Over the past 30 years plus in the field of human resources, my vast experiences across a number of industries have led me to create a series of blogs geared at allowing others to peek into the world within which I have operated. This is also my effort to guide other, up and coming HR professionals and to expose the inner workings of “this vast abyss of Human Resources”. The scenarios mentioned within the blogs are true but businesses and individuals names that maybe shared from time to time have been changed to protect the privacy and abide by non disclosure agreements (NDA). The views and opinions stated are my own.

REGAINING TRUST AFTER THEFT! Is there such a thing?

In my experiences, this is the hardest behavior to overcome between employers and employees. Being an employer and employee, the main focus of an employer is to do gainfully make a living doing something they enjoy. So, from beauty to food or jewelry, their desire is to sell their product or give good service to their market/ customer and this can only be achieved on a large scale by entrusting your operations to others.

Since the lock downs following COVID, we have seen more employers carrying out criminal proceedings against employees who have allegedly stolen from them. What drives employers to take this long winding road of legal action?

1. Declining sales, loss of tolerance for employees who don’t see the bigger picture of how businesses operate,

2. wanting to set an example to other employees who may be tempted to do it themselves, or

3. the desire to ensure that other employers don’t make the mistake to hire the alleged thief and become victims themselves? For whatever reason, TRUST: present and future, in my view is lost.

Although not every employer takes this approach and simply terminate and try to recover the funds, I am encountering that this act is more prevalent than ever before within companies whether blue or white collar, employees are finding ways to embezzle funds, stealing products even if it comes in the form of giving 10 packs of sugar to a customer ordering a small coffee, from their employers without thought of the consequences. One would have to ask why?

1. Rising cost of living and small salaries
2. Greed
3. The Opportunity presents itself that can not be resisted. In essence, the more I get, the more I want primal instinct for many, becomes activated.
4. I hate my employer and want to “hit”them where it hurts most.
5. School opening for my children and I need extra to pay school fees. Whatever the reason made to justify them sleeping to be able at night, there actions have long reaching impact.

As children, many are taught biblical principles regarding stealing. Whether it’s eating something that we didn’t purchase such as, grapes in a food store (which some will call sampling), to removing cash from a cash register, it’s all stealing and “no act is greater or less than another.

From the human resources standpoint, this turns the same person who we may have hired, into the person whom we must now dismiss and possibly testify against them in a court of law.

Too many employees, Human Resources “have no heart” aren’t viewed as human beings just humans doing. This has been echoed many times but it is these type of experiences that causes human beings, no matter the occupation, to alter their behavior. I want to state for the record that hr professionals are human beings, doing what they must after the employee, did what they should not have done, so HR must now carry out policy or law.

Human Resources represents both the employee and employer and must walk a very thin neutral line. So no fraternizing, favoritism or any act that can been seen as favoring one group over the other. This is how we live our lives.

Recently, I’ve had to address the issue of theft, three times within different organizations- All scenarios varying in amounts taken from 200.00 to 60,000. While addressing staff across the three entities, I remarked that “ It takes a thief to catch a thief” and employers don’t have time to think like a thief. They have to therefore rely on the honest employees to say something when they see something. To my disbelief this led to commentary such as, the staff isn’t there to do that “act as a snitch” or the employer need to heighten security to catch perpetrators because they will continue to see but not report even if anonymous options are given.

Where does this leave employer whose revenue pays the salary of these employees, fund their livestyles and pay the bills for the business and for themselves? One must note that policies are often changed retroactively, ie after the act has been done. In this dark abyss, where they have to now see their employees as potential criminals, they have to spend hundreds of thousands on security measures, so less money available for being innovative in finding new products for customers, coming up with new benefits or incentives for staff and having to only pay base minimum wage because you “know” theft will happen and you have to make what you can, to protect what you have.

From a Human Resources standpoint, you must then:

1. Follow and enforce policies
2. Hire authoritarian managers and move far away from laissez faire managers within these environments.
3. Educate employees about the impact of theft from the orientation because it does affect them and the employees ability to remain in business.

All that HR can do is to follow directives and policies when these matters occur and if it leads to dismissal or criminal prosecution, then so be-it. What are your thoughts as an employer or hr professional?

Recently, following the termination of a manager and after sending out the usual email, indicating the person is no longer with the company and we wish them all the best….hr professionals know this one too well, I was asked by an employee, “ how do you feel afterwards”? My response may have been cold to the employee, but it was simply, no different than how I felt before. I did my job for which I am paid to do, I did nothing wrong. I further explained that the road to termination is never a short one, unless a gross sudden act is committed. It’s weeks or months of write ups following the progressive form of discipline requirements, many conversations to garner the required corrective action, but no matter how long the road, the employee sees it coming, in my experiences, it’s very rarely a surprise. It’s just the day their luck ended at that company and they are moved on. I must state at this point, that terminations are God’s way of ending one chapter so you can begin another. You write what that next chapter will look like, that’s your responsibility. Same for the employer, learn something from the experience and put measures in place to prevent any future occurrences. It often deflates employers who must carry out their commitment, which is to pay employees as per law and May frustrates them to want to sell or close down the business, therefore impacting all staff. It’s truly hard being a business owner: from the high taxes, high salary expectations, poor performance from staff, high prices on products needed, constant complaints from customers who want something for free. It takes a strong person to stay focused on the ultimate goal. Billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and others have clearly mastered the art of staying focused.

For Human Resources, it’s finding ways to recruit differently, employing shorter pathways to detect unwanted behavior in employees or having that zero tolerance approach to minor incidences of theft by way of employment such as: coming in late but signing in that you were on time, punching in for a coworker who is running late using their code, using/ eating a product in the establishment that wasn’t paid for or even exhaustive use of company copy paper during examination season, it all starts small before “going big to be sent home”.

My advice to employees:

1. every rope has an end and the day will come when you are caught, some rope just maybe longer than others but they will end.

2. Another advice for employees, you aren’t just “stealing” from the employer but rather from The colleagues whom you go out with and may enjoy working with. Stealing impacts revenue, which can result in the closure of business and loss of many jobs, so don’t be selfish. It’s fast money that will be spent and you don’t know what it went on, and will have to ponder that in a prison cell after you disappoint self and family.

All new employees start on day one with an A grade, what you do from there determines how you pass the course (how you will be remembered after you leave). All you have is your name. The trust of employers will always be lost and future team members will all be seen as a “potential thief awaiting the right opportunity” an unfair branding for some but you can thank those who were employed before you for that.

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Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed above are of that of the writer herself and should not be used in isolation of the law, policies or the Bible.

The blogger is the owner of a consulting company in The Bahamas, a Masters degree holder, a member of international professionals of women, have been employed in the public service, commercial and developmental banking, hospitality, retail and professional services.