Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/245905
24 • FEBRUARY 2014 • WORLD FENCE NEWS Honesty in the workplace affects everyone A BY TOM LUBY, PROFIT BUILDERS INTERNATIONAL Mention offer code: WFN228 Offer Expires 2/28/14 Weatherproof stainless steel construction. FREE Gate can be latched/unlatched via cell phone. Easy programming via cell phone or computer. No wires from the gate to the house. Curb Mount Pedestal No trenching for phone lines. Works with standard prepay or contract GSM/SIM card technology. With the purchase of any phone entry system in stock. Never miss a call, ALWAYS seem at home. Back light for call button and key pad. Keyed front door. 2 year limited warranty. www.seaccesstech.com check out our website for special online offers World Fence News © News from the World of Fencing, Access Control and Security Our focus is on the PEOPLE, PRODUCTS and PROJECTS of the Fence Industry! SECURE GATE SYSTEMS, INC. Last month I spoke about increasing company profits by identifying and eliminating wasteful behavior, as well as recognizing and rewarding good employee behavior and work habits. A key element in the profit puzzle is rewarding efficient and prudent work efforts through recognition of those efforts and praising good employees. You might even provide a form of monetary reward for them when warranted. The flip side of the efficiency coin is an all too common employee behavior that is something I truly disdain: theft. Mainly for reasons of political correctness, I rarely mention this topic to my clients unless it is obvious and absolutely necessary, and there is strong proof. By "all too common" I mean to say that if theft even happens one time in a thousand, that is one time too many. I really have a bad thing against stealing, as you might be picking up on! Thankfully, in most fencing companies, primarily I believe because of the basic honest nature of most people, theft is something that rarely happens. But when it does it can have devastating results for everyone in the company. I have never spoken about this topic, nor written about it; it is something that normally none of us wants to consider even exists. But, tragically, theft does exist, and I personally feel that reducing the Original Manufacturer of Preassembled High Security Emergency Egress Gates Opens Every Time with Patented Reliability Toll Free 866-725-6995 • www.securegatesystems.net opportunity to steal can reduce the incidence of theft. I have a friend and client in the fence industry who insists that there is a bit of larceny in all of us, and maybe he is right. But if that larceny manifests itself in the workplace, I for one am appalled, mortified and even enraged. I am not insinuating, nor do I condone, going on a "fishing expedition" for theft in the workplace, but be prepared and keep your eyes open to the possibility. I have also seen some of my fencing clients turn a blind eye to theft, or the strong possibility of theft in their company, hoping it will go away by itself. That, in my humble opinion, is certainly no solution. I am not insinuating, nor do I condone, going on a "fishing expedition" for theft in the workplace, but be prepared and keep your eyes open to the possibility. When dealing with honesty in the workplace, managers have to walk a fine line, keeping a balance between the possibility of employee accidental misbehavior and the notion of innocent until proven guilty, as well as to the possibility of actual stealing existing in the company and if so, what to do about it. I should not have to even mention this, but please keep a watchful eye on your inventory, and demand explanations for gaps in that inventory. Taking an ostrich approach will never solve the problem; it actually will only make it worse. When I spoke earlier of one man's opinion that there is a "little bit of larceny in all of us," that may indeed be closer to the truth than I would like to admit. But I underscore the words "little bit." I think that unless you are dealing with a true criminal element in the workforce, rarely would someone have the audacity to steal thousands of dollars of fencing materials outright for themselves. The smaller incidents of theft – the little things – are much more prevalent in the workplace. Things like employees that cheat with the use of their gas card and fill the wife's tank. These things can, and do happen, and that, too, is theft, pure and simple. Yes, of course the big stuff hurts more, but that does not excuse the small stuff. It all adds up and can have devastating effects. continued on page 27