The retail industry is probably the business category with the greatest need for a loss prevention agent. The purpose of the agent, or loss prevention investigator, is to identify and resolve issues pertaining to the loss of assets – merchandise, property, cash, or any other kind of property – and to prevent such losses from occurring.
Many times the value of a loss prevention agent is intangible. The true value of the agent’s value is reflected in the lack of shortage, the decrease in theft, the saving of the operational expense budget dollars through tighter controls. Actually, the fewer apprehensions of shoplifters, the fewer terminations for employee theft, the fewer procedural violations uncovered, the more successful the loss prevention investigator may be considered.
There are retailers that take on the role of their own loss prevention department, or assign its responsibility to another area of the business. The fact is that the role of the loss prevention agent is highly specialized with skills developed over a wide variety of situations. It is not an area for someone without training or experience, or the results of the loss prevention program will not be optimal.
But for a retailer with one or only a few locations, the addition of a loss prevention agent may not be practical. In that case, the solutions might be a partnership with a company of loss prevention consultants, who can react to immediate issues, set up a practical loss prevention program, conduct periodic audits, and track progress and measure successes.
The best answer for a retailer then may be to “dip his toe in the loss prevention pool” by consulting with an expert loss prevention agent who can analyze, identify and correct procedural vulnerabilities, as well as one who possesses the skills to interview staff members and develop information that leads to the elimination of unacceptable employee behavior. And an added benefit is the training in shoplifter prevention and shortage awareness can present to all employees.
The loss prevention agent is not a police officer and has different priorities. The priority of a loss prevention investigator or agent is to improve the profitability of the business through the reduction and recovery of loss. The priority of a police officer is (as it should be) the reduction of crime in society.
Discuss your situation with a qualified loss prevention agent in Atlanta GA at 770-426-0547 or click here for more information.
