Daily Biz Solutions

Some of the worst forms of business fraud cannot only lead to a business paying heavy fines but may also lead to jail time and to the business being completely dissolved. In some cases, businesses do not even realize that they are perpetuating fraud and are surprised when they receive a call from a regulatory agency. Fortunately, there are many steps that a business can take to avoid fraud in the workplace.

Perform Background Checks and Ask for References

The first step in avoiding fraud is to be careful with whom is brought into the company in the first place. Businesses must take the time to perform a background check and obtain references from former employers to verify that a job candidate is trustworthy.

It is true that many fraudsters have not been arrested for fraud and will not have a criminal conviction in their background checks. However, this valuable part of the job process will still deter many fraudsters from applying to the company.

When performing background screenings, it is important to remember to verify references. There are many fraudsters who will provide bogus references and will hope that the references are not checked. There are cases when fraudsters use references that either do not exist, are dead or would never recommend the fraudster.

Education is the Only Way

Business owners themselves may need to take steps necessary to avoid committing financial fraud. It is possible to carry out financial fraud accidentally. The only way to avoid this is through proper education and by locating a legal professional that can provide financial fraud prevention resources. Business owners should be willing to allow someone to look over their shoulders to verify that the business is in compliance with all financial regulations.

Have Cross-Departmental Audits

Fraud often does not survive when there are regular checks and balances put into place. Departments should perform regular cross-departmental audits to verify that there is no fraud occurring. For example, the department that is responsible for inventory could easily sell merchandise and take the merchandise off the books. Regular cross-departmental audits can identify these forms of fraud.

Make Whistle-Blowing Anonymous

Many employees are aware of fraud occurring within a business but refuse to blow the whistle out of fear of retaliation. For this reason, the business must make it possible for employees to blow the whistle anonymously. Fortunately, there are third-party intermediaries that can help with this process.

As a small business owner, employee wellness is certainly an important consideration for you. After all, when your employees are healthy and well, they are certainly much more likely to be working at their highest productivity and effectiveness levels. When the opposite is true – and they are not healthy and well – productivity can suffer and workplace accidents and injuries are much more likely to occur.

Employee Health Fairs

Health fairs are a great way to make sure that your employees stop and think about all of the important healthcare concerns that can impact their overall health and well being. Invite local health-specific vendors to participate with booths and give your employees time to walk through and learn about the various options that might be available to them.

Consider inviting vendors to participate in the following industries:

• Vision Health – visions screenings, special offers on eyeglasses, information on eye health
• Nutrition – Diet, nutritional supplements, healthy eating options, etc.
• Spinal Health – Chiropractic screenings
• Stress management – Massage therapists, mental health providers
• Physical conditioning – Gyms, personal training, home exercise equipment
• General health – Urgent care clinic, local health department, general health screenings, flu shots
• Safety – OSHA representative, safety supply vendors, occupational health center
• Financial Health – Debt management, credit counseling

These are just a few of the many options that might be appropriate for your company health fair. Set a date, make a list of vendors that you’d like to invite and send out invitations. You’ll likely be surprised to find out how many are happy to participate.

Are you looking for employee recognition ideas? Whether you want to provide a tangible reward to employees for doing an outstanding job, develop a tradition of awarding certain types of company logo items for reaching years of service milestones, or if you are looking for a way to formally recognize other types of accomplishments and contributions to the company, there are a number of options available to you.

Two Important Considerations Choosing Employee Recognition Gifts

1. Price is Not the Important Part

These types of gifts don’t have to be expensive to be meaningful. The best employee recognition ideas are often the ones that don’t cost much at all. What matters is not how much you pay for the items that you give, but how well-received the employee recognition ideas you choose are by the employees and how meaningful they are within the context of your organization.

2. Consistency is Key

If you start giving out awards for certain types of accomplishments or milestones, you need to be prepared to continue doing so. That’s what will make the awards meaningful. If you give “years of service” pins one year, for example, but fail to do so the next year, you lose the benefit of having employees get excited about being recognized for their loyalty.

Every company should consider implanting a formal employee recognition program. While it’s certainly important for managers and supervisors to provide ongoing feedback to employees throughout the year – positive and negative – it’s also advisable to have a system in place that recognizes those who have really excelled with formal acknowledgement of their achievements and accomplishments.

There are many options for employee awards. When selecting the right type of employee award to give to the top performers and your company, it’s important to choose an item that is consistent with the company’s mission and brand and that will appeal to the recipient. Engraved plaques have long been a popular choice for corporate awards programs, but they are not the only options. Crystal and glass trophies have become increasingly popular items to present to team members who have made outstanding contributions to the organization – because they are attractive and classy in appearance yet are still affordable.

Be sure to choose an attractive item that the recipient will be proud to display in his or her home or office for many years to come. After all, you want the item to serve as a reminder to the recipients that their efforts are greatly appreciated. It would also be nice if they would serve as sources of inspiration to strive for higher performance among those members of your team who have the potential to truly excel – so that they may also one day come to be recognized for high levels of contribution to the company.

Are you looking for simple ways to boost employee morale in your healthcare business? Providing employees with uniform attire they can wear to work can actually help with this. There are several reasons that going with uniform scrubs rather than requiring employees to choose and purchase their own scrubs to wear to work can have a positive impact on employee morale.

1. Build Relationship with Employees: When you provide or subsidize the purchase of employee scrubs, this helps relieve some of the financial stress that employees deal with on a daily basis and can make them feel more valued by the company. Providing http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Women/Original-Scrubs/ is an affordable way to build relationships with your employees and to boost employee job satisfaction and loyalty.
2. Uniform Appearance: When your employees are wearing the same type of scrubs in the same color – or groups of colors – this results in a workplace where employees’ attire is characterized by unity. This can help employees feel like they are part of a team and present a unified front to your customer base.
3. Branding Benefit: When staff members wear scrubs in your corporate colors that feature your company’s logo, this can play an important role in building your organization’s brand. When the scrub tops that your staff members wear are consistent, people will come to identify that color and style with your organization, possibly resulting in greater top of mind awareness for your company.