Yes, hotel employees are always responsible for theft in the workplace. The main thing a company looks into is the security of the staff and the customers. But if staff steal then where shall the company go?
In the hotel industry, when the guest enters the room and throws his/her luggage, and goes to the pool, the staff members enter the room in their absence and steal the things.
Introduction
Hotel employee theft in the workplace has become a serious issue nowadays. Employees steal things from the guest’s room. Many complaints have been reported about employees that they have stolen either rings, laptops, or other accessories.
Hotels have to increase the security of the guests. This can have a negative impact on the hotel and the hotel might receive negative feedback from the guests. So, it is important to keep the customers’ luggage safe.
The purpose of this blog is to make the readers understand employee thefts and how to prevent them. Whenever an employer hires a new employee, then he/she should access employee activities. They should make sure that the keys given to the employees to access certain areas are in safe hands.
It should not be given to irresponsible people. The important keys should be given to a person who can be accountable for them.
Secondly, the managers should be present with the team to have an eye on all the operations that are being initiated in the hotel. Employers should take an active part in all operations.
Prevention of Employee theft in Hotels
Employee screening and background checks
It is very much essential to do employee screening and background checks for preventing employee theft in the workplace/hotels. The first and foremost thing that is required to do is check the criminal record before hiring any employee. Check whether they have any criminal history.
Secondly, have a look at the employees’ previous work experience. Cross check the information that they provided is true. Further, check employees credit history to determine whether they are capable of handling money or crucial financial information.
Employee training and policies
Consistently, providing them training about the rules and regulations of a hotel and making them understand the status of the hotel will make sure that honesty and integrity is important for the hotel. Training like theft prevention, customer service, and communication skills.
The hotel must ensure that all the policies have been communicated to the employees in a very respectable manner so that the employee knows what will be the consequence if they think of stealing anything.
Security measures
Hotels should implement certain security measures to make sure that the guests and employees are safe. For example, Installing surveillance cameras in all the places like the lobby, backyard, elevators, and parking rooms. Further, employers should limit the access control of keys for guest rooms, finance rooms, etc.
Audits and monitoring
Conducting frequent audits of all the cash inflows and outflows are some of the ways through which hotels can prevent employee theft in the workplace. Further, monitoring employee behavior might also help secure the hotel from theft. Encourage the employees to report any theft done by other employees.
Investigating and addressing employee theft incidents in hotels
To protect the reputation and goodwill of the hotel, to safeguard the luggage of the guests, and to protect the assets it is very important to investigate and address employee theft incidents in hotels. Some of the reasons are:
Theft incidents will cause hotels to bear heavy amounts of loss in cash, property, and guest negative feedback and it will be difficult for the hotel to recover such losses. In order to avoid this, it is necessary to investigate the employees and their behavior.
Guest satisfaction is equally important for the reputation of the company. So, the timely conducting investigation will ensure guest satisfaction and the hotel can also avoid receiving negative responses from the guests.
Conducting a proper investigation will comply with legal requirements and avoid legal consequences.
The steps involved in the investigation of employee theft are
- Report the incident to the respective authority, like a manager or HR. Mention all the details about the incident like date, time, place, etc.
- Preserve the evidence until it is not made public by the manager.
- The investigator shall conduct interviews with the reported person to carry out more information regarding the theft.
- The investigator shall oversee the evidence properly. Moreover, if there are any witnesses, investigators should have questions and answers with them.
- The investigator after considering all the facts shall take necessary action against the theft.
In such a case, legal consequences of theft might be the termination of the employee whereby the employee will be terminated permanently. If the theft is severe, the employee will be liable for criminal charges and might even go to jail. In some cases, if an employee has stolen anything then he will be liable to pay restitution to the guests.
Open communication is essential between management and staff to ensure that staff can communicate any theft occurred in the hotel without any fear. Management should provide frequent theft prevention training to employees so that they should know how to handle the situation.
Furthermore, whenever a theft incident occurs, management and staff should work together and carry out the person liable.
Industry standards and best practices for preventing employee theft in hotels
The hospitality industry has generated certain industry standards on hotel employee theft in the workplace. Some of them are:
- Many hotels follow safety and security as an industry standard, like security protocols, establishing codes, strict rules and regulations, emergency exits, security cameras, etc.
- Many hotels also focus on hygiene and cleanliness like disease prevention measures, food safety regulations, and proper sanitizing the hotel.
- Another industry standard that hotels follow is guest satisfaction. Guests are important assets for any hotel. Hotels will never want to lose their guests because of negative reviews. So, guest satisfaction is the important industry standard that hotels prefer.
Best practices in preventing employee theft in the workplace/hotels are:
- Training the employees to report suspicious behavior.
- Background check and screening to ensure that employee doesn’t have any criminal record or experience.
- Frequent audits of cash, accounting, and finance are also one of the best practices in prevention of employee theft.
- Investigating and reporting the theft to the concerned authority.
Strategies recommended for hotels to reduce theft incidents are:
- A culture of honesty and transparency should be carried out in a hotel so that employees will be able to report any suspicious activity.
- Communicate with the staff frequently. Make sure that they are friendly with you. Do not treat them like a boss and employee.
- Respond to incidents quickly. Do not wait for any higher authority to come and take charge. Do it on your own. Investigate the matter.
Comparison of employee theft in the Workplace/hotel industry with other industries
Employee theft is not a problem only in the hotel industry. It has become a serious problem in other industries as well. Some of the examples are:
Retail shops are another industry where the staff can steal cash, materials, or supplies. Retailers need to be cautious enough and should maintain strict rules and regulations regarding employee theft in the workplace.
Healthcare and medicine stores are another industry where staff can steal unprescribed drugs or medicines which can threaten anybody’s life.
The finance industry carries sensitive information about the company. Some of the employees have access to it which might be dangerous for the company. So, the company should be aware of all the activities and should maintain records of all the duties of each and every employee.
As per the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, a study that took place in 2018, stated that the occupational fraud in the food and hospitality industry was $90,000. This is higher than other frauds in other industries. Thefts can be of any form like stealing cash, undercharging guests, stealing the inventories, etc.
The factors that affect employee theft rates in the hotel industry are
- Employee screening and selecting the best candidate may be less likely to experience hotel theft.
- Hotels that have strong security measures like cameras installed in every corner, access control systems and other security measures can prevent the hotel from employee theft.
- Compensation and benefits are other factors that may affect employee theft rates in the hotel industry.
Legal consequences for hotel employees involved in theft
Some examples of legal consequences for employee theft in the workplace are:
- Employees will be permanently terminated from their job if their stealing is severe.
- Employees will be liable to criminal charges. Their charges will depend on the level of theft they have done.
- Their professional license can also get revoked if the theft done by the employee is dangerous.
Relevant laws and regulations are
State law
Many states have laws regarding theft, fraud, stealing, etc. they can impose any laws and regulations for such kinds of law.
Federal law
Federal law is very strict in such activities. As per Employee Theft Act, any employee who steals the property belonging to another will be liable for a fine of $4500 or equivalent.
Employment contracts: In some of the contracts it has been mentioned that if the employee commits any type of theft or crime then he will be liable for the punishment.
Creating a culture of Integrity and Honesty to prevent theft
Building a culture of Integrity and Honesty to prevent theft in the workplace is important for preventing employee theft in hotels. Creating a strong culture of Integrity and Honesty among staff will play the role of a deterrent.
Employees will not try to commit theft if they understand that employee theft in the workplace will not be tolerated and strict action will be taken if committed. Moreover, a hotel with strong Honesty and integrity is more likely to attract customers and receive a good response from them.
Some of the strategies to foster a culture of Integrity and honesty are
- Hotels should communicate the expectations that need to be fulfilled by the employees. They should mention all the duties that employees have to serve.
- Employees should be encouraged to report any theft incidents that have happened or if they are the witness of any incident, it shall be the duty of employees to communicate it to managers.
- When any theft incident occurs, hotels should take immediate action against the person liable for theft in the workplace.
- Encouraging and recognizing positive behavior and performance might lead to less employee theft in the workplace. Some of the ways to encourage this are providing feedback to employees regarding their duties, behavior towards guests, etc. Further, employers should reward employees with some incentives and bonuses which will make them feel motivated and they will not opt for theft in the workplace.
Balancing Security and Prevention With Employee Trust and Respect
Some of the challenges in balancing security and prevention with employee trust and respect are:
- Strict security measures can generate a negative environment in the hotel like more turnover, improper communication, etc.
- Security measures may make the employee feel that they are not trusted as if they are targeted unnecessarily.
- Hotels should address cultural differences properly to maintain a balance between security and trust.
Below mentioned are some of the strategies to balance security and prevention with trust and respect:
- Communicate openly and transparently with employees to build trust and confidence.
- Involve the employees in development of security measures and all the other important matters which will make them feel important.
- Hotels can provide counseling services to the employees, in case they need them, which will ensure that hotels are there to support them in case of an emergency.
It is important to maintain a positive work environment. If employees feel valued and respected, then they will be motivated to carry out their work fluently. Furthermore, it decreases anxiety and stress in the hotel and creates a positive environment.
Impact of Accusations of Employee theft on Hotel reputation and Business
Hotel reputation is the main key to the success of the hotel. The Impact of employee theft on hotel reputation can lead to negative responses from guests. For example, hotels can lose customer trust, and hotels might even have to bear financial losses as guests will not spend money on the facilities provided by the hotel. Additionally, Employee morale will also be affected as employees will not feel valued.
Some of the strategies for addressing the impact of accusations of employee theft are:
- Address the issue promptly and take necessary actions.
- Communicate the theft incident to HR, managers, and stakeholders.
- Employee theft can impact the trust of guests. So, it is important to rebuild trust with guests so that they will feel protected and that the theft will not be repeated.
Building and maintaining a positive reputation requires communicating with the guests and solving their queries and concerns immediately.
Conclusion
In this blog post, we looked into hotel employee theft in the workplace and the consequences that the hotel and the employees have to bear while conducting a theft. Further, industry standards and best practices for preventing employee theft were also explained.
We also got an idea of how building trust is important with the guests. It is also necessary to create a culture of Integrity and Honesty to prevent theft.
If you are a manager of the hotel, then you should take employee theft seriously as it can damage customer trust and can impact the success of the hotel. Hotels might even have to bear financial losses if they do not take strict action on employee theft.
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