Posts Tagged ‘new hires’
Friday, August 13th, 2010
Granted — there is no way to make any workplace 100% safe; however, by implementing criminal background checks on all potential new hires, companies can hedge their bets in a very valuable way.
Having someone with a criminal record on staff can be quite hazardous to your organization’s reputation in a number of ways:
1. The person may have criminal tendencies that he/she could pursue under your employ.
2. If word gets around the office that you hired someone with a criminal past, you could lose the corporate culture you’ve striven to build. You could even lose solid employees who are concerned about their new co-worker.
3. If word gets out to your clients or vendors, you might find yourself in a bad place. People just naturally hesitate to deal with those who have spent time in prison or been in trouble with the law.
Certainly, some states — notably Illinois and Massachusetts — are now trying to make it illegal for private and public businesses to conduct criminal background checks on applicants. In our estimation, while that may seem “fair” to the employee, it isn’t in the best interest of the employer. After all, that employer should be able to make decisions based on all the facts.
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Tags: Bad People, Best Interest, Bets, Co Worker, corporate culture, Criminal Background Checks, Criminal Checks, Criminal Record, Criminal Tendencies, Decisions, Estimation, Find People, Massachusetts, new hires, Organization, Public Businesses, Reputation, Trouble With The Law
Posted in Criminal Checks | No Comments »
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
Posted in Background Checks and Screening | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
If you’re an employer who conducts background checks on all new personnel, congratulations! You’ve taken the first step to ensuring that you’re hiring decent individuals. But don’t rely on background checks alone. A comprehensive hiring strategy must be a part of any company’s plan for success.
What else should you include in your interviewing process in addition to background checks?
- Always check references. You can do this yourself or hire a third party provider to do it for you.
- Always check past employers. Again, this is something that can be handled in or out of house.
- Establish protocols for interviews. This will set a tone for how all your new hires are interviewed.
- Train any interviewers. Don’t assume that a good employee will be a good interviewer. Get him or her training.
- Don’t allow anyone to hire on “gut instincts”. Sometimes, your gut can be wrong… and that can cost you money, time and, unfortunately, your reputation.
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Tags: background check, Background Checks, check past employers, Good Interviewer, Gut Instincts, Interviewers, Money Time, new hires, Party Provider, Reputation, Success, Third Party
Posted in hiring | No Comments »
Friday, February 19th, 2010
As important as it is to have a procedure for background checking all potential new hires, it’s equally as important to have expectations for how the data is handled. This is especially true in the day and age of the Internet.
Consider this scenario:
If a terrible (or even shocking) background check comes back on a potential job candidate, it might be tempting for your employees to talk about those findings on any of the popular social networking sites. (And yes, this does happen - people have been fired for what they say on Facebook, and that fact can’t be taken lightly by employers.)
This means you have to find a good way to deal with the background check results you receive. Not only should they be treated with the highest degree of confidentiality, but anyone handling them should be aware that it’s unacceptable to talk about the findings with anyone who doesn’t need to know.
Though it may seem to be “common sense” that your workers would understand their responsibility in this arena, you can’t take too many precautions.
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Tags: background check, background checking, Background Checks, Blab, Common Sense, Confidentiality, Facebook, job candidate, new hires, Popular Sites, Social Networking Sites
Posted in Background Checks and Screening | No Comments »
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
Even though businesses of all sizes know that they should ideally be checking the backgrounds of every person they hire, many very small companies are still wavering in their commitment to do so.Why aren’t these smaller organizations protecting themselves by conducting background checks on new hires? Though their reasons vary, here are a few of the most common excuses:
- They think that background screening is too costly. Though it’s actually quite economically-priced (check out the affordable options at our site!), business owners are worried that background checks will somehow negatively affect their bottom lines.
- They haven’t hired before and don’t know how to work with a background screening company. For these business owners, not conducting background checks happens because they simply are not aware of their options.
- They don’t hire very often. If there isn’t a hiring process at the company, background screening of applicants won’t be part of the culture.
- They feel they can hire based on “gut instincts”. As any entrepreneur who has been burned by a bad employee can attest, the “guts” can be wrong.
If you’re the founder or president of a very small company, don’t allow any of the above excuses to keep you from performing background checks on any person who will be on your payroll. In the end, it’s the smart thing to do.
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Tags: background checking, Background Checks, background screening, Backgrounds, Bottom Lines, business owners, Company Background, Entrepreneur, Gut Instincts, Guts, hiring process, new hires, Payroll, Screening Company, Small Businesses
Posted in Background Checks and Screening, Small Businesses, hiring | No Comments »
Friday, December 4th, 2009
Employers are increasingly conducting credit checks on potential new hires, but not all of them understand how to interpret the data. After all, a credit check report doesn’t equate to simply receiving a credit score; in fact, it’s much more comprehensive… and that can make evaluating it complicated.
So what does it mean if a potential employee’s background check comes back clean but his/her credit check comes back with “black marks” (figuratively speaking, of course)?
Here, we’ll look at a quick way to determine how the credit check data potentially affects your decision:
1. Typically, if a person is to have any financial responsibility, you want someone with a squeaky-clean credit check report. If he/she cannot handle his/her own finances, do you want him/her to handle your company’s?
2. If you see that a person owes a great deal of money and will be in a position where he/she can have easy access to your business’s cash, you might want to think twice about making a job offer. Many cases of embezzlement occur because the embezzler is deeply in dept.
3. If you notice that the individual consistently makes numerous late payments (or skips payments), it could be a sign that he/she isn’t dependable. While it’s not necessarily a total deal-breaker (especially if the late payments were five years ago), you do have to ask yourself if he/she will be late with other items, such as projects and assignments.
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Tags: background check, Background Checks, Bad Credit, Black Marks, Blog, Business 39 S, Credit Check, credit checks, credit report, Credit Score, Deal Breaker, Decision 1, Easy Access, Embezzlement, Embezzler, Financial Responsibility, Job Offer, Late Payments, Money, new hires, Report Doesn
Posted in credit report | No Comments »
Friday, November 27th, 2009
In today’s über-competitive employment market, it’s becoming increasingly tempting for job seekers to “fib” on their resumes and during interviews. Though such lying has always occurred, it’s definitely on the increase as individuals who have been without placement for long periods of time become desperate.
In that kind of environment, you as a business owner or manager can’t afford to ask if you should background screen all potential new-hires; instead, you have to ask how much screening is necessary for each position.
For instance, if you are planning to hire someone for a role within your company that doesn’t involve dealing with money, you’ll want to get different background checks than you will for your VP of Finance. If you’re not sure which background checks are right for you, take this quick Q&A to find out.
The economic uncertainty of today has changed the playing field. Protect your assets with background screening.
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Tags: Amp, Assets, Background Checks, background screening, Blog, business owner, Economic Uncertainty, Employment Market, Environment, Finance, job seekers, Long Periods Of Time, Money, new hires, resumes, Vp
Posted in Background Checks and Screening | No Comments »
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
As an employer or manager, have you ever had the experience of sitting in an interview that’s going really well and thinking, “Wow! I really like this person and want him/her on my team. In fact, I think I’ll forgo the background screening and just go with my gut”?
Before you go forward with your instincts, take a step back and think through your decision carefully. What do you really know about your potential hiree?
You see, almost any person can seem likable or amazing in a job interview or two. It’s not that difficult. However, being jovial and smart and being dependable and conscientious are two very different things. A person who comes across as a great team player may actually have a sordid past that you can’t learn about without a background screening.
Remember that it’s fine to go with your gut and proceed with the hiring process. But wait for the results of your background screening to come back “clean” before extending any offers of employment. One day, you just might avoid disaster.
Tags: background screening, hiring process, interview, job interview, new employees, new hires
Posted in Background Checks and Screening | No Comments »
