With security cameras becoming more affordable, most businesses are now equipped with at least some sort of surveillance.In most cases, hidden, stealth or plain view cameras are set up to prevent unlawful, illegal, and costly behavior by criminal threats from outside the business. However, they can also be used to increase employee efficiency by improving customer service and preventing employee theft.
Studies have shown that the majority of losses to your company will probably come from “inside” your organization. The National Retail Security Survey states the “Employee theft accounts for 46.8% of all retail inventory shrinkage.” While The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners states that “27% of large companies are seeing an increase in office employee theft that makes up 7% of annual revenues” This means that shrinkage costs the American economy over $994 billion per year, which is a pretty big number.
In a lot of cases, employees simply do not view their actions as theft until confronted by superiors. For example, most employees will take business stationary not viewing this as “Stealing.” Some companies have found that their stationary shrinkage and costs have dropped significantly just by provided their employees with a company branded and personalized pens with the employees name on it. The initial cost is higher, but employees are more likely to keep these pens longer and less likely to steal pen “Refills.” There are also other benefits that make employees feel more attached to the company and part of a “Team” as opposed to just an unappreciated worker.
Although in many cases, treating your employees well will help eliminate shrinkage, installing cameras to monitor employee actions can have a faster and almost immediate cost savings. By placing surveillance cameras in stock rooms, over cash registers, and other potential areas of loss, you will greatly increase the amount of margin on your sales.
If your main goal is prevention, then surveillance cameras are the way to go. If you are looking to catch a thief, then stealth cameras may be a better alternative.
The best thing about buying a security camera surveillance system comes when you use the increase in profits to pay them.
Check our our wireless security camera systems for some great residential and commercial surveillance camera ideas