Mel Kleiman

Staffing Levels Playing Into Retail Crime

March 5, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Results of a new survey by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) show that criminal activity at retail continues to grow. Roughly one-third of retailers in the RILA study report that loss prevention/security staffing models have changed due to economic circumstances at retail. What do you see as some of the best responses, in light of staffing levels, to reduce losses?      [more...]

Reading this item really got me aggravated. Three comments in the article really summed up the problem; and the solution. They are:

1."Many retailers cut their LP staff up to 50 percent.

2. At the same time, more people were losing jobs and otherwise honest folks (They are not HONEST if they will steal) were forced to resort to theft just to get by.

3. They cut store staff to the bare minimum.

So payroll dollars went down but theft went up. WOW! Is that a surprise? They got what they deserved.

Either you pay less up front and do the job right or you pay more on the back end to fix the problem and do the job right the second time.

At the same time, I wonder if better staffing levels would also increase customer service, store appearance, and increase sales.

When will most retailers wake up and not only talk about the value of the frontline worker but actually walk the talk?