New Poll: Do you feel Loss Prevention Professionals.....

[LPL]

New Poll is up and running on the front page of the site.

Do you feel Loss Prevention Professionals are making a difference in the retail industry?

[LPL]

Votes are split 50/50! Looks like this will be a good poll on the site!

[LPL]

According to the current poll that is running on the homepage, 75% have voted that they feel LP professionals have not made a difference in the retail industry. Anyone want to share their view as to why not or why LP professionals are making a difference? Personally, I feel that only a few companies are making a difference with their LP department.

[Lynch Mob]

I think very few LP departments make a difference. That is because they just recycle the same ideas over and over. Nobody is doing anything different. Shrink numbers have remained constant for the industry for 30 years.

There are a few out there who have an impact. Those are the departments that do more than investigations and audits, and don't always spend a fortune in technology.

[LPL]

Does anyone have a different view from Lynch's reply??

According to the poll that is currently running on our homepage 88% of the votes have voted NO that LP is not making a difference in the industry, why did you vote NO or why do you feel that LP professionals are not making a difference in the retail industry?
As a follow-up question...Who is making or made a career in retail LP? Why or why not??

[Lynch Mob]

The main reason why most LP departments make very little difference is that they focus on apprehensions. Either apprehending shoplifters or internal theft. There is far too much energy spent on just apprehending people.

If we put a fraction of that effort into training, we would see much better results. Training and awareness is like customer service. Everyone talks about it, but hardly anyone does it.

[gooner]

I dont' agree....I don't think it's LP's fault at all. We do what we do...plain and simple. Store Management on the other hand can do much, much more to help us out. Education for workers into PREVENTION being the main thing. Telling workers "you will be terminated if you steal from us" is another.

Managers of stores/outlets need workers. They don't want to scare them off....but a little tid-bit here....a tid-bit there....(about employee theft being the biggest downer we've ever encounter) wouldn't go amiss. A little whisper from the supervisor "Don't do that...Security are watching" does a lot to stop or at least thwart employee theft!

The problem is....getting the managers and supervisors on board!

[Lynch Mob]

Originally posted by gooner
I dont' agree....I don't think it's LP's fault at all. We do what we do...plain and simple. Store Management on the other hand can do much, much more to help us out. Education for workers into PREVENTION being the main thing. Telling workers "you will be terminated if you steal from us" is another.

Managers of stores/outlets need workers. They don't want to scare them off....but a little tid-bit here....a tid-bit there....(about employee theft being the biggest downer we've ever encounter) wouldn't go amiss. A little whisper from the supervisor "Don't do that...Security are watching" does a lot to stop or at least thwart employee theft!

The problem is....getting the managers and supervisors on board!

Exactly my point. LP is not so good at getting managers on board. We are too busy catching bad guys and not cultivating relationships that will change things over the long run.

It is our fault that we cannot get the managers on board. That is why we are not effective.

[kawi97]

It's not always our fault that managers won't get on board. Sometimes its an attitude that the manager has. I've come across a few managers that don't take well to suggestion or feel that they don't have to adhere to set standards. When we tell them that their displays aren't to company protection standards they don't like hearing about it because they don't think they'll be able to sell anything when it's locked up. It's like they don't like being told what to do. Yet, on the other-hand, if all of those items that weren't locked up get taken...it's our fault that we didn't stop it. It gets turned into an us vs. them thing. If everyone worked as a team...they want to sell the product and we want to make sure they have product to sell...then more would get accomplished.

[Lynch Mob]

Originally posted by kawi97
It's not always our fault that managers won't get on board. Sometimes its an attitude that the manager has. I've come across a few managers that don't take well to suggestion or feel that they don't have to adhere to set standards. When we tell them that their displays aren't to company protection standards they don't like hearing about it because they don't think they'll be able to sell anything when it's locked up. It's like they don't like being told what to do. Yet, on the other-hand, if all of those items that weren't locked up get taken...it's our fault that we didn't stop it. It gets turned into an us vs. them thing. If everyone worked as a team...they want to sell the product and we want to make sure they have product to sell...then more would get accomplished.

In these type of situations, I still blame LP for not getting managers on board. This applies to the whole company, at every level, not just store level. If the VP of LP got the VP of Ops on board, they would be in agreement on what is important for company and what is in the best interest of the company. Then they would work hand in hand to accomplish their goals.

If you store manager does not see the value of locking things up, have you talked to his DM? Does the DM see the value? If not, have you gone to his Regional? Does the Regional see the value?

If LP and Ops is not on the same page, working towards the same goal, I will always blame LP because we are there to support operations. We are not there to dictate to them. We should be supporting them. If they can't see how our program supports them, we are doing something wrong. If you work in an us vs. them store, it is your fault.

[omniscient]

The semantics used in this question are rather good. If you read the surface value of it, it doesn't ask for much. However, if you delve a little deeper into it's meaning, it could be a complex question with no simple answer. What I mean to say is "Yes, LP PROFESSIONALS" are making a difference in the industry. The 25% or so that still exist are making the difference, the others are stealing oxygen. The non-producers will always make up the majority. After 13 years in the field and positions at all levels, I feel qualified to make that statement. I don't reply too much to the posts here but I do enjoy reading the diverse opinions out there. Don't mean to step on anyones toes, although I am sure those who MAY be offended are in that "majority".

[kawi97]

I agree with you omni...i think we are making a difference. When I look at the total shrink for the store vs. our recovery and other LP stats I realize how much more the shrink would be without our departments effort. I just wish the store management would have this attitude too and not look negatively on us becuase we're a non-revenue generating department or because they don't like hearing what they're doing is hurting the profitability of the store.

[Paradigm]

Hi all, this is my first post so be kind!

Generally, I think MOST LP staff try and do the right thing but are always under pressure from management wanting answers regarding shrinkage, etc

I think the problem stems from the fact that sales personnel are not mentally conditioned to think of security and loss prevention issues. Their entire world revolves around “sell, sell, sell” If stock goes missing, hey, it's not their problem, that's an LP issue! Sales staff and management need to take on more responsibility than just selling goods and be made more accountable (though training) for items under their control.

LP Depts need to do more to establish lines of communication with ALL store staff, irrespective of the level within an organisation in order to get the message across.

More crime is solved and prevented by information than by the eforts of detectives. Information collection is the key here. The more people get to know their LP personnel, the more they will trust them and speak to them.

The "them and us" syndrome needs to be eliminated and emphasis placed on the organisation being a whole team rather than a collection of various departments.

Finally, way too much emphasis is placed upon the detection of offenders rather than the prevention of the offence in the first place. Prevention is always better than detection.

[LPL]

Originally posted by Paradigm
Hi all, this is my first post so be kind!

Generally, I think MOST LP staff try and do the right thing but are always under pressure from management wanting answers regarding shrinkage, etc

I think the problem stems from the fact that sales personnel are not mentally conditioned to think of security and loss prevention issues. Their entire world revolves around “sell, sell, sell” If stock goes missing, hey, it's not their problem, that's an LP issue! Sales staff and management need to take on more responsibility than just selling goods and be made more accountable (though training) for items under their control.

LP Depts need to do more to establish lines of communication with ALL store staff, irrespective of the level within an organisation in order to get the message across.

More crime is solved and prevented by information than by the eforts of detectives. Information collection is the key here. The more people get to know their LP personnel, the more they will trust them and speak to them.

The "them and us" syndrome needs to be eliminated and emphasis placed on the organisation being a whole team rather than a collection of various departments.

Finally, way too much emphasis is placed upon the detection of offenders rather than the prevention of the offence in the first place. Prevention is always better than detection.

Welcome to RetailSpy Paradigm!! Looking forward to your contributions to our forums

You make several key points in your post. I feel the biggest issue is that we are not "selling" Loss Prevention programs to the management teams and store staff. Another issue is with LP Teams not "buying in" on the store programs as well. We want to fulfill our role to protect the company assets, but are we having an adverse effect on sales?? Do we know operations and the selling side of the business??
In my opinion, it is a two-fold effect.

[Lynch Mob]

Originally posted by kawi97
I agree with you omni...i think we are making a difference. When I look at the total shrink for the store vs. our recovery and other LP stats I realize how much more the shrink would be without our departments effort.

If this is the case, then why is it that companies that do not have LP tend to have similar shrink results as companies with LP?

Also, why is it that when a company just throws more bodies at shrink (i.e. Home Depot, Limited, Gap, etc.) their shrink does not drop that dramatically? In theory, if we are doing a good job, then if there were twice as many of us, our shrink should be cut in half, or at least by a very large percentage. The reality is that when times get tough, LP staffing goes down, and shrink does not go up that dramatically. Industry shrink has been in the 1.7% - 2.0% shrink range forever.

Where is the impact?