Posts Tagged ‘background check’
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
With the start of schools around the country, there has been a subtle flurry of headlines related to parents who are unable to volunteer at their children’s schools. Though it might immediately sound like the moms and dads are being denied access to their kids, it’s more likely that they couldn’t pass a background screening process.
Many schools have begun adopting a policy that only allows adults to volunteer if they can pass a basic background screening. Typically, these types of background screenings check criminal histories (e.g., sex crimes, drug problems) and, if the volunteer position involves handling money, credit histories as well.
If the parents do not pass, the school is left with no choice but to deny them the opportunity to volunteer.
While there are certainly some groups that feel it’s “unfair” to use background screenings in this manner, we believe that it’s a great way to protect children from would-be predators. Without background screening measures in place, the unthinkable can (and, unfortunately, sometimes does) occur. And no school can afford that.
In the end, it’s better for everyone… even if it does ruffle a few feathers along the way.
VerifyProtect: Fast, Secure, Affordable Background Checks.
Join VerifyProtect on Twitter.
Tags: Adults, background check, Background Checks, background screening, Background Screenings, Being Denied Access, Credit Histories, Criminal Histories, Feathers, Headlines, Moms, Money, Opportunity, Parents, Predators, Screening Measures, Sex Crimes, Unthinkable, Volunteer Position
Posted in Schools | No Comments »
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.
VerifyProtect: Fast, Secure, Affordable Background Checks.
Join VerifyProtect on Twitter.
Tags: background check, Background Checks, business owners, Consequences, Equipment Customers, Hr Managers, Human Ingenuity, Job, Jobs, Money, Nefarious Purposes, Philosophy, Supervisor
Posted in Background Checks and Screening | No Comments »
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.
VerifyProtect: Fast, Secure, Affordable Background Checks.
Join VerifyProtect on Twitter.
Tags: background check, Background Checks, background screen, background screening, Brunt, Fallacy, Legwork, Paperwork, Reason, Screening Results, Shoulders, Tough Stuff
Posted in Background Checks and Screening, hiring | No Comments »
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.
Join VerifyProtect on Twitter.
Tags: background check, Background Checks, Boss, Damages, Insider, Job Advertisement, new hires, Prospective Clients, Sabotage, Thousands Of Dollars
Posted in Background Checks and Screening | No Comments »
Monday, July 5th, 2010
Getting something for free is always exciting, isn’t it? But if you’re relying only on free background checks, you’re playing a game of roulette.
Professional, comprehensive background checks that you invest in are worlds apart from those you can find freely online. Though you might be able to uncover some information about potential employees if you surf the Internet for quite some time, you’re not going discover everything you need to know.
Some of the major advantages to paying for background checks include:
- You won’t have to spend copious amounts of time hunting for incriminating info on the Internet. (Trust us — you could spend hours and hours and still not have a solid report. Isn’t your time worth the price of a background check you can trust?)
- You will have a guarantee from a long-time, trusted background checking company like VerifyProtect. And that means a heck of a lot.
- You can customize the information that you need. This gives you freedom, whereas if you do some online searches, you’ll get what you get… and it might not be what you want or require.
- You don’t have to worry that you’ve missed something because it’ll all be available in front of you.
Again, we’re all for saving money wherever possible. But background checking isn’t a place to pinch pennies.
VerifyProtect: Fast, Secure, Affordable Background Checks.
Join VerifyProtect on Twitter.
Tags: background check, background checking, Copious Amounts, Customize, Discover, Free background checks, Free Checks, Freedom, Heck, Hunting, Internet Trust, Invest, Long Time, Lot, Pennies, Playing A Game, Quite Some Time, Roulette, Saving Money, Time Worth
Posted in Free background checks | No Comments »
Friday, July 2nd, 2010
If you’ve ever been set up on a really bad blind date, you know how valuable it would have been to had that date “screened”, at least informally. But how about formally?
There’s a move afoot to encourage online dating services to background check their applicants in order to better serve the customers looking for friendship, love or companionship.
Would background checks actually help? We definitely think so — check out these top three advantages to online dating sites’ comprehensively screening clients:
→ There would be a smaller, but stronger, pool of candidates from which to choose.
→ The online dating company could ask for a premium price.
→ The clients of online dating sites would feel more comfortable with this kind of “cyber dating” knowing that part of the worry has been erased.
This isn’t to say that background checking would be a cure-all for every concern a dater has. But it could produce huge advantages for both the clients and the company.
We’ll keep you posted if/when we learn of an online dating service that’s switched over to background checks!
VerifyProtect: Fast, Secure, Affordable Background Checks.
Join VerifyProtect on Twitter.
Tags: background check, background checking, Background Checks, Blind Date, Companionship, Cyber Dating, Dater, Dating Company, Dating Services, Friendship, Love, Online Dating Service, Online Dating Sites, Pool, Premium Price, Worry
Posted in Background Checks and Screening, Online Dating | No Comments »
Monday, June 28th, 2010
‘Tis the season for kids’ camps galore! And while that’s a very good thing for both the youngsters and their parents, it’s critical for moms, dads and grandparents to make sure that all camp personnel are background checked.
It might surprise many parents and guardians to learn that background checking of camp counselors, coaches, etc., is not standard. In fact, many camps background check no one from the top down. There’s just a cursory interview, possible checking of references, and, voila, the camp employees are given carte blanche to have access to kids.
This isn’t meant to terrify parents or to keep children from ever going to camps, of course. It’s just meant as a serious warning.
Parents need to ask the following questions BEFORE allowing any camp to have access to their sons or daughters:
1. Has your camp staff been background checked? If so, by whom?
2. What is the criteria for camp staff to be accepted by the camp?
3. Do you check sex offender registries before hiring camp staff?
4. How much access do camp staff have to be alone with any one camper?
5. What background checking company do you use?
Again, this makes sense… and it also helps avoid a serious issue. Though some moms and dads might feel awkward with these inquiries, they’ll be happy they asked. And the kids will, too.
VerifyProtect: Fast, Secure, Affordable Background Checks.
Join VerifyProtect on Twitter.
Tags: background check, background checking, Background Checks, Camp Counselors, Camp Staff, Camper, Carte Blanche, Dads, Grandparents, Guardians, Inquiries, Kids Camps, Moms, Parents, Sex Offender Registries, Voila, Youngsters
Posted in Camps and Recreation | No Comments »
Monday, June 21st, 2010
As an employer, you know you should background screen your employees… but what happens when the background check comes back and there’s a bankruptcy on your potential worker’s report?
It’s a conundrum faced by many employers, especially since more and more people and businesses have filed bankruptcy since the market changed dramatically in 2008. (The increase in percentages of bankruptcy filings are quite staggering — up over 30% between 2008 and 2009.)
On one hand, a bankruptcy doesn’t necessarily equate to a person’s character as a worker. Individuals and families may resort to bankruptcy for a number of legitimate reasons, including unexpected medical bills and identity theft. However, this doesn’t mean the potential employer has to take on a risk.
If your possible new hire has a bankruptcy on his or her background screening report and you still want to consider him or her for the position, it’s important to get further information. The more you know the better your final decision will be.
VerifyProtect: Fast, Secure, Affordable Background Checks.
Join VerifyProtect on Twitter.
Tags: background check, Background Checks, background screening, Bankruptcy Filings, Conundrum, Final Decision, Identity Theft, Legitimate Reasons, Percentages, Risk, Screening Report, Unexpected Medical Bills
Posted in Bankruptcy Report | No Comments »
Monday, June 14th, 2010
It happened recently in New London, Wisconsin. A school bus driver was charged with sexually assaulting the kids on his bus. He had slipped through the cracks because he was hired before the company for whom he worked was expected to perform background checks on all drivers.
Yep, he’d been employed for 33 years without a background check. Ouch.
Scary?
You bet.
And it’s something that occurs more frequently than a lot of people would expect.
There are numerous companies that have background checks in place now that didn’t when some of their workers were originally brought on as a part of the team. Thus, even a seemingly secure organization could be hiding a felon or sexual offender.
This is why it’s critical for companies who implement background checking on new hires to continue making this retroactive, if possible.
Will there be a lot of irritation among personnel? Certainly.
But if the workplace is made safer, it’s worth it.
VerifyProtect: Fast, Secure, Affordable Background Checks.
Join VerifyProtect on Twitter.
Tags: 33 Years, background check, background checking, Background Checks, Cracks, Employment Background, Felon, New London Wisconsin, Scary, School Bus Driver, Sexual Offender
Posted in Schools | No Comments »
Friday, May 28th, 2010
“Watching the store”.
It’s a term that applies equally to home and business.
- Boss to employee: “Watch the store. I’m headed out to lunch!”
- Mom to teen: “Hey, bud. Watch the store while I go get some groceries!”
But do you always know exactly who is “watching” your store?
In the cases above, we’re going to assume that the employee was background checked and the teen wouldn’t do anything wrong (lest his mom find out!) However, there are probably plenty of other people who “watch the store” for you…
- Babysitters
- Nannies
- Workers with access to your home/office
- Cleaning personnel
- Interns
- Volunteers
- Neighbors with keys
… and the list goes on…
Is it feasible to background check each of these persons? Generally speaking, yes. After all, doesn’t it make sense for you to know who is “minding the store” while you’re not there? And even if you ARE present (as in the case of a worker who’s in your house to fix the plumbing, install carpeting, etc.), wouldn’t you want to know if he or she had a criminal record?
In an era where it’s easier and more inexpensive than ever to background check a person, there’s really no reason to let someone enter your property without ensuring the safety of your family and coworkers.
VerifyProtect: Fast, Secure, Affordable Background Checks.
Join VerifyProtect on Twitter.
Tags: background check, Background Checks, Boss, Bud, Carpeting, Coworkers, Criminal Record, Groceries, Hey, House Plumbing, Interns, Mom, Nannies, Neighbors, Office Cleaning, People, Volunteers, Watch Store
Posted in Background Checks and Screening, Security Risks | No Comments »
