The practice of conducting legal employee background checks is greatly important to any business. You wouldn’t want the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission(EEOC) after you would you? Didn’t think so. The overall reasoning behind background checks is for you to see the true colors of your potential new hire. Now let’s fast forward a little bit here. Think about what happens when you bring a so-so person into your business. Are you aware of the costs of a bad hire? Let’s just say that the cost of bad hires stinks all around! So in order to avoid all those troubles let’s go over a few things you’ll need to keep in mind when it comes to background checks. Think of this article as your ultimate guide to successful background checks from here on out.
Do your research. No really, do your research.
Many companies tend to just touch one area of background checks. Completely ignoring other areas that are of great importance. You have to look everywhere and dig deep below the surface. Here are a few things that you should look at; a candidate’s social media pages, obviously look at their criminal record, their driving record, and their educational and employment history. Businesses that don’t look below the surface tend to lose what looks like some pretty great candidates. Why? Well because those businesses tend to overlook candidates. They choose to let one negative discovery destroy the entire picture. Realistically, no one is perfect. So just because you see something negative, doesn’t exactly mean that you should sell that candidate short. Look at the bigger picture and then make your decision.
Communicate during interviews.
That’s right, get to talking ladies and gentlemen. Honestly, the communication between you and your candidates should be open. For example, if you’re in the process of doing a background check on a particular candidate and you see something worth questioning, you should ask the candidate about it. It doesn’t hurt to ask questions. After all, this is your business so you have every right to know. You need to make sure there’s a mutual understanding between you and the candidate. The last thing you want to happen is to hire that candidate, and then later on down the line things magically pop up. Be like Inspector Gadget and find what’s important before they surface themselves. Effective communication makes all the difference.
Always follow the law.
Yes, please always follow the law. This is like a no-brainer. We think every business has this in good practice. If not, oh my, it’s time you possess good LEGAL practices. So when it comes to background checks you want to make sure that you’re treating everyone equally. It’s illegal to check the background of applicants solely based on an applicant’s race, sexual orientation, religion, age, or genetic information. Hiring based upon any of those five characteristics is an easy case discrimination case. That’s one of those not-so-good things to have on your business record. Also, it’s important that you get the employees’ consent before you begin the background check process. Applicants will be able to stay in the loop with the process and will be notified once the background check is complete.
So, if you’re currently overwhelmed with the constant requests for background checks then you might want to just simply stop. Yes, you read that correctly just stop! Why do you ask? Well, because staffing agencies can pretty much do many jobs within one. In other words, they do everything for you. They find you top talent even when your business can’t. They conduct the interviews and they even conduct the background checks, legally!
Sounds like a breeze right? Well, that’s because it is and it can be a breeze for you as well. You can learn more about our staffing services here and if you are ready to get started, contact us today. You’ll be saying “that was easy” in no time.
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