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Integrity. It's a word loss prevention consultants and managers use a lot when talking about their work. The Oxford English Dictionary defines integrity as "moral uprightness; honesty." Loss prevention specialists define it every day on the job.

It's an essential personal quality to build the credibility needed in this field, loss prevention specialists say. Perhaps this shouldn't be surprising, considering many consultants are former police officers.

Tim Lynn is one example. He was a police officer for 27 years. Now he owns a loss prevention service. For the past few years, his son, Paul, has worked alongside him.

"You have to have high integrity to do this job," Paul says. "You have to have strong character -- a strong idea of what's right and wrong. Unfortunately, in today's society, that's far and few between."

For some retail outlets, employee theft is as serious a problem as customer theft. Convincing managers of this isn't always easy. They assume employees have integrity, even when they don't.

"Management, because they work so closely with employees, usually have a hard time believing it. They close their eyes to it," says Tim. "The loss to employee theft is greater than it is, usually, to external theft. Usually, when you catch them, you find they've been stealing for quite a while."

As loss prevention consultants, the Lynns advise retail stores how to reduce losses from theft and fraud. They also investigate particular employees, if a company has reason to suspect them of dishonesty.

This can lead to ethical issues, such as when a company has an agenda. They might want to fire an employee, so they hire you to find sufficient evidence of dishonesty. If there's insufficient evidence, the employer could be penalized financially by a labor board. Also, an innocent person could be without a job.

"They'll want you to tell them, 'Well, you can just fire this person,'" Paul says. "In that case, I'll have to say, 'You can't deal with it that way.' And they'll still go ahead and do it. Now, does that give me anything? No. I don't make the money, I don't make the sale. However, I walk away [thinking], 'I did the right thing.'"

Read Hayes is a loss prevention consultant in Florida. He works with major companies such as Universal Studios Florida. He also has a background in law enforcement and stresses the importance of integrity.

"Credibility and integrity are critical," Hayes says. "We're there to establish and maintain the ethics of the company, whether we work for them or not. So if we don't have the same integrity or ethics, we've got a problem."

Loss prevention managers for a particular company also value integrity. Heather Veitch is an assistant manager for loss prevention. She says integrity is vitally important in her field.

She started out as a floorwalker in a grocery store, watching out for theft by customers and employees. Now, she manages a staff of floorwalkers, also called loss prevention officers. Veitch is also responsible for alarm systems, cameras, employee card access and internal investigations of employees suspected of fraud or theft.

"If you don't have the personal integrity, then you're not going to gain the respect within the industry or within the company that you work for," Veitch says.

"A lot of times, what we say goes as far as whether an employee is going to keep their job, whether it's a theft-related incident or not. Therefore, if you haven't gained that respect within your company, you're not going to get the backing that you need when it comes time for it."

Despite the pressures, loss prevention managers and consultants say they like their jobs. Personal integrity leads to personal satisfaction. Also, they know they're providing an important service.

"It's a rewarding career field," says Hayes. "It's very interesting -- crime and loss -- but you don't have the shift work you'd normally have with a law enforcement position."