An HR Guide to Workplace Fraud and Criminal Behaviour – Recognition, Prevention and Management

Title: An HR Guide to Workplace Fraud and Criminal Behaviour – Recognition, Prevention and Management
Authors: Michael J Comer & Timothy E Stephens
Price: £85.00
Pages: 448
Publisher: Gower Publishing
ISBN: 056 608 5550

I read this book while on a family holiday, which resulted in me having to deploy some of my newly-acquired skills to convince the family that despite my sporadic bursts of laughter, it was a ‘work’ book.

Humour aside, the book contains a plethora of advice and case studies which highlight the fact that not everyone tells the absolute truth all the time. It also, and perhaps more importantly, provides best practice guidance on how to recognise and prevent deception in its various and numerous forms.

I was delighted when I tried out some of the techniques to find that I now had a scientific basis for what hitherto I had thought of as ‘instinct’. This had been my earlier theory, albeit in relation to only a few individuals, most of whom the authors describe as ‘very clever’.

The book is divided into three principal sections. These are: the problem of deception; counter-measures; and solutions to HR problems. There is also a very brief section on giving evidence, which confirmed my belief that such activities are best avoided.

While the nature of an individual’s work and social activities will determine the extent of practical value derived from each section, unlike many other HR and management books, it would be impossible not to learn something of value from each of the sections.

Useful? 3 stars
Well-written? 4 stars
Practical? 4 stars
Inspirational? 4 stars
Value for money? 4 stars
Overall 4 stars

All ratings out of 5 stars.

Review by Keith Watson, office administrator and director at employment law and HR consultancy Your Workplace