It’s not reasonable to think that you can or should run a background check on every person you meet in a social setting. Though when it comes to making a hiring decision for your business, you absolutely can — and should.
If you are a hiring manager who is responsible for extending employment offers, you want to make the best possible choice every single time. A mistake in the hiring process can have negative consequences. When you choose to complete a background screening before hiring a prospective employee, it may be possible to prevent making the wrong hiring decision.
There are many reasons to conduct a background check on a prospective new hire. When a poor decision can be avoided by analyzing the results of background screening, the time and cost of the screening are completely worthwhile. In many cases, a background screening turns up only positive facts. When this happens, you can rest assured that you are making the best possible hiring decision with the information you were able to gather.
4 Reasons Your Small Business Should Complete Employee Background Screenings on Prospective Employees:
A background screening allows you to verify the honesty of your potential new hire. No matter how honest a person looks on a resume and appears in person, there is a chance that the information is not completely factual. When an employee background screening is conducted, it’s possible to verify and confirm the details you were provided.
By completing an employee background screening, you reduce the possibility of having to repeat the hiring process for the same position again in the near future. Any time a poor hiring decision is made, it costs a business time, money and effort. When you make the correct choice, you minimize the need to repeat the lengthy hiring process again.
When an employee screening is completed for a new hire, your established employees will feel more comfortable. It takes time for existing staff to build trust with a new employee. If your staff understands that every new hire must face a rigorous employee background screening before being hired, trust can be built sooner and with more assurance.
Your business will have more confidence when entrusting a new employee with clients, money or responsibilities when the new employee successfully passed a background screening check. Feeling confident that your new hire is honest and trustworthy as a result of a positive background screening is an asset. Knowing you can trust a new employee with confidential information and financial records is crucial.
It’s important to remember that the tactics a business uses to complete an employee background screening must comply with all governmental laws and regulations. The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) has a useful reference guide, which is meant to provide business owners and hiring managers with helpful information. The guide discusses the various background checks that a business can select and offers information on how the facts gathered from a background screening can be legally used during the hiring process.
There are countless reasons to make the best possible hiring decision. Not only can the difference between making the right and wrong hiring decision have a financial impact on the bottom line of your business, but making the best possible choice can boost your business to the next level. The wrong decision can be detrimental, a waste of time, and discouraging to your entire staff.
With so many employee background screening options available, it’s important to select specific background checks that are designed for a business in your industry. Using the services offered by a professional employee screening company is always recommended. A professional screening company adheres to all applicable laws and can provide you with pertinent information that you might not otherwise be able to locate. It’s important to know who you are hiring. Make sure you make an informed hiring decision, every time.
Sources:
- https://www.sba.gov/blogs/conducting-employee-background-checks-why-do-it-and-what-law-allows
- http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikalbelicove/2012/10/26/the-10-dos-and-donts-o-conducting-employee-background-checks/
- http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130820006390/en/Today-Show-Sheds-Light-Importance-Employee-Background#.Vepf4RFViko
- https://www.sba.gov/content/pre-employment-background-checks
- https://www.sba.gov/content/employment-and-labor-law
Christian Moore is the COO of Global Verification Network. Christian has more than 20 years of investigative and business experience in areas that include pre-employment and course-of-employment background screening, surveillance, and competitive intelligence.