SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS & LOSS CONTROL

South African businesses need a different mindset to address ongoing stock losses and fraud.

In the absence of a "proper" risk mitigation plan and loss control blueprint, South African business owners will never really address the critical levels of theft and fraud impacting on our economy, according to commercial investigator and international risk consultant, Kyle Condon (Managing Director at D&K Management Consultants).

"Experience has taught me that trust and effective loss control do not go together. We live in a society that has criminal presence constantly lurking around us. Old style security measures and trusting of everybody have left businesses open to losses like an open wound exposed to a sewer. Employees need to be watched continuously and loss control tactics need to be revised to accommodate this," says Condon.

With many businesses operating on shoe-string budgets, security is often one of the first things to go. Ironically, says Condon; "it should be one of the portfolios that get additional budget assistance. When, companies cut security, those employees that were always dissuaded from going through with criminal action often go over the edge and ‘raid the cookie jar’."

While South Africa has one of the most corrupt governments sketched on the political portrait, expecting every employee to behave in a moral honest way is far from realistic. We see what our leaders do and follow suit.

Sadly, most companies choose to ignore this red flag and continue to fool themselves into believing that the presence of a uniformed security officer or two is adequate to prevent and deal with internal criminal activity. Condon believes that "old school" security is a thing of the past. “It is time we accept that our businesses, like our homes, require proper defences," states Condon.

So, what exactly does this mean?

"Our business sector has major structural employment weaknesses, due largely to political pressures, window dressed appointments and fear of Union retribution, this has led to a breakdown of strong policies and procedures that existed in the past. Many managers are just too afraid to confront the issues or speak out in fear of being branded or painted with the race brush. And, as a result, policies and zero tolerance are eroded. Unions have gained a lot of power, often holding companies to "ransom" when it comes to enforcing strong security measures. Polygraphs, for example, are always declined by Union reps, searching procedures get labelled as an invasion of one’s privacy, etc. Old school security methods have been watered down to create a mere ‘illusion of loss control’,” he says.

Modern day loss control and security plans must include the following key concepts...

• Internal investigation specialists (undercover agents) deployed as, I like to say, 'modern day spies'.
• Quarterly sweeping and debugging of executive offices and meeting rooms.
• Strike action plans, designed specifically for the individual company and its employees to provide proper Duty of Care during strike action.
• Alignment with a reputable forensic investigator or company who understands the methods, methodology and principles of fraud and financial crimes, in the workplace.
• Thorough pre-employment screening of new candidates, including checking of criminal records through fingerprinting.
• A steadfast CCTV viewing plan conducted off site by an independent viewer, providing monthly viewing reports covering all aspects of risky behaviour, suspicious actions and overall health and safety concerns.
• Travel risk reports, for employees traveling to potentially hostile environments both locally and internationally. This would include arranging VIP protection, where needed.
• Annual security surveys to address all shortcomings of the physical security measures of the business.
• Due diligence must become part and parcel of the sales teams’ portfolios, before stock or material leaves for suspicious clients an investigation unit should first check out that all is above-board, and that you are not being scammed.
• Handing over the time consuming and demanding security portfolio to a dedicated and qualified loss control manager.

"I do not agree with companies splitting up the security portfolio and contracting various players for various things. Managing this portfolio is a job that requires full time participation. This is exactly what D&K Management Consultants does for its clients. We provide the correct expertise in one unique portfolio designed around modern-day risk," says Condon.

"We are in many ways a country at war with itself, and business is not spared any of the risks that a ‘war’ environment brings. Therefore, defending your company requires a modern day ‘warfare’ approach. Intelligence, logic, expertise and strategy have replaced uniforms, guns and electric fences to a large extent", Condon says, as he smiles.

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D&K Boilerplate:

Established in 1993 by Declan and Kyle Condon, D&K Management Consultants is firmly entrenched as the preferred investigations and risk consultancy provider in Africa and abroad. Declan’s legacy is a wealth of investigative skills and experience, which - combined with Kyle’s vast understanding of risk analysis and security management - are applied to every case file handled by the company.

With a significant handpicked force of investigators and security specialists, D&K Management Consultants provides criminal and civil investigations on behalf of companies or individuals from every sector. The same level of discretion and dedication is afforded to each and every client, whether they are blue chip or local community. Assisting clients to operate in a hostile business environment is a D&K speciality. Criminal and civil investigations are simply the key required to unlock the door leading to successful loss control portfolios.

For more information, visit www.investigations.co.za.