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Share articleActually, each time a company has notified me of a background check, I notify right back that I consider such an action an invasion of privacy. I also and won't can't prohibit it, because I don't have anything to hide that can't be found on Google, but it immediately sets up a culture of distrust and suspicion in the workplace environment. In a small business environment, trust is everything.
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Pre-employment background screening...why it's better to be safe than sorry when hiring
Every buiness professional knows that good employees are the foundation of the business. One bad hire can ruin what took years to build. A professional pre-employment screening program will ensure that you are safe and not sorry.
Written Feb 14, 2008, read 362 times since then.
Every business professional should know how important a thorough pre employment (P-E) screening program is. A P-E program will :
Discourage applicants with something to hide. It is estimated that about 30 percent of all applicants put false information on their application. A pre-employment screening is an effective risk management tool that has been proven to significantly reduce the risk of a bad hire.
Eliminate uncertainty in the hiring process. The best predictor of the future is how the person performed in the past.
Demonstrate due diligence. What do I mean by due diligence? An employer has a reasonable duty to show care in the hiring process. That means an employer must take reasonable steps to determine whether an employee is fit for the job he/she is applying for.
A pre-employment screening program and is cost effective. The cost of a P-E background check is small compared with the cost to litigate a negligent hiring suit.
What is not well known is: The person doing the screening is the most important part of the process. Here's why.
Many companies do their P-E screening in house. However, the hiring process can be taxing even for companies with a fully staffed human resource department. Your employees will have to spend a great deal of time and energy learning the many state and Federal laws that apply to what you can and cannot access when doing a background check, and what release and consent forms are required. An honest mistake by one of your hard-working employees could result in a lawsuit against you by the applicant. If that weren't enough, more time and energy would have to be spent tracking down past employers, references, educational institutions and so forth. Often to leave a message and hope you are there for the return call...don't you or your employees have better things to do?
Contacting a licensed private investigator to do your background screening is the solution to your problem. Unfortunately we private investigators do not lead the glamor lives like they do on TV. The vast majority of us are former law enforcement, state, or federal agents who understand the importance of a thorough background check. We have met the requirements that allow us to use databases ONLY available to licensed professionals such as attorneys, law enforcement and private investigators. A licensed private investigator must comply with all of the state and federal laws such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act, DPPA,HIPPA and the Gramm-Leach-Biley Act to see that your rights and the rights of the applicant are protected, and will take the time to go to the courthouse to research a record if needed. Sadly, many employers think that if they have a state criminal history check done by one of the many online background checking companies out there they are, "in the clear". These types of checks will not tell you if that person has a criminal history in another state...something you MUST know.
I hope this article will be of some help in your hiring process.
PLEASE NOTE: The various rules and regulations referred to in this article concerning particular types of information commonly used for background screening is not intended to be legal advise and should not be considered as such. If you have a question concerning use of this information in a specific situation, please contact an attorney or your legal department
Learn more about the author, Sandy Glover.
Comment on this article
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Posted by Brian M. Wise, Seattle, Washington | Feb 18, 2008 -
Posted by David Billings, Portland, Oregon | Feb 19, 2008As director of a consulting office, I found background checks to be extremely helpful in screening candidates. Our clients were law firms, and our work required a high level of confidentiality. Also, our in-house couriers were trusted with hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of equipment.
It was essential to our clients that we could confidently say that the person they were handing their confidential, court-ordered materials to could be trusted.
Also, since a good driving record is a must for commercial drivers, it makes sense to check out the MVR.
It's not about setting a tone of mistrust, its' about knowing who your employees are. What percentage of people being interviewed come right out and say they were arrested the night before for (example) beating up their girlfriend?
It could be a mistaken record, but something like that bears discussing. This person is potentially going to be working with your team and representing your firm to clients. If they can explain it to your satisfaction and put your mind at ease, great.
If you've done your screening well, then any new hire can and should be trusted from Day 1.
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Posted by Brian M. Wise, Seattle, Washington | Feb 19, 2008
And I completely agree on the "we want to know more before we offer this to you that we might not get in the time we have" aspect.
And, truth be told, the companies that have explained to me why they need to run a background check on me - specifically because of the needs of their clients - got much farther and much less resistance from me (also, assistance in some cases).
I guess my comment should be: Don't be sneaky or secretive about what you're doing and why, and most interviewees are much less apt to freak out over it.
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Posted by Douglas Rector, Renton, Washington | Apr 21, 2008Preemployment screening is not an invasion of privacy, Applicants MUST sign a release stating a background is being performed, so there is nothing secretive about the process. Small businesses do have to have trust in their employees BUT it is an employers obligation to protect their current employess and the assets of the company. If an employee causes harm to another emploee or customer the employer can be sued for negligent hiring, especially if it is found the employee hads a criminal background. 1/3 of businesses fail due to employee theft and the majority of those are small businesses.
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Posted by cindy lin, San Francisco bay area, California | May 28, 2008I agree as well. As a small business owner that has presence in someone's homes, I find it crucial to do background checks. I have started to hire employees, at first I went by the trust factor, but little issue started coming up such as 1 employee eating a piece of candy from owner's pantry, which I stopped. Maybe it's me being paranoid, but I rather be safe than sorry and make sure my clients are comfortable when me and my crew come in and stage their homes.
Just putting myself in my clients' shoes... I am a complete stranger to them, and why should I trust total strangers coming into my home, spending a whole day doing whatever at my house without me being there?
Sandy, can you talk about how to go about hiring a company to do screening or DIY?
Cheers, Cindy
Article tags
- background checks
- hiring
- human resource
- legal
- real estate
- business
- risk management
- due diligence
