As a business owner, hiring the right employees is essential to your company’s success. A good hire can help employee morale, client relations, brand reputation, and sales. Background checks are critical to hiring and can help you make confident hiring decisions. Here are the reasons why your business should prioritize employment background screenings.
Preventing Hiring Mistakes
The costs of hiring the wrong person for a job can be staggering. From training to losing productivity and revenue, it’s easy to see how a bad hire can hurt your business. However, if you take the time to run an employment background check on each potential employee, you can reduce your chances of making a wrong hiring decision and save your company money in the long run. One of the most common mistakes companies make is ignoring or skipping background checks entirely when hiring new employees. This mistake can be incredibly costly for small businesses that need every employee to help meet customer demand and growth goals. By incorporating background screening into your hiring process, you can ensure that each new employee has the skills and experience to do their job well without putting your company at risk of theft, violence, or other issues.
Another common mistake is not varying background check requirements based on position. If you only screen full-time employees, for example, you’re leaving your company vulnerable to outsiders and remote workers who can wreak havoc on your business without the same protections that your regular employees enjoy. Include everyone who will come into contact with customers, vendors, or other employees in your background screening policy. Finally, verifying all the information a candidate provides on their resume is essential. Many people lie about their past employment, education, and other information on their applications. A thorough background check will uncover discrepancies and give you a complete picture of each applicant before hiring them.
Avoiding Legal Issues
In many cases, a background check can help employers avoid legal issues. This is especially true if the checks are tailored to each position, ensuring that candidates meet the job’s minimum standards. For example, an advanced background check may look for a candidate’s criminal history in addition to their driving record (MVR), employment verification, and professional references. This information can provide valuable clues about an applicant’s character and ability to perform the role’s responsibilities. Performing these checks can also help businesses avoid liability if an employee causes damage or harm. For instance, if a company hires an individual with a history of violence or substance abuse, they could be held liable for any injuries sustained by employees or customers as a result of that person’s actions.
Additionally, some states have adopted “Ban-the-Box” laws that prevent employers from asking about a candidate’s criminal history on their application form until after they’ve extended a conditional job offer. In these instances, a background check can be used to verify an applicant’s identity and eligibility for the role without violating their privacy. In addition, a background check can help reduce the risk of fraud by uncovering discrepancies in an applicant’s story. This can save a business money by eliminating false applications and avoiding costly errors.
Keeping Your Company Safe
Hiring the right employees is crucial to your business’s success. It’s not just about having employees who can do the work but about having employees you and your customers can trust. A background check gives you the information you need to know if someone is who they say they are and whether they are safe for your workplace. Without a thorough screening process, you could end up with an employee who is dangerous or not qualified for the job. You could also face legal complications if you hire an employee with a criminal record. For instance, if you hire an employee with a past conviction and they end up hurting a customer or damaging company property, you could be sued for negligent hiring. Background checks can include verification of education, certifications, credentials, criminal records, driving history, medical records, credit histories, military service, and more. Some employers may even look into the applicant’s character and behavior depending on the position. Additionally, many employers have ongoing continuous workforce monitoring services that keep tabs on current employees throughout their tenure with the company. This is done to help mitigate the risk of negligent hiring lawsuits by ensuring your employees do not commit new crimes that can harm your business.
Keeping Your Employees Happy
Whether your employees work directly for your business or represent it as part of a contingent workforce, a company-wide background screening policy will help you keep a high-quality standard and ensure that everyone who represents your organization is held to the same standards. This can be particularly important for contingent workers, who often work alongside your permanent staff or regularly interact with customers and vendors.
Performing background checks at the time of hiring helps to confirm that an applicant is who they say they are and is qualified for the job. It also deters applicants with something to hide in their personal or professional history. It also saves time by only allowing hiring managers to interview candidates who fit the role well. Additionally, a background check can be used as evidence that you conducted due diligence in making your hiring decision and took steps to avoid legal issues. This can be especially useful if you are facing a lawsuit from an employee who claims you failed to do your background check or from a regulatory body like the FDA or FTC. To streamline the process and ensure compliance, it’s recommended that you use an HR technology partner with a robust background screening solution. This will enable you to manage the entire screening workflow from one place, including ATS and HR system integrations, resulting in a faster turnaround.