By Sharon Jones
Your business is only as good as the people you employ, which is why you need to do all you can to a) bring in the top talent available and b) protect yourself. The latter is where employee background checks come into play because they are a tool that helps you verify a candidate’s story and history, allowing you to make a better judgment call when it comes to keeping your business successful, safe and secure.
However, this is just making sure that their history could compromise your future. It is also about screening them so that you can get a better understanding of them before deciding who will get the gig and dropped into a position of trust within your business.
That said, there is a right and wrong way to performing a background test, which is why we have pulled together a list of tips to help you get started:
What Are Your Checking For?
When you undergo an employee-slash-candidate background check, you will want to review their history, which means looking for any criminal charges, driving offenses, whether they are on the terrorist watch list, sex offenders register, their credit history, check their education and get references from their previous employers.
Always Be Consistent
Having a policy of consistency when performing background checks is pivotal for both your systems of deciding on which candidate is the best fit and for avoiding any legal issues. The latter is of big concern. As such, make sure you have a stringent process whereby everyone knows what steps to follow and make sure they follow these steps for every candidate. You can’t pick and choose based on who is sat in front of you.
Seek Counsel
When you perform a background check, you will be unearthing sensitive information, some of which you may not be allowed to gather under state law. So make sure you speak to a lawyer before you get started so that you know what the boundaries are. That way you will avoid any legal issues.
Second Chance Saloon
Life is not black and white. It is one giant grey smudge, which is why you need to give your candidates a chance to explain anything – mistakes or misunderstandings – when performing a check. Sometimes information can be wrong or out of date, so give your candidates a chance to explain themselves before you cast judgment.
Reference Check Protocol
A lot of employer’s get confused between reference checks and investigative reports. A reference check is when you contact a previous employer to verify a few things, like dates, roles, salary, etc. all of why is rather typical and straightforward. You can then reject a candidate based on these findings without any explanation. If you halt a candidate’s progress because of something you found in an investigative report, however, then you need to hand them a copy of the report.
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