Seasonal hires are a must for getting through the holiday season, but they also bring their own set of challenges. The sheer amount of HR paperwork that comes with hiring hundreds or even thousands of workers in short order can be a hassle, for example, as can getting them trained on inventory and point-of-sale systems in just days. But seasonal hires bring one challenge above all that keeps retailers up at night: ensuring they’re supporting the holiday loss prevention efforts — rather than contribute to the problem.

So how can retail leaders prepare seasonal employees not just for the rush of holiday shopping, but the rash of shoplifting that accompanies it? Let’s find out.

Before we talk about the broader problem of loss prevention during the holidays, it’s important to understand that much — perhaps even most — retail crime during the holiday season is due to organized retail crime (ORC) operations.

“Nine times out of 10, it’s ORC,” said Pete McCall, senior manager, Retail Consulting Practice at Sensormatic Solutions. “These groups are sophisticated, they’re organized, and there are more of them than you think.”

Last year in Knoxville, Tennessee, for example, a sheriff’s department task force dedicated to ORC arrested 199 people between November 13 and December 2 and recovered $95,000 in stolen merchandise. In California, law enforcement broke up an ORC ring and recovered “more than $212,000 of stolen or fraudulently purchased merchandise acquired from CVS, Target, Walgreens, and other chains.” The problem is so endemic that the National Retail Federation estimates ORC costs retailers an average of $719,548 per $1 billion in sales.

“Unlike an individual shoplifter who may be stealing an item for their own use, ORC groups are usually stealing in order to resell online,” he added. “In other words, they’re not just stealing one pair of jeans — they’re stealing the entire rack.”

So, what should retailers consider doing about it?

According to McCall, there’s no better time to start training seasonal staff on loss prevention than day one.

“Consider including a visit from your loss prevention leader as part of a seasonal hires’ day-one orientation,” he said. He noted three reasons for this:

• To put seasonal workers at ease by reminding them there is a security presence in the store
• To remind seasonal workers who might be contemplating committing a little retail crime of their own that loss prevention is present and vigilant by creating an impression of control
• To enable loss prevention leadership to get an early look at workers’ body language and look for “dishonest behavior,” like avoiding eye contact

One of the most important aspects of loss prevention’s visit to day-one orientation is to give seasonal hires a crash course on common shoplifter behaviors and tactics.

“Retailers absolutely want seasonal hires to know how to spot ‘tells’ on the sales floor,” McCall said. “Is a shopper refusing any kind of assistance? Is he or she looking everywhere but at the merchandise? Are they carrying a large bag with virtually nothing in it, or maybe scanning the ceilings for cameras and trying to identify an area with little to no camera coverage?”

Understanding behaviors like these are important for all associates, but they’re especially critical for seasonal workers tasked with working on high traffic days and in specialized areas that may be prime targets for ORC.

“If I have a seasonal associate working in women’s apparel, for example, I want that associate to be keenly aware of common shoplifting behavior,” he said. “It’s much easier for a shoplifter to walk out with an article of clothing than, say, a flatscreen. So that associate needs to know what to look for, and they need to know that from day one.”

McCall also noted the same is true for seasonal workers tasked with attending fitting rooms.

“You definitely want associates to understand how common fitting room crimes work, like what’s known as ‘concealment.’” Concealment, he said, is an age-old tactic in which a shoplifter enters a fitting room, hides articles of clothing or merchandise beneath their clothing, and attempts to leave the store. It’s been around since the advent of the fitting room — and it can account for a significant percentage of a store’s loss.

“Seasonal associates can learn how to conduct a piece count in short order,” McCall said. “They simply count how many items a shopper enters the fitting room with, and compare that to how many came out. It’s not rocket science, but it is one of the most effective techniques in combatting ORC.”

McCall also stressed the importance of helping seasonal associates understand the role loss prevention technology plays in the retail environment.

“Seasonal workers don’t need a lecture on the science behind RFID, but it would be helpful for them to understand how your loss prevention technology ecosystem works at a high level,” he said. “Make sure they understand how your tags and your pedestal systems work together, what each solution does, and why they matter. If you’re using sophisticated video technology, ensure they know how and when to respond to events.

McCall added that seasonal associates won’t need to know the complexities of retail analytics platforms or the kinds of tech management largely used. A general overview of your loss prevention solutions should suffice.

Training seasonal workers on the finer points of loss prevention has never been an easy task, but it is a necessary one — now more than ever. With the right strategy, the right training, and the right understanding of loss prevention’s value to the organization, seasonal workers can catch up quickly — but it’s up to retail leaders to make sure their seasonal staff has each of those things to minimize theft this holiday season.

To learn more about holiday hiring prep, check out How to Succeed at Seasonal Hiring in a Year Unlike any Other.