Archive for the ‘Background Checks and Screening’ Category
Friday, September 3rd, 2010
It’s an interesting question: Who pays for background checks?
Is it the employer? The potential employee? The school? The school would-be volunteer? The nanny? The parents of the kids the nanny will be watching?
In a nutshell, the answer is a bit convoluted because it depends.
Most employers pay for background checks themselves. They simply consider it a cost of doing business and an insurance policy against making terrible hiring decisions. However, there are some companies that are moving to making the possible employee pay for his or her background check; we’d suggest looking into the legality of doing so depending upon your field.
As for nonprofit organizations, a good deal require that potential volunteers pay for their own background checks. That way, the entity doesn’t have to use funds to do so, and they ensure that any volunteers really want to be there since they’ve already used their own monies for clearances and background screening.
At this point, we’d really like to know your thoughts on the subject…
Have you ever paid for a background check to be performed on you? Would you? Conversely, have you ever made someone pay to have a background check report run on him or her?
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Tags: background check, Background Checks, background screening, Decisions, Doing Business, Insurance, Insurance Policy, Monies, Nanny, Nonprofit Organizations, Nutshell, Parents, Volunteers
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Friday, August 27th, 2010
We’ve blogged about this topic before, but it’s worth repeating: Do-it-yourself background screening just isn’t worth it.
Yes, we’re in the background screening business, so perhaps it seems as if we’re not unbiased; however, the reason we’re in the background screening business is because we understand just how complex putting together a comprehensive background screening report can be!
Why are do-it-yourself background screening measures so time consuming? Check out these reasons:
- You’ll have to sift through pages and pages of Google query answers to get even tiny bits of information.
- You’ll have to figure out what’s important… and what isn’t… when you finally get data.
- You’ll still have to pay for something along the way.
- You’ll have to find a way to verify the information you’ve gotten is accurate. (The Internet is filled with misinformation and untruths.)
- You’ll have to put all your information into a report form.
Sound easy to you? It’s not… but it is fast and convenient for us because we have the tools in place to streamline the system!
Don’t waste time spinning your wheels when you can do more productive things. Outsource when it comes to background screening. It just makes business sense… not to mention “cents”.
VerifyProtect: Fast, Secure, Affordable Background Checks.
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Tags: Background Checks, background screening, Business Sense, Google, Misinformation, Outsource, Screening Report, Spinning Wheels, Tiny Bits, Waste Time
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Monday, August 23rd, 2010
If you have a background screening policy and protocol in place (and if you don’t, call VerifyProtect pronto!), it’s bound to happen — someone won’t like it. Someone will try to “push back” and say it’s unfair. Someone will threaten you. Someone will cry. That’s why it’s important to plan for these contingencies.
So how can you ready yourself or your team for the inevitable person’s ire? Plan a statement in advance and make sure anyone who needs to use it has access to it. It could be as simple as: “Our background screening measures have been put into place to maintain the safety of our workers/volunteers/kids/clients/etc. We stand by our decision to make choices based, in whole or part, on the results of background screening.” (Note: Your legal consultant and/or HR manager can help you with any specific verbiage you need to include depending upon your industry.)
Does this mean that the person who was offended by your background screening measures will suddenly change his or her mind? Probably not. But it will allow you to professionally address a concern in a calm manner.
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Tags: Background Checks, background screening, Calm Manner, Choices, Contingencies, Hr Manager, Legal Consultant, Pronto, Protocol, Screening Measures, Screening Policy, Verbiage, Volunteers
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Monday, August 16th, 2010
Today’s economic marketplace is very scary for a lot of employers. After all, there are plenty of financial concerns, even if a company is operating “in the black”. So it’s always wise to consider how much of a background screening plan you actually NEED in order to keep your workplace (and reputation) safe.
Unfortunately, many background screening report providers will happily sell you unnecessary plans; however, that doesn’t help your bottom line, nor does it maximize your efficiency. Instead of just “winging it”, we encourage you to take this quick assessment.
It will reveal what background screening measures are needed based on each individual position at your company. Not only is a remarkable tool for understanding what you need (and, more importantly, what you don’t), but it helps save you money in the process.
Though there’s no reason not to background check your employees, that doesn’t mean that all positions are created equal. So do your homework and be wise about your allocation of dollars. You’ll be glad you were prudent!
VerifyProtect: Fast, Secure, Affordable Background Checks.
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Tags: Background Checks, background screening, Bottom Line, Economic Marketplace, Efficiency, Financial Concerns, Lot, Money, Remarkable Tool, Reputation, Screening Measures, Screening Plan, Screening Report
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Monday, August 9th, 2010
There’s a philosophy among some business owners (and even HR managers) that not every job requires a background check. After all, the theory goes, some people’s jobs lead them to have very little access to money, equipment, customers, etc. So are background checks really necessary in those cases?
While it’s an interesting question, we’d have to say that the ultimate answer is “yes”.
Why? Check out these three big reasons:
→ Any employee is YOUR organization’s employee. So if he/she does something and it hits the press, your company will be associated with the criminal activity.
→ The employee may someday be promoted. And background checks aren’t usually performed every time someone receives a promotion. In the end, you could wind up with a supervisor or manager who shouldn’t be in his/her role because of a past record.
→ Just because you think the worker will not have access to certain things doesn’t mean that’s the case. Never underestimate someone who wants to do something. Human ingenuity can be used for both good and nefarious purposes.
Our ultimate recommendation for businesses of all sizes? Always background check everyone before bringing them on… or risk the consequences.
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Tags: background check, Background Checks, business owners, Consequences, Equipment Customers, Hr Managers, Human Ingenuity, Job, Jobs, Money, Nefarious Purposes, Philosophy, Supervisor
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Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
It’s fine to be a risk taker when it comes to business; after all, most entrepreneurs have a “risk taking” streak. It’s all part of their nature and why they start their companies to begin with.
However, it’s not always appropriate to take risks, especially in the area of background checking.
Background checks are a means of offering an organization:
- A higher level of security;
- An increased amount of stability; and
- A better, more solid workforce.
So why don’t more execs immediately turn to background checking when filling positions? They feel it’s unnecessary and they’re just willing to take the “risk” if it doesn’t pan out.
Bad idea.
Not implementing background checks can be devastating to a business and (sometimes permanently) stunt its growth. Read the papers — just one bad worker can completely wreak havoc on the future of a company.
It’s fine to take some chances, such as trying a new marketing campaign or opening the doors to a new store. But don’t mess around with background checking; it’s one area that’s been proven to be worth its weight in gold.
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Tags: background checking, Background Checks, Bad Checks, Bad Idea, Business Checks, Doors, Execs, Gold, Havoc, Marketing Campaign, New Marketing, Risk Taker, Workforce
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Friday, July 23rd, 2010
There’s a strong movement afoot to push for background checks at online dating sites. But what are the real pros of providing this kind of service?
Below, we look at five of the biggest advantages for sites who are willing to take this measure:
5 Pros to Offering Background Checks at Online Dating Sites:
- Protection. It’s nice to know that if you’re using a particular dating site, people with nefarious backgrounds or criminal records have been screened.
- Convenience. It’s one less thing that an online dater needs to do him- or herself.
- Marketing. Being able to tout your dating site as being one of the only to offer background checks on registrants is a great selling point.
- Value. A site can actually command higher rates from members if they’re able to offer this kind of security.
- PR. The public relations benefit is tough to quantify, but let’s just say that “no news is good news”. What dating site wants to court the possibility of a media circus if one of their members hurts another in some way?
In the end, we’re all for background checks at online dating locales. What do you think?
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Tags: Background Checks, Benefit, Checks Online, Convenience, criminal records, Dater, Dating Site, marketing, Measure 5, Media Circus, Members, Online Dating Sites, People, Public Relations, Registrants
Posted in Background Checks and Screening, Online Dating | 1 Comment »
Monday, July 19th, 2010
Welcome back to our series on the top excuses why employers aren’t always background screening…
If you missed part one of our series, check it out here!
Below are the final 2 of the top 5 reasons organizations aren’t regularly background screening new employees…
(False) Reason #4: Background Screening Is Difficult
We really hear this a lot. That’s because many businesses think it’s up to them to do the background screening legwork.
While it’s true that they need to do some of the paperwork, we’ve taken the brunt of the tough stuff off their shoulders. That way, they can focus on what they need to do and get their background screening results back fast.
(False) Reason #5: Background Screening Is Only for Big Companies
Oh, boy. This is a huge fallacy that we’d like to put to rest right now.
Background checks are for every company of every size. Period. It doesn’t matter if you’re a teeny tiny business or a large one. Having someone on staff who hasn’t been properly (and thoroughly) background screened is dangerous.
So is there any reason not to background check? We don’t think so. And believe us — we’ve seen it all!
To protect yourself, you need to be careful about who you hire. And background screening should always be part of the equation.
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Tags: background check, Background Checks, background screen, background screening, Brunt, Fallacy, Legwork, Paperwork, Reason, Screening Results, Shoulders, Tough Stuff
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Friday, July 16th, 2010
With all the hubbub these days about protecting our companies, our client, our clients’ information, etc., it’s interesting (and a bit shocking) to realize that many, many organizations don’t background screen new hires.
Below are the top 5 reasons (you could even say “excuses”) that we hear when we ask, “Why don’t you background screen on a regular basis?” We’ve included our two cents, too…
(False) Reason #1: Background Screening Is Expensive
This seems to be a “catch-all” statement that corporations make when they don’t want to do something. “It’s expensive,” they say. Then they go out and spend their monies on wooing a client with a $200 lunch.
Now, there’s no reason not to woo that client; hey, that makes great business sense if a sale seems likely. So why don’t they use that same mentality to apply to background screening? After all, investing in new hires is very much like investing in potential clientele.
(False) Reason #2: Background Screening Will Cause Us to Lose Applicants
Okay, now this could be true… but it’s usually not a problem.
The people who would NOT apply because they know a company performs background checks are often the same individuals who would not pass a background screening. Thus, the fact that they know what’s going to happen encourages them to self-select.
(False) Reason #3: Background Screening Doesn’t Tell Us Everything
Okay… there’s some truth to this. Background screening isn’t 100% infallible. Sometimes, items can slip through the cracks… but it’s not very likely and we try as hard as we can to NEVER allow this to happen. (And we have a terrific track record to back us up on this!)
Besides, is that a reason to not do it at all? It’s like saying that you shouldn’t bother to take a shower every day because you’re just going to get dirty… It might hold a grain of truth, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense.
In part two of our series on 5 Reasons Employers Don’t Background Screen, we’ll tackle the last two statements we often hear…
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Tags: Background Checks, background screen, background screening, Business Sense, Clientele, Company Background, Corporations, Cracks, Grain Of Truth, Hubbub, Infallible, Lot, Lunch, Mentality, Monies, new hires, Reason 2, Reason 3, Terrific Track Record, Two Cents
Posted in Background Checks and Screening, hiring | 1 Comment »
Friday, July 9th, 2010
Do you have a boss (or bosses) who don’t seem to “get” the importance of performing background checks on new hires?
Try these 5 methods to get them on your side!
- You’ll weed out undesirable applicants from the get-go because you can put “must pass a comprehensive background check” in your job advertisement.
- You’ll be able to tell prospective clients that they’ll be working with people who have passed background checks, which will give them a sense of comfort in working with your firm.
- You’ll have less of a chance of becoming a media story, which would happen if an employee committed a crime.
- Your chances of “insider” theft and/or sabotage will be reduced. (And let’s face it — one act of sabotage can equate to thousands and thousands of dollars in damages.)
- You won’t spend much on background checks, as companies like VerifyProtect have made their processes fast and affordable.
VerifyProtect: Fast, Secure, Affordable Background Checks.
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Tags: background check, Background Checks, Boss, Damages, Insider, Job Advertisement, new hires, Prospective Clients, Sabotage, Thousands Of Dollars
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