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At the recent 2009 RILA Loss Prevention, Auditing, Safety, and Security Conference held May 5th at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, LossPrevention’s executive editor Jim Lee and I moderated a general session pertinently entitled, “Managing in a Down Economy.” The purpose of this forum was to review the results of a pre-conference RILA survey and then hold an open discussion regarding what retail LP executives could be doing to respond to our current situation. As moderators, our job was to provide topics for discussion and then to step back, encouraging the approximately 350 attendees to make observations and suggestions from personal experience.
RILA Membership Survey
To provide a reference point for discussion, Paul Jones kicked off the session by summarizing the pre-conference RILA membership survey which, to no one’s surprise, indicated that retail crime is increasing.
- 61% of respondents continue to see an increase in both theft and amateur shoplifting.
- 72% continue to see an increase in organized retail crime.
- 45% reported an increase in workplace violence and threats.
- 75% have seen an increased in internal theft since December 2008.
Many respondents (41%) reported that they have experienced an increase in the percent of shrink, but ironically, observed a decrease in the total dollars lost, which is likely due to the recent flat sales figures in the industry. This trend is supported by the preliminary results that I am receiving from the 2008 National Retail Security Survey.
Loss prevention executives surveyed concluded that they must continue to do more with less, specifically:
- 47% of respondents have decreased their LP staffing.
- 48% have decreased their loss prevention expense budget.
- 56% have decreased their loss prevention capital shift.
- 69% have decreased their sales associate staffing.
Audience Suggestions
Based upon these alarming findings, Lee and I then asked the audience, “What do we do now?” We predicated our remarks with the assumption that continuing with the status quo is not a viable option. As Albert Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”
Following are some of the concrete suggestions that were debated by the participants in a lively exchange.
- Institute cross-training of LP staff with sales associates and managers, to include combining LP with operations at the district manager level.
- Utilize Loss Prevention Foundation LPQualified training for both sales associates and store management.
- Increase the visibility of CCTV and increase signage regarding use of new LP technologies.
- Train and authorize store managers and district managers to conduct employee theft interviews.
- Implement and encourage a “culture of honesty” program in all stores.
- Implement an automated returns management system that is rules based.
- Enlist shoppers to report acts of shoplifting or employee theft in real time by using their cell phones.
- Enlist the help of apprehended shoplifters to consult on effective deterrence ideas.
- Rehire employees who have been caught in small scale dishonest employee incidents. This idea is based upon the old adage, “The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know.” | 
