One of the best means that a company can use to find out what is going on within the business and to detect possible theft or fraud is to make use of undercover operatives, according to Safeguard Investigations.
Safeguard Investigations general manager Steve Jennings explained that the undercover operatives that Safeguard deploys are usually dressed just like any other employee. Neither employees nor customers will know who they are. They will be presumed to be another employee.
Meanwhile, they will be observing what is going on or surreptitiously investigating a possible theft or fraud.
“Employees act differently in front of senior management and security staff than they do among fellow employees. They are more on their guard in their behaviour in front of managers and security personnel,” Mr. Jennings said.
“If something is happening in your company and you want to find out what it is, an undercover operative can be placed among your employees to gather information or evidence that you as the company owner would never be able to gain on your own.
“Deployment of undercover operatives in organizations is aimed at identifying and uncovering various types of risk, such as dishonesty by employees and customers,” he said.
He pointed out that Safeguard Investigations operatives are carefully selected and undergo a truth verification test before they are taken on.
“Our undercover operatives go through an intensive training course that teaches them how to monitor operations without making it obvious to other employees. They are trained to observe and report on theft, misconduct, time-wasting, violation of any health or safety regulations and any misuse of company assets or stocks by workers.
“Our operatives can also report any trouble makers who are disloyal to your company, weaknesses in any systems, false or unauthorised documentation as well as various types of gossip by workers, particularly in relation to labour issues.
“Other issues that can be reported on include abuse of power by managers, diversion of customers to other companies or individuals offering the same products or services as their company as well as rudeness to customers by employees and any other area of your business that you may be concerned about,” he said.
Daily reports, he added, are submitted to Safeguard Investigations area controllers and a weekly report is compiled and sent to the company owner on what has been taking place in his or her organisation.
“In the event that anything of interest is uncovered by the operative that requires urgent attention, our operations and/or area controller will immediately communicate this to the company owner and discuss the way forward,” he said.
“We can assist in following up any information emanating from our operatives’ findings and can make use of our technical resources and manpower to help achieve a positive result,” Mr. Jennings added.