A Non-Verbal Response from a Professional Politician

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Bridging the Generational Gap in Loss Prevention A culture shift with the Millennial Generation brings a new emotion to Loss Prevention. Part 2 - Emotional Credibility in Interviewing by Andie Millaway, LPC, CFI Emotional Credibility and Interviewing – A New Generation In part one of this two-part series I explained several of the differences between the Millennial generation and our generational predecessors. Millennials pose a greater challenge to the rest of us based on their values, priorities and focus. Millennials have brought emotional connections back into leadership. They think outside the box. They want a return on investment and are seeking acknowledgement and recognition regularly in order to continue to thrive. Millennials want to be appreciated for their efforts, rightfully so. Therefore, as leaders in a retail world that is evolving, we, as Loss Prevention professionals, have to learn to adapt to a new style of leadership. With that, our job as fact finders, investigators and interviewers will only get more difficult. We will need to feed the Millennials a desire to be a good decent person within their own vision of what that entails. We may even have to feed the very emotion that validated their actions, even if the actions weren’t good. That can be a hard sell, if we, the "salesman", don’t believe in it ourselves. If we can’t find the human nature in the intent of an action and somehow acknowledge that, a Millennial can see right through us and will focus elsewhere. Without credibility and understanding, our interviews will begin to fade and we will have even less ability to relate. As with anything we want to master, interviewing is a skill we must practice. I have gone through all levels of the Wicklander - Zulawski education, I have obtained my CFI and have my LPC, and I am a member of the International Association of Interviewers. That education and resource is invaluable to me, and greatly contributed to my success in the LP industry. There is one element that took me a long time to understand, and that was the human element that is ever-present in what we do. Many times, through all the continuing education, investigations, and demanding work load, many of us tend to forget that at the very core of what we do is human nature. Why do people do what they do? Why are decisions made the way they are made? Whether it is in an internal interview, or the placement of a product on a shelf, it’s important to understand the thought, motivation and intent behind the action. In order to bridge the gap between generations, we must first understand that it's not about knowing the difference between right and wrong. It's about determining consequences of whatever situation a person is in and choosing the lesser of the two evils. Most will take the consequences of the employer rather than not feeding their children, or getting foreclosed upon. For some it’s avoiding a repossession, supporting an addiction or paying urgent legal fees. That newly single mom with no money will take that chance, every time, in order to pay court costs and fight for her kids. It's not rational to this generation and many others, in the moment, to think about the future and what committing the crime might do down the road. It's about paying for the lawyer, the mortgage or for food right now; having their needs met immediately. Even a simple pass-off for a Millennial can be a necessary choice at the time considering their need for social acceptance. Based on information from the site Whatis.com - Pew Research, did you know, on average, a Millennial will have 50 more Facebook friends than any other generational user? Continued on page 5 CFInsider Q1 - 2016 4
Bridging the Generational Gap in Loss Prevention Our profession, as interviewers, has to evolve in order to connect with this new generation of associates. WE have to bridge the gap in a credible way. In addition to having the tools and education designed to protect us from lawful ramifications or consequences as a result of our interviews, we have to become emotionally credible. Professionally we can still be taught everything we need to know to excel except for one thing, human nature and compassion. The ability to be kind. Kindness is a necessary step in the interviewing process today, and it cannot be manufactured. It must be real, genuine and 100% authentic. This is where you develop the emotional credibility needed in today’s Loss Prevention environment. So what do we do with the standards we are all accustomed to; the method to our “madness” that has guided us thus far? Well, we build upon those techniques. We use what we have learned in seminars, workshops and from subject matter experts, and we evolve with the changing characteristics of the business we are in. Certainly utilize the skills and technique from a technical perspective, continue to educate ourselves on definitions of the trade and the steps in which to execute our jobs effectively. Making the commitment to be kind, respectful and compassionate will only increase the moral value of what you do every day. After all, LP is not easy. We're usually the one no-one wants to see coming... we have to address the issues and find the needle in the haystack when others could not. Often in Loss Prevention, we are asked to do the impossible. We are tasked with getting someone to admit something, (and write it in a statement) that they vowed they would take to the grave. The only thing standing in the way of ones complete and utter freedom and getting away with a crime is you, the interviewer; nothing else. But it’s our job to tell a story, paint a picture, and convince the subject we are speaking with that we are the positive side of accountibility. As an evolving industry, there are a few things we need to understand as it relates to Millennials. Once we can peel away some of the outward appearance of situations and look into human nature and intent, we can find a truer success in our interviewing. Let's consider the following: 1) The majority of individuals being interviewed are regular, average people that have been led astray by the opportunity of their poor circumstances. The associate has likely lost the ability to reason with whatever reality they are currently in. For example, a young man, whose brother was just released from rehab for drug abuse, owes thousands of dollars to the drug dealers from before his rehab started. For this cashier, his brother is likely more important to him than his employer. If faced with the reality that his brother may relapse, or worse than that, get hurt or killed by those he owes money, I'm quite certain this young man would rather take whatever his employers consequences might be over the consequences that could happen to his family. To this employee, stealing $1000 from the register is an easy choice. There is only a 50/50 shot he will get caught, but there is a 100% chance his brother could be seriously injured or killed without the money. What do you think this young man is going to do? Where is his human instinct going to lead him? More importantly how can we, as the interviewer, rationalize this in a way that establishes emotional credibility? As an LP Professional working to bridge the gap of understanding, we must first believe the intent of this employee was not to defraud the company, his intent was to protect his brother. The company losing money was a side effect of his “instinctive human nature” to do whatever possible to help his family. This cashier wasn’t thinking about the company, he wasn’t even thinking about himself. This Millennial employee was thinking only of his brother. 2) We are the fact finder, not the one to act in judgment about their action. To have a conversation with someone and demonstrate emotional credibility, we have to first find compassion within our own mind before we sit down with someone. As in interviewer, we need to be steadfast in our own morals. We need to extend courtesy and kindness. Of course we know it was wrong, they know it was wrong, but did they care enough at the time to refrain from committing that crime? Not if the alternative, in their mind, is worse than accepting accountability from the employer. 3) A dishonest associate is ready for you, and has already conceded that they made the right decision at the time, whether with integrity or not. It’s the fact that today’s opportunistic retail employees that make a poor choice have likely already weighed out the end result and are willing to face the outcome regardless. To a Millennial, the value of the decision to do wrong with the employer, may not even come close to the value of the alternative situation that employee may have been facing. We have to understand that the intent wasn't to defraud the company, although that may be what happened, the intent was to prevent a more personal situation from getting worse. It could even be something simple, like hooking up a friend, which may mean more to that associate than keeping their job. As an evolving LP professional being tasked with the responsibility of speaking with another human being as an authority figure, it is helpful to first try to understand the human nature of the situation if you want to have any authentic, emotional credibility and connection with the subject. 4) Keep an open mind. Of course the associate is going to first try to lie. Don't make up your mind and let it define their character. Regardless of the generation, people are people. These employees that have done wrong and satisfied the immediate need of their situation are now faced with the afterthought of concern of being caught. They have rehearsed in their minds what they might say if and when confronted with the dishonest act. Of course they have. This lie they might tell, it's not defining their character, quite the opposite! What kind of person wouldn't try to prepare for being called out on a dishonest act? The kind that doesn't care. The ones that set out to commit the crime. Those individuals are programmed differently, and not the majority of what you find in the LP interview scenario. Those individuals are tougher because they typically wanted to do it for the thrill or the value they see in the action. That is a different set of emotion, but still emotion. The fact is, subjects will always test you. It doesn’t mean they are a bad seed. That first lie, or set of lies is a mere regurgitation of what that individual was holding in for weeks, Continued on page 6 CFInsider Q1 - 2016 5
Page 1 and 2: A publication from the Internationa
Page 3: A Non-Verbal Response from a Profes
Page 7 and 8: CYBER CORNER CYBER CORNER By Rhett
Page 9 and 10: LEGAL ASPECTS Corporate Miranda War
Page 11 and 12: CFInsider Q1 - 2016 11
Page 13 and 14: CFI Spotlight Interview in terms of
Page 15 and 16: Rationalization of the Quarter The
Page 17 and 18: Abstract: New Study On Sleep Depriv
Page 19 and 20: Interviewers, Investigators and Ass
Page 21 and 22: NEW CFIs CFIs RECERTIFIED IAI NEW M
Page 23 and 24: Thank You and We Need You! We thank
Page 25: LETTER FROM THE EDITOR As we reach

A Non-Verbal Response from a Professional Politician

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