No matter how rigorous the interview process or extensive the background check, chances are that a number of employees hired to work at any given company are going to be thieves.

To help restaurant owners curb employee theft, a Florida-based company recently launched Aloha Restaurant Guard, a software application that monitors point-of-sale data and generates reports, in real time.

Radiant Systems Inc. says the software application is designed to efficiently help restaurant employees provide faster service and increase order accuracy, but more importantly, it allows owners to maintain “effective controls” over its inventory and cash flow.

“Aloha Restaurant Guard is responsible for helping more than 3,000 U.S. restaurants by tracking incidents of employee theft before they get out of hand…and identifies trends that are consistent with some of the most popular restaurant scams,” company officials say.

The system also provides insight into a company’s best- and worst-performing employees.

Restaurants, of course, aren't the only industry experiencing losses at the hands of less-than-honest employees. With its large number of staffers, big-box firms have also fallen victim to fraud and theft.

“Large companies, retail and otherwise, take extreme precautions against shoplifting and burglary, with locked display cases, bulletproof glass, alarm cords, concave mirrors, security videos and professional guards,” says an official in the background-check field. “But what are they doing to protect their business from theft that occurs from within these closed doors?”

Brian McQuay of Quick Background Checks says most company owners don’t know every detail about their employees’ work history.

During the hiring process, business owners often conduct a quick interview discussing employment history, goals, education and reasons for wanting to work, followed by a reference check and then make a hiring decision. The entire process is quick, he says, but is it effective?

In addition to a thorough interview and reference check, the best way to combat the chance of hiring dishonorable employees is by conducting an employment background check.  The process allows hiring managers to access a person’s criminal record, credit report and Social Security identification to ensure that he or she is clean.

Although the employment background check is no guarantee of a perfect employee, McQuay says, “it does add a level of security in knowing that he has not been charged with theft, embezzlement or other crimes that could jeopardize the future of a company.”

Video monitoring can also help reduce employee theft, but it risks information overload. According to Malay Kundu, a security expert and entrepreneur, “less than 1% of video ever gets looked at by anyone.” Because of time constraints, daily video analysis is practically impossible.

The International Foundation for Protection Officers reports that nearly one-third of all employees will commit some degree of employee theft during their working time. In addition, 75% of those who have stolen or committed a white-collar crime will do so again.

By utilizing a software-application monitoring system and the background-check process, employers can feel more confident in their hiring.