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A key step to implementing any new workplace program successfully is to gain complete acceptance by employees. That means not only must everyone on the job accept the changes, they truly must embrace them for the changes to really take hold. The best way to achieve that kind of commitment is to make the changes a part of your corporate culture. Mostly everyone would agree that no program is more important to make a part of your culture than a safety program.

The most effective way to convey a message to the group is also the most simple: Through language. Every organization has its own language, including terms that are common to everyday practices. Safety terms will become part of your company’s culture when they become part of every facet of the job. Workplace safety practices need to be communicated, and enforced. Safe as well as unsafe behaviors need to be outlined and posted, where all employees have an opportunity to observe them. It is critical that new employees be given a course concerning safety procedures, and understand fully the consequences of ignoring them.

In addition to employees understanding safety guidelines, it should become common practice and custom to carry out the safety rules. An organization’s customs are the accepted methods for getting things done on a regular basis. Although you might have clearly explained the consequences for violating safety practices, this is not always enough to ensure compliance. Compliance can be especially difficult for workers who have been on the job for a long time.

Long-term employees often develop a rhythm — a system of shortcuts, which helps them complete tasks quickly and efficiently. Sometimes the practices they use involve risks, but they avoid any adverse effects because they understand the risks, what kind of threat they pose, and how to countermand those threats. Often times, these workers continue to operate below the radar and management believes they are following correct procedures. However, they could be undermining any attempt to incorporate safety as part of the organization’s culture, because junior employees often mimic their behavior.

The best way to ensure compliance to safety guidelines is through behavior modification. This is a management technique that uses both positive and negative reinforcement to instill proper safety procedures. Employees are either rewarded in a tangible, visible way for promoting safety; or they receive negative consequences for ignoring safety practices. The best safety incentive an employer can offer is a monetary incentive. With monetary incentives, employees are given a bonus for completing the job without any safety violations. On the other hand, they are fined for unsafe behavior. The dollar amount of the reward or fine doesn’t have to be large to be effective; the fact that a behavior results in either a good or bad consequence is what motivates. The motivation is reinforced by the fact that employees are watching each other and more importantly, comparing.

Last but not least, there needs to be a clear indication that safety is a No. 1 priority. There should be an active safety committee and participation at meetings should be encouraged. When employees observe hazards, they need organized procedures to report and correct the dangerous situation. Most importantly, the outcome should be that the danger is eliminated and everyone on the job site must know how it has been corrected, especially if the correction required instituting a new procedure. It is extremely important that employees see positive results from their safety procedures, so that they will continue to be diligent in their future safety efforts.

Most business managers and owners are well aware of the threat of loss from outsiders, and use a variety of methods to reduce this risk. From locks on the doors, to security guards and dogs, to complex electronic burglar alarm systems, many preventative steps are taken. However, it is often the case that less attention is dedicated to reducing the risk of theft by an insider. No one wants to believe that an employee would defraud the company of money deliberately. Most people want to trust their employees, and rightly so. But it only takes one bad apple to do significant damage. Depending on the person’s position within the company, and the length of time the theft continues, substantial losses can result. Business owners often have a tendency to believe “it can’t happen here.”� Unfortunately, employee fraud is quite common. Furthermore, no risk reduction measures can be guaranteed to keep it from ever happening or detect every instance.

Having said that, loss control experts recommend two general approaches to reducing vulnerability to theft by insiders: Measures to decrease the probability that employees will commit the crime, and measures to increase the perceived probability of discovery and punishment. Below are seven tips to help with both approaches:

1. Institute an anti-fraud policy. Many employers wrongly assume they don’t need to discuss insider theft, since their employees know it is wrong. But experts say a strong, written anti-fraud policy, published in the employee handbook and/or posted on employee bulletin boards, helps prevent insider theft. The written policy reinforces the employer’s intent to maintain an honest, ethical environment, as opposed to one where it is regarded as common practice to steal from the employer.
2. Ask employees to report suspected fraud, and provide guidelines for reporting fraud. Employees need to understand how to report any suspicion of fraud or theft. Honest employees will usually report fraud when there is a good policy for doing so. They are more likely to say nothing if they are not sure how to report the suspicious behavior of a co-worker.
3. Maintain a business climate of loyalty and trust. Expectations influence behavior. When you expect employees to steal, some are more likely to do so, reasoning that there is no point in behaving honestly if they are already suspected of being dishonest. Maintaining an atmosphere in which employees feel trusted and valued and are rewarded for loyalty helps prevent insider theft.
4. Encourage ethical business practices. The typical employee thief is often a first-time offender who rationalizes his or her behavior to avoid having to face up to their criminality. Employees who have a weak moral character are more likely to act on it in an environment where they see the business engaging in unethical practices. When the company promotes and rewards ethical business practices, the risk of insider theft goes down.
5. Compartmentalize job functions. When the same person both approves and pays invoices, it is especially easy for a dishonest employee to submit bogus invoices and then pay them. Compartmentalizing duties helps to prevent this type of scheme.
6. Ask your accountants to look for red flags that could indicate fraud. Among the methods accountants often recommend are accounting controls, built-in detection mechanisms, and reconciliation of records. Businesses increase the probability of discovery with frequent audits that include steps to uncover fraud. Make sure that accountants understand that you view the discovery of insider theft as an aspect of their duties and services. Utilize your accountants to survey either all employees or randomly chosen employees from time to time, asking whether they are aware of any misappropriation of company money, property, or resources.
7. Look into any tips about employee fraud. Many dishonest employees are first brought to their employer’s attention as a result of a tip from an unhappy spouse or significant other. These tips should be investigated objectively. Sometimes employers ignore such tips, because they trust the employee in question, only to find out later that the tip was accurate. In such cases, the amount of the theft could have been lessened by taking the initial tip seriously.

In summary, to reduce the risk of insider theft, the employer’s position should be one of trusting employees in general not to steal, while at the same time being proactive about measures to help keep workers honest. Most employees will never engage in schemes to defraud, but unfortunately, there are always some who will. The dishonest employees are often the very people the employer would be least likely to suspect.

It’s not easy being an employer. The business must offer competitive wages and benefits without over-paying. It must keep employees happy but still maintain workplace discipline. It must protect its customers and its assets without seeming to distrust its employees. Without being overbearing or acting as a strict parent, it must ensure that employees are doing their work and doing it well. Many employers, using modern technology, are keeping an eye on workers — literally. A 2007 study by the American Management Association and The ePolicy Institute revealed that:

• 66% of employers monitor employees’ Internet connections
• 65% use software to block employees’ access to some Web sites
• 43% monitor employees’ e-mail
• 45% monitor the time employees spend on the phone and the numbers they call
• 16% record employees’ phone conversations
• 9% monitor voice mail messages
• 7% monitor employees’ job performance using video surveillance

Also, in certain industries employers search workers’ workstations and lockers, perform drug tests and physicals, investigate their backgrounds, and even monitor their activities outside of work. When an employer disciplines or fires a worker based on information it learned through one of these methods, the worker might become angry enough to sue the employer for invasion of privacy. Although federal and state laws generally permit employers to monitor workers’ activities and use of employer property, some suits succeed and all of them divert financial and human resources away from the employer’s main business. There are several things employers can do to avoid this.

• Establish a workplace policy about non-business phone and Internet use, and include it in the employee manual. The policy should describe the extent to which the employer will monitor phone and Internet use, if any, and the consequences should employees violate the policy. Ensure that employees are aware of it by discussing it at staff meetings and asking them to document that they have read it.
• Be careful about audio recording conversations. Although state and federal laws generally permit employers to use video monitoring of employees, some restrict the ability to make audio recordings or to listen in on conversations. Employers should become familiar with the wiretapping laws in their states before using audio monitoring.
• Keep employee e-mails confidential. Employers have the right to monitor their employees’ use of the business e-mail system, but making e-mails public (absent some legal or business requirement) might violate employee privacy rights.
• Include in the employee manual a written policy regarding employer searches of desks, workstations, and lockers. This should describe the employer’s right to conduct searches, the reasons it may do so, and the consequences should an employee refuse to cooperate. Conduct searches only when absolutely necessary for business or legal reasons, and take care to respect the employee’s dignity by doing the search out of the view of other employees.
• Perform drug tests for legitimate business reasons and at appropriate times, such as during the hiring process and following a workplace accident. If the employer will administer random drug tests, it should have a written policy stating as much in the employee manual and it should conduct the tests with as little privacy infringement as possible.
• Obtain a job applicant’s written consent for a background check, and investigate only those factors relevant to the position. For example, a credit check might be appropriate for a position that requires handling money.
  Keep employee information safe from individuals outside the company. Instruct managers and staff not to discuss personnel matters with outsiders and employees who do not need to know the information.

Employers must run an efficient operation, maintain a safe workplace free of harassment, make employees feel comfortable in their work, and make a profit. Following these steps will reduce the chances of employee lawsuits and allow the business to focus on its core mission.