| Survey finds employee behavior is
biggest concern for most food mart operators When food mart dealers
list their top workplace concerns, seven out of 10 have to do with the behavior of
employees. This is now backed up by a new survey by
Pinkerton, the nation's largest security company.
For the second year in a row, workplace violence topped the list of the greatest
concerns of those charged with enforcing corporate security. But workplace violence was
cast as a significantly more important problem than in the 2008 survey; nearly one-third
of the security professionals surveyed said they had had to deal with a violent incident
in their own companies.
Potential threats to Internet sites and computer networks jumped to being the second
biggest concern from being the seventh biggest concern last year. The survey report
attributes this in large part to the intense media coverage of computer viruses.
The Pinkerton survey drew responses from 300 corporate security directors and
executives, representing about 28 percent of the Fortune 1000 companies.
To try to weed out potential problem candidates before they become security-risk staffers,
most companies reported using some sort of pre-employment screening. However, only 81
percent of employers said they perform criminal background checks, meaning about one in
five companies do not regularly screen job candidates' criminal histories.
Employers can minimize the likelihood of tragedy by being pro-active. Here suggested
the following measures:
- Develop and use pre-employment screening tools to identify high-risk applicants.
- Train employees to recognize threats and warning signs of potentially violent
co-workers.
- Establish a hot line to enable co-workers to report concerns.
- Respond early to employees who demonstrate erratic or antisocial behavior.
- Perform criminal background checks.
According to the survey report, the cost of basic pre-employment screening programs is
dwarfed by the potential costs of failing to screen rigorously. These include damage to
property and injury to employees in the case of a violent incident, or difficult,
prolonged litigation to remove a problem employee.
The Pinkerton findings
about computer technology security concerns paralleled findings in a recent study by the
Computer Security Institute. It found that 96 percent of companies reported experiencing
"insider abuse of network access," and that 91 percent of companies faced
destructive computer viruses.
According to the
Pinkerton survey, the top management challenge facing security professionals is keeping up
with advances in technology. "The potential for theft of trade secrets and customer
information, damage to sensitive data and interruption of commerce presents unprecedented
vulnerability to businesses," said Pinkerton President Don Walker.
Walker said he expects
to see "greater collaboration between corporate security executives and information
technology professionals" to protect computer networks and control the exchange of
information.
While manufacturers,
business-service companies and utilities were most concerned with workplace violence,
retailers cited general employee theft as their top concern. The
numbers suggest that concern is well placed: according to a 2007 University of Florida
survey, employees are responsible for nearly 43 percent of retail theft annually. |
