How Much Of Your Stationery Is Walking Right Out The Door?

And we don’t mean it’s grown a set of legs and walked itself out of the building! 

So, if we aren’t talking about personifying pencils, how could your stationery be making its way out of your office and dwindling in your store room? 

Pilferage of course! 

While this issue is much more believable than a running rubber, it’s still hard to believe that it could be taking place under your roof, with your employees. 

But, how serious is this problem? 

A study by Kit Out My Office found that a whopping two thirds of the office workers that they surveyed said that they had stolen office supplies from work. 

Thing is, we know that monitoring office stationery pilferage is a hard task. 

If you know this is going on in your office, and even if you find the culprit, it’s near impossible to establish that its intentional theft. After all, how do you know and differentiate between who’s taking it by mistake or because they need it to work from home and who’s being malicious? 

Innocent until proven guilty? 

Often, it is an innocent misunderstanding, whereby staff aren’t aware that what they are doing is actually wrong and are none the wiser that they are actually committing theft! 

We’ve seen people posting on public forums questions like ‘Is it ok to take stationery from the office home for personal use?’ 

And the thing is, if people are going as far as seeking their answer online, then maybe it’s time that the severity of filling your pockets at 5pm, is highlighted, for everyone’s sakes! 

But how do you monitor it? 

We know that office supplies get damaged, become obsolete and go missing, so you have to be fairly forgiving with your figures. 

Also, things can be taken unintentionally! Something as simple as using a notepad all day and finding it in your back pocket when you get home is a common mistake. 

It’s not quite black and white! Even though this is an innocent act, if you have a substantial stationery budget it all adds up to lost profit. 

A loss that should and can be avoided! 

So, to try and rein in the problem of disappearing stationery, we’ve come up with a few simple steps that you can implement in your office today! 

1. Put someone in charge 

What we suggest is that when your delivery comes in, sit down and distribute it appropriately between teams in your office. Simply having each line manager in charge will significantly reduce any potential losses of stationery supplies. 

Not only will it be better managed and monitored, but less people will have access to the supplies. If supplies start to deplete it’s easier to pin point who is responsible, as there are less potential suspects! 

2. Create a policy 

If there’s a policy in place then people won’t make the mistake, not by accident anyway! 

Have them sign this within their contracts, so you know every single employee has seen it. 

Make it very clear, and concise but you don’t want them to feel like they’re being accused of being thieves! Softly introducing a ‘don’t take this home’ policy, will simply raise awareness on the issue and provide clarity and education for any employees that are blissfully unaware that there is a problem. 

3. Put in protocol 

According to the study mentioned previously, an alarming 51% of those who admitted to stealing got away without any form of punishment! 

How are we supposed to create conformity if they’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain from their actions? 

If your employees are found out and get nothing but a slap on the wrist, it is really no wonder why numbers are at an all-time high! Set a precedent, and if you catch someone, they must be made accountable for their actions. 

If you think that you might have a problem with pilferage, then there are other measures that we can help you with to keep a track of your supplies and usage on a weekly or monthly basis. 

Things such as online ordering, departmental deliveries, order forms and usage reports are all available to track your stationery spend. So, if you’d like any more information on how to keep your supplies safe, don’t hesitate in contacting us directly on 0121 430 9000!