A session titled “Hire the Best, Train Them Well and Look to the Future” kicked off the meeting with discussions on recruiting, training, retention and diversity. PCI/cyber intrusions, ORC, crisis management, legislative and other emerging issues also were discussed.

A white paper is being prepared for those in attendance, and a summary of the information will be shared at the NRF Loss Prevention Conference in June 2008.

Council and committee changes
The NRF LP Advisory Council met October 4 to review the 2008 LP Conference topics and discuss the revamping of our committee structure. Some initial highlights:

In June 2008, Laurie Sorenson, vice president of loss prevention for Macy’s Northwest, will succeed Dan Doyle as Advisory Council Chair.
Gary Johnson, vice president of loss prevention for The Vitamin Shoppe, will become a vice chairman, joining Bill Titus, vice president of loss prevention for Sears Holding Corp. and Gap senior vice president of loss prevention Keith White.

In an effort to streamline matters, all committees have been brought under the umbrella of the NRF Investigators Network. Under the new structure, two Council members will serve as leaders in each of seven geographic regions. They will conduct regional network and committee meetings, and the full network will meet annually at the NRF LP Conference.

PCI update
The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard was developed by the major credit card companies as a guideline to help organizations that process card payments prevent credit card fraud, hacking and various other security issues.

According to the current standard, a company processing, storing or transmitting credit card numbers must be PCI-compliant or risk potential penalties, ranging from fines to an increase in Interchange rates or, in a worst-case scenario, revocation of the ability to process credit card payments. Retailers have been challenging elements of this program for years; last month, NRF sent a letter questioning why we (retailers) are required by the banks to store the card numbers in the first place.

Since much of the program falls outside of a traditional LP department, you may not know the full scope and requirements. NRF members can learn more by visiting www.nrf.com.

Holiday preparations
This holiday season you should see a lot of media surrounding some key topics involving loss prevention. Our seasonal assortment will include return fraud, shoplifting and other security/LP issues at malls across the country. Given the recent alerts being issued by DHS/FBI and other law enforcement agencies, I also anticipate stories on safety and homeland security.

The bottom line? Be careful, stay on top of your game and enjoy! NRF has released a Holiday Survival Kit, which you are welcome to download at www.nrf.com.

In closing, I want to thank you for all of your support, feedback, participation and friendship this year. I wish each of you a very happy holiday season, and look forward to working with you again in 2008.