resigning employees are stealing our property on their way out

A reader writes:

I am a localized executive director for a nationwide nonprofit. Like so many not-for-profits under the current uncertain administration, we are going through some extreme financial strains. Our national office has been tightening belts all over the organization, including layoffs, frantic leadership calls that include a certain amount of crying when delivering yet another slate of difficult news, and frequent lane-shifting of priorities to the point where others in roles like mine are fleeing the sinking ship. Job descriptions are all changing to almost exclusively fundraising, even in roles that didn’t include it before, and the goals are simply not achievable.

I feel really strongly about the mission, but have realized I am probably past the point where I should have taken literally any other job to save myself from this financial chaos. I have done absolutely everything I can to shield my local team from certain absurd national demands, but now I need to pass along certain items and the team have realized what is happening and are quitting quickly.

Unfortunately, this has resulted in some terrible behavior from the staff: they are stealing items before they quit.

At first, I had excuses for people and what was going on in their lives, but it has become a solid pattern of theft — from computer monitors to work-from-home-issued IT gear, to items they suspect could go un-noticed from a storage area (such as event pop-up tents, tables, space heaters, boxes of printer paper, file folders, etc.), and it is getting worse and worse. The last person stole several thousand dollars worth of goods and made it so that we could no longer operate a major fundraiser.

All of this is being reported to our HR team, as it is their policy for them to handle employee communication and payouts after their last day. However, this has become very casual, with them now stating “there is not much we can do.”

But … really?!

This has a huge impact on any ability for us to do business or fundraise. Every item taken needs to be replaced, and I need to find donations or grant funds to replace it. We’re already just limping by. What kind of precedent does this set for any future staff who see this continuing to happen? Worst of all, my managers, who see their team behaving this way time and again, see me as a leader having no power to do anything. Is this really the approach that should be taken from the perspective of leadership, or another symptom of an organization on the verge of collapse? I would love your opinion.

Wow, stealing from a nonprofit that’s already struggling to survive under the current administration is … a choice. And to the point that it’s prevented at least one fundraiser from going forward?!

It sounds like you need to do the following:

1. Lock up things that can be locked up. That storage area with the event supplies? It needs a lock on the door.

2. Inventory all the organization-supplied equipment people have at home and get each person’s signature on a list of what they have, with a statement that it’s owned by the organization and needs to be returned when their employment ends. Do this right away.

3. When someone resigns, talk explicitly about what equipment and supplies they’re in possession of and what the plan is for inventorying and returning it. Then follow up — well before their last day — and make sure it’s happening. Also, make it as easy as possible for them to return things they have at home, meaning you should provide prepaid shipping labels or even arrange equipment pickups so they don’t have to do anything. The more you make it clear that of course these things will be returned as a matter of routine, the more likely it is that they will be.

4. Talk to people about what’s happening and what the impact has been. It’s possible they’ve deluded themselves into thinking keeping these items don’t really matter to the organization (maybe they think that with the national org in chaos, your local office isn’t long for the world and so none of those goods will end up being used?). It’s worth taking the time to lay out that it does matter and it is impacting work of value. The more specific you can be, the better.

5. If someone steals thousands of dollars of goods, that should be a police issue. You can’t do that on your own, but you should suggest it to your HR team, pointing out that the longer these thefts are allowed to happen without consequences, the more other employees will believe it’s acceptable and the harder the problem will become to contain.

Also: often in this situation people will suggest deducting the cost of any missing property from the employee’s last paycheck, or even holding their final pay until property is returned. In most cases, you can’t legally do that. You’re required by federal law to pay wages on the next regular payday for the covered pay period, and many states have laws governing when an employee must receive their (full) final paycheck when they leave their job. You might be able to deduct the cost of missing property if you have the employee’s written authorization ahead of time and they’re non-exempt (it depends on the state), but more commonly you’d need to invoice them for what’s missing or even take them to small claims court (something your employer probably isn’t going to be up for doing).

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