Should Santa screen His Elves?


[Phone rings]

Ann: “Cutting Edge, this is Ann.”

Santa: “I think one of my elves is stealing from me.”

Ann: “Oh my. Surely you ran a background check on her before you hired her for the Workshop?”

Santa: “Ho ho ho. Well, no. It seemed like a waste of money. They are only going to be working here for six weeks before the holiday!”

We all understand it.

Employers want to minimize their investment in an employee that they won’t see long-term. But I urge you to consider:

  1. Seasonal employees have no vested interest in your company.
  2. Temporary employees who may not have steady work may be already strapped for cash and tempted to steal.
  3. Increased traffic and frantic shopping may make stealing without notice that much easier.

Don’t end up with coal in your stocking. Check your list—twice if you have to:

  1. Temporary employees have the same access to your customers, your cash and your data as full-time employees. Losses from theft, fraud and paperwork errors and other sources cost businesses $46.8 billion in 2017, employee or internal theft accounted 33% of total retail shrinkage. Consider that a survey showed the for every $1 spent in background screening, another $15 were saved in shrinkage.
  2. Employers are still liable for negligent hiring no matter the season. Tempers run high around the holidays, don’t be responsible for a bad-tempered hire that can take your business down because you ran out of this year’s hot-ticket item.
  3. What if that temp employee is really a gem? And you want that particular elf year-round? Then they will be pre-screened, making the whole on-boarding process that much smoother.

Screening your temporary employees before the busy holiday season will make your holidays brighter. Cutting Edge can help you find the way!