How to keep your employees honest when they have company credit cards

I'll admit right away that this is a depressing subject to pontificate on. "How to keep your employees honest when they have company credit cards." It's as if we're assuming here that once an employee has a credit card in his hands, off he goes to Wal-Mart to stock up on deck furniture and DVDs. Now, it's not true that all employees are that way. It's not even true that most employees are that way. Most of us have pretty active consciences when it comes to stealing big things such as deck furniture. The problem is when we get down to the small things that people might not notice. That's what we're really dealing with here, regarding the question of how to keep your employees honest when they have company credit cards.

Let's look at some way to keep your employees honest when they have company credit cards.

1. Be very strict and no-nonsense up front when it comes to training your employees on the ins and outs, the do's and don'ts, of company credit cards. Never make dishonesty with company credit cards a joking matter. That is, don't start with a joke such as, "Now, I know that none of you are stupid enough to buy a new car with this thing, heh heh." Don't even admit dishonest as a possibility. Simply explain how strictly company credit cards are kept track of. Explain the process by which company accountants look at every purchase made on a company credit card to see whether or not it was legitimate. Then, explain exactly what you mean by legitimate. Legitimate will change from company to company, but generally it means some like: "A purchase that will directly and positively affect the aims and goals of the company."

2. This definition, however, may in fact be a little on the vague side, as it leaves the question open to wide interpretation. Remember, it's almost as much your responsibility to keep your employees honest with company credit cards as it is the employees themselves. That may seem like a crazy thing to say, but it isn't. You have to realize that you're dealing with ordinary men and women who never have enough money for the things they need. Suddenly having a credit card with unlimited buying power (even if it's reserved for a single store, such as Staples), may prove to be an almost overpowering temptation. Therefore, you've got to set up company rules regarding credit cards in such a way that it's impossible to worm out of them.

3. To do so, you'll need a good accounting team, and you'll need to meet with them frequently to get updates on how employees are doing when it comes to the question of honesty with company credit cards. It's really likely that you won't run into any problems. If, however, one week your accountants point out that Jim in sales seems to have made some dubious purchases during his trip to Milwaukee last week, it's not something you want to wait on. Whenever an employee's honesty is on line, immediate action is best. Don't delay; never delay. Be sure that your accountants are right, of course, and that they haven't overlooked anything. You don't want to call Jim in and have it turn out that he made a perfectly legitimate purchase and your accountants simply failed to pick up on it. But if it turns out, after careful inspection, that they're right, you'll need to see Jim ASAP.

4. When keeping employees honest with company credit cards, never take an accusatory, suspicious tone, even when it comes to Milwaukee Jim. You'll need to speak gently and in a friendly manner with him; in your normal manner in fact. Hey, it's just Jim, from sales! Innocent until proven guilty, right? The most obvious thing to do is bring up the subject right away, and not to be flippant about it or have an air of mock casualness. Ask Jim, "Did you buy such-and-such; if yes, why; if no, then why is it on our account." Now, this is about as far as we can go in a short article such as this is. Different companies have different policies when it comes to employee honesty regarding credit cards. Some companies have a one strike you're out policy, some companies are more lenient. Whatever final position your company chooses, be sure to stick to it rigidly, and be sure to set up a rigid credit card system that will remove as much temptation from your employee's minds as possible.