Whether you have new employees joining your business for the holidays or have a crew of seasoned veterans, a complete review of your security procedures is essential this time of the year.
With jewelry in high demand during the gift-giving season, the risk of loss also increases. To minimize the risk, it's important that your entire staff knows how to sell with security before customer traffic increases.
Although there's still lots of preparation that goes into completing another successful year, taking time to review jewelry store security is essential. Use this resource and piece of advice to help educate your staff efficiently and effectively.
JM University®
There are a lot of techniques that make a good salesperson and secure selling procedures is one of the most important.
Your staff needs to know things like:
- the various ways to prevent different types of thefts,
- what to do when they suspect something suspicious,
- and also know how to properly respond during a robbery.
To introduce your new employees and refresh your current staff on these best practices, have them sign up for JM University — an exclusive member benefit to JM policyholders — and take the Selling with Security course.
The course includes videos that cover:
- the importance of meeting and greeting every customer,
- preventing grab-and-run thefts by showing only one item at a time,
- showcase security and controlling access to their contents,
- and how to stay safe during a robbery.
There's also a "final exam" at the end of the course that can used to verify that your staff has successfully completed the course and understood the material.
Hold an all employee meeting
JM University is a great way to let your employees get familiarized with jewelry store security at their own pace, but having an in-person review of the procedures they've learned will help them become more knowledgeable on the topic.
Set a due date for everyone to complete Selling with Security and then schedule time to meet so the topics can be reviewed and questions can be answered. The best time to do this is during non-business hours. It provides a great opportunity to show everyone how to open and close a jewelry business properly, which are the most common times when crimes strike.
Make sure that if you hold your meeting before or after normal hours that your routine of setting up or taking down merchandise doesn't interfere with the rest of the meeting, though. A day when you're completely closed may work best.
Also, depending on the size of your staff and the level of detail you want to get into, you may want to consider doing a role playing exercise of what to do during an armed robbery. Invite your local police department to participate in this as well. They can give additional safety tips and it will help to build a relationship with them, too.
Lastly, apply the principles of Selling with Security to the specific aspects of your business and the physical layout of your location. You might consider pointing out specific things like:
- what types of merchandise are most likely to be targeted,
- managing the flow of customer traffic to prevent distractions,
- how to identify and share information about suspicious activity — including information from the Jewelers' Security Alliance,
- and what to do after a robbery or theft occurs.
You may also want to consider a high-level overview of your physical security. Examples of this would be:
- location and operation of surveillance cameras,
- how to secure merchandise in a safe or vault,
- how to arm your alarm system,
- and what to do if an alarm signal is triggered.
Need more advice?
Attend a webinar on Monday, October 23, at 11:30 a.m. CDT hosted by David Sexton, Vice President of Loss Prevention at Jewelers Mutual. During the presentation you'll get an in-depth look at how to prepare for a safe and secure holiday season.
