By Chrisma C. Bangaoil

THERE are many undetected thefts in companies because there’s no one watching 24/7.

It’s a good thing then that telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. has come up with an effective way to secure their business with the PLDT Watcher. This practical and at the same time innovative solution uses proven technology together with the most robust PLDT network to help keep an eye on businesses.

Using IP cameras, motion detectors and reliable software, it gives the user remote viewing capabilities through any computer or 3G phone; snapshots and auto-recorded videos directly sent by e-mail; and a 24-hour monitoring power over their business seven days a week. It’s frankly a dream many business owners have been pining for.

Office theft takes many forms

Office theft takes many forms. Unproductive hours due to over breaks, unscheduled breaks, chatting—whether face to face or through instant messaging, texting or personal phone calls—sleeping, daydreaming, office gallivanting, or reading magazines for personal pleasure rob the company of expected output, thus decreasing profitability.

Using office supplies and equipment for personal reasons is another form of office theft. Your office policy states that only work-related matters can be printed but you can never be sure what else are being printed. But again, you won’t also waste your time standing beside the printer just to check.

Some office supplies like staplers, staple wire and staple wire removers, notebooks, pens, paper, ink, and markers are just some of the things that one of your employees can just squeeze in their bags.

The office coffee maker or portable DVD player can likewise very well fit in some employees’ bags. Well, the guard may search every employee when they log out, but imagine how time consuming this would take. And the employee caught in the possession of a company property can always play innocent and claim that someone else put the thing in his or her bag. Now, that’s a long process to prove or disprove.

Another form of theft is vandalizing or destroying company properties. This can be discreet and therefore it takes a 24-hour surveillance to catch the culprit in the act. Now you are too busy with other things to do that yourself.

Not adhering to company policy and safety procedures is also a form of theft. Accidents happen because of that. And you’d only know about this theft when the accident had happened. Had you seen the culprit not adhering to company policy and safety procedures early on, you may have prevented the accident.

Protect your business with PLDT Watcher

What options do business owners have? Definitely not the option of losing money.

With PLDT Watcher, business owners are now assured of a cost-efficient way to protect their business from insider theft without spending much and without worrying of paying additional employee cost and benefits. Plus, they get to relax and take that much-deserved vacation.

(Chrisma Bangaoil is an HR consultant for various BPO companies.)