tailor behavior, personality and cognitive ability tests so you know benchmark scores of your best employees.  Then, you may prefer applicants who get pre-employment test scores similar to your outstanding employees on behavior and mental ability pre-employment tests.

Second, use a dependability pre-employment test for “blue-collar” jobs.  You can prefer applicants whose pre-employment test scores forecast (a) honesty on test, (b) strong work ethic, (c) low impulsiveness – related to accidents and also interpersonal clashes, (d) low theft/stealing concerns, and (e) low substance abuse concerns.

Also, do interviews, reference checks, and background checks.  But, remember these common problems:  (a) Research shows most interviewers are horribly bad at predicting job performance based on their interviews, (b) it is hard to obtain useful reference checks, and (c) background checks miss many problems.

Pre-employment tests, in contrast, are research-based and can be custom-tailored to help you hire applicants with qualities similar to your company’s “superstar” employees.

EXAMPLE FROM A COMPANY PRESIDENT

I recently received a phone call from a company president.  He considers hiring the best so important to business growth that he must approve all hires.  He refuses to approve hiring anyone who may not be outstandingly productive, responsible, and dependable.

Pre-employment tests, he told me, are the key tool he uses to hire the best. 
He explained, “We have huge numbers of applicants.  Most have nice work histories – and sound great in interviews.”

“I rely on your pre-employment tests to hire great employees – because the pre-employment tests tell me whether an applicant will be as good as our best employees,” he observed.

“The pre-employment tests help us hire wonderful employees – just like our very best employees,” that company president concluded.

“PUBLIC EXECUTIONS” + PRE-EMPLOYMENT TESTS = WINNING

FORMULA  

Productive, responsible, and dependable employees help your company grow.  So, you may bet your company and your career on a fairly safe formula. 

Simply do these steps:

1.  Make a list of your underachievers – employees you regret having on your payroll.

2.  Hold “Public Executions” – de-employ those average and below-average employees

3.  Tell remaining employees that you de-employ underachievers. 
     You allow no place to hide.

4.  Use pre-employment tests – to help you hire the best.

When using pre-employment tests, do the following:

First, for “white-collar” and skilled jobs, use pre-employment tests to predict – or forecast – both behaviors and mental abilities.  Custom-tailor the two pre-employment tests to help you hire applicants who get test scores the same or similar to your super-productive employees.

 

Second, use dependability pre-employment test for “blue-collar,” hourly, and unskilled jobs.  See if you can hire applicants whose test scores forecast they answered honestly, have great work ethic, are non-impulsive, and probably will not abuse substances nor steal.

Pre-employment tests and “public executions” will help you build a workforce of people who help your company grow – humans who are (A) productive, (B) responsible, and (C) dependable.

 COPYRIGHT 2009 MICHAEL MERCER, PH.D., www.MercerSystems.com