2017Issue6_Alabama_v9.indd

◀ Continued from page 37

David E. George, CFE, CFI, is Managing Partner of Calibration Group, LLC Previously, David served as Vice President over Asset Protection for Dollar General Stores. Prior to that he was Vice President of Asset Protection for Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Inc., a regional chain based in Matthews, N.C., and had previous loss prevention leadership roles with Kmart Supercenters. For more information about Calibration Group, visit www.calibrationgroup.com.

program that helped yield a nine-basis point reduction in shrink in just the first year. In fact, hotline calls increased by 206 percent in the first six weeks of the program’s implementation. For those of us who have retail loss prevention running through our blood, we understand with a high level of certainty that store managers cannot effectively communicate the loss prevention message that needs to be communicated to employees to modify their behavior. It is not because they are incapable. It is simply because they have a dozen other people telling them to communicate their

This cannot effectively be accomplished in a new-hire orientation class. It also cannot be done by hanging an occasional shrink education memo in the employee lounge area. And, much to the surprise of many, it cannot be done by store managers regurgitating the loss prevention message-of- the-month to the employees during weekly huddles or team meetings. The most effective way to communicate a loss prevention message is directly from the loss prevention leadership to each individual employee, and that can only be done with a comprehensive loss prevention awareness program that communicates relevant

“THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO COMMUNICATE A LOSS PREVENTION MESSAGE IS DIRECTLY FROM THE LOSS PREVENTION LEADERSHIP TO EACH INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEE”

information in a way that inspires employees to perform at the level expected of them.

message as well, such as what’s on sale this week, upcoming coupon promotions, new product offerings, and how to upsell cheese while working behind the deli counter. Loss prevention executives need to have the ability to communicate their message of honesty and integrity directly to each and every employee. When a loss prevention executive can use an effective loss prevention awareness program to deliver an all- encompassing monthly message to each and every employee that lets the employees know they matter, they are part of the team, and they are needed to help serve other employees and customers by reducing shrink and eliminating unsafe behaviors, surprising results will be immediately apparent. Employees want to do a good job. They want to be part of something bigger than themselves. It just takes the right method of communication to make the emotional appeal that inspires employees to act. ■

NUMBERS DON’T LIE In my experience as a loss prevention executive for Harris Teeter supermarkets, my team and I utilized a loss prevention awareness program to help successfully reduce total shrink to well below 1.00 percent (as a percent to sales) for over eight consecutive years. Understanding that the average shrink as a percent to sales for grocers hovers around 2.70 percent, this was quite a feat. We also used the awareness program for safety messaging, which helped decrease the annual Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) from 7.65 to 4.26 and the General Liability AFR from 1.11 to 0.52 in just one year. Hotline calls also increased by 79 percent in that same time period. My experience with effective loss prevention awareness programs didn’t end there. While leading the asset protection efforts for Dollar General, the nation’s largest small box discount retail chain, my team and implemented a loss prevention awareness

| ALABAMA GROCER 38