Employers should look to better management of temporary staff, rather than more surveillance, according to the company de Poel, a major supplier of temporary labour in the UK.
The firm, whose clients include major retailers, said the solution is ‘not necessarily expensive CCTV or security guards, but effective management of agency suppliers and increased support for temporary workers.’
Matthew Sanders, chief executive of de Poel, said: “What companies need to do is make sure workers are paid the optimum amount for the job they’re doing and that they receive proper company inductions.’
The advice falls in line with decades of research from employee opinion survey companies which indicates that the cost of better treatment of workers can often be dwarfed by the returns from better performance, less absence and less fraud or theft.
A report by the Centre for Retail Research suggested that employee theft accounted for a loss of almost £1,600 per incident compared with £80 for thieves from outside the business.