Watch on your Employees! New ways to curb Fraud

Watch on your employees! New ways to curb fraud

Have you ever committed a fraud? Have you ever received more money than you should and have kept quiet about it? Have you asked for more compensation than you have spent, just to get a bit of more cash? The recent survey by KPMG on Corporate India has brought to light that almost 75 percent of all fraudulent activities in the corporate sector, except Intellectual Property frauds, were perpetrated by employees. The Satyam Computer scam has managed to taint the reputation of Indian IT industry and it took some time and persuasion to bring things back on track. This is a serious problem creeping up in corporate world and must be solved as quickly as possible, to be considered as a global player in IT industry.

An entrepreneur or CEO of the company knows an internal fraud can damage the foundations of the company. But the problem in India is, do the owners of company even realize that frauds are taking place in their company. Most of them have no clue about it and don't have necessary tools to find out about it. Here are a few set of things that CEO's should do to ensure that their company does not have a leak-hole somewhere, as reported by Patrick Stafford of Smart Company.

Video Surveillance: Many BPOs who are working for banking processes have learned it the hard way after being hit by frauds done by employees. 24x7 video surveillance of the employees will ensure the record of each and every activity done by employees.

Spyware: Yes, Spyware is a threat to the system but not for those who know how to use it to their advantage. There are a variety of programs that can be installed on computers designed to monitor exactly what people are doing, even in real-time. Other programs such as key-loggers record every keystroke, while firewalls can even inspect emails for any sign of suspicious activity. "The USB stick is small, you can just put it into a computer, and within 60 seconds it downloads a program onto your desktop and then I can remotely view your desktop at a different computer without you knowing," said Josh Pennycott from surveillance equipment retailer Eye Spy.

Internet banking safeguards: Giving one person the authority to manage the salaries of all employees is a risky move. Different software should be used to figure out who is accessing the banking programs and what is being done.

Internet usage: Every single website your employees visit can be monitored and logged, along with every download they make. Browsing software usually tags this information as default, but employers can add to that by making regularly inspections and records of sites being visited.

Data logs: Many CEO's don't know that they check out what websites users are visiting and many other records can be made available. Emails, chat transcripts, logs showing access to certain data systems and detailed call lists is all available for scrutiny if they decide to look for it.

Keycards: Keycards are an easy way to keep a tab on what time an employee comes and goes and which areas he has accessed and should be the first priority of CEO's.

Automatic alerts: Most electronic systems on computers, and other systems such as electronically-monitored doors, cars and GPS systems, can be set up with notification systems. If someone gains access, a report is logged and you can see who was tampering with what, and at what time.

Bag searches: Random bag searches are very crucial as well. When CEO's are spending so much on infrastructure, the last thing they want is to find that things are missing from office. More than that, few people might write down crucial information on paper which might be of monetary value for others. Many companies have successfully implemented such programs by putting up signs saying "you may be subject to a random bag search".

Whistle Blower System: Not everyone is a fraudster in your company, but almost everyone will be scared to blow the whistle when they see the fraud. As a CEO, it is your responsibility to ensure that whistle blowers can expose fraudsters without anyone knowing about it.

The idea behind these measures is to ensure that your employees must get used to working in an environment where everything they touch can be logged and most importantly, they are aware about it.

Ref: http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Watch_on_your_employees_New_ways_to_curb_fraud_-nid-67541.html/2

The Rules for Corporate Career Resilience

Rule #1: The company is not in charge of your career—you are. Your people can no longer wait for you to come to them with a new assignment or opportunity; they must seek out such opportunities themselves. Your relationship with them is no longer one of parent-to-child, but adult-to-adult. They share the responsibility for initiating career discussions. Even being designated as a "high potential" or a valued employee may not guarantee they will keep their place in the succession plan, as these plans have become less relevant as the pace of change has picked up. You will meet your employees more than halfway by giving them the tools and counsel they need to take charge of their careers.

Rule #2: Instead of ladders and paths, there are now webs and mazes. Your employees must learn, if they haven't already, to think of a career less as a ladder and more as a web. Webs have a center but no top and a lot of paths that connect. Unlike ladders, webs often dissolve when their purpose is fulfilled. Smart workers will move along the webs, picking up new skills that meet the organization's needs, looking for problems to solve, and working on team projects. And if a web breaks or dissolves, it can always be rewoven in a similar or different pattern.

Rule #3: Every job is now subject to a "make or buy" decision. Because of the flexibility and cost savings involved in using contract employees, vendors, and temporary employees to do the work previously done by downsized employees, your workers must understand that they may now be competing with these outside resources. This means they have to continually prove their value. Their only security lies in their ability to continually retool themselves to remain valuable to their employer. This is why continuous learning is so important to all workers today. All employees should also consider that their next opportunity may lie in becoming an outside resource themselves.

Rule #4: Hidden needs in the organization's internal job market are more promising sources of advancement than the formal job postings. There has always been, and will always be, a "hidden job market" in every company. Only now the inside job market contains more hidden jobs than ever. New needs appear so fast that there is little time to wait for the slow wheels of the formal hiring process to start rolling. These days, about a third of all jobs filled are newly created ones. And, of course, with the loss of rungs on career ladders, there are fewer formal job slots in the first place.

All employees—you included—must be on the lookout for unmet needs, then make proposals to the person who "owns the problem" to help meet the need. Getting your employees to accept this proposition is a part of helping them learn to take more initiative in every aspect of their jobs. Many times, by looking to meet the organization's needs, they will carve out their next career move.

Rule #5. The most "vendor-minded" employees will find or create the most opportunity. The employees who think of themselves as "intrapreneurs" will see the organization as a market for their skills. They will understand the truest, most empowering definition of a job—"a talent that meets a need." With your help, they will come to see themselves as vendors, and they will perceive more opportunity as a result. Vendor-minded employees realize that the purpose of the organization is to provide goods and services that customer value and that, if the organization’s employees do not do that, eventually they may all be out of a job.

Ref: Leigh Branham