Surveillance Systems Can Increase Annual Profits

November 28th, 2023

Surveillance systems aid in protecting businesses in from employee theft and lack of productivity, which are both directly related to profit losses.

Business owners are like police officers; When a driver spots a police car on the road, he/she sits up a little straighter, puts both hands on the wheel, slows down, and very nonchalantly slides the seatbelt over his/her chest. The police officer looks over seconds later, and sees a law-abiding citizen. The driver gets away with it. Once the police officer is out of sight, the driver climbs over the speed limit again. He/she doesn’t get caught, so it happens again.

This is no different from the response that employees have when the big boss makes a surprise entrance on site. As soon as the owner walks in, the internet game pages close, cell phones are hurriedly put away, and everyone is on their best behavior. Employees take their places, and all seems to be running smoothly. The unproductive behaviors that occurred before the surprise visit often go unnoticed, while the business takes the hardest hit. Because most business owners in are not at their businesses all day, every day, surveillance cameras are necessary to monitor employee productivity-they become the business owner’s second, third, fourth….etc.  pair of eyes.

Employee theft can and does happen while the business owner is on site. As long as the thief knows that nobody is watching, he/she feels safe enough to go ahead and commit the crime. When a company has surveillance cameras, however, employees are aware that there is never a time where someone isn’t watching. They are much less likely to steal, and if they do, they are significantly more likely to get caught.

Employee theft and lack of productivity are directly related to annual revenues lost. Surveillance systems are one, very effective way of mitigating these losses. The biggest mistake a business owner can make is to think it will not happen to them.

According to The Centre for Retail Research, employee theft in 2019 amounted to 11.3 billion dollars and on average amounted to 18.5 percent annual retail shrinkage. An average dishonest employee steals 10 times more than an average shoplifter.

Surveillance systems play an important role in preventing and detecting employee theft and unproductive behaviors. Surveillance systems are imperative to help business owners in take a proactive, complete approach in reducing the loss of profits due to employee theft and lack productivity.