If you’re a business owner, large or small, chances are, you’ve had some experience with hiring the wrong person. Bad hires are frustrating, expensive, and potentially risky; recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and training the wrong person takes a heavy toll on company morale as well as the bottom line.
Pre-employment background screenings can help you avoid many costly hiring mistakes. Details about an applicant’s background may serve to eliminate many individuals from consideration. With the help of a thorough background screening, you can focus your hiring efforts on finding a candidate who is a good fit for your organization.
How do background screenings assist with the hiring process?
Pre-employment background screenings are invaluable to the hiring process in two significant ways:
Sifting Out False Information
Trusting all the information an applicant lists on their job application is never a good idea. Some estimates indicate that upwards of 60% of resumes contain false, misleading, or erroneous information. One of the primary functions of background screenings is to verify personal details such as identity, education, professional credentials, and work history so you can be certain that the applicant is who they say they are and that they do indeed have the professional training and experience they claim. Foreign education and experience is no barrier to a good background check; if your applicant has lived or worked in other countries,international pre-employment background screenings can sass out false resume information regardless of location.
Uncover Criminal History
It’s sadly not unusual for employment candidates to have a criminal history. As an employer, it’s your responsibility to mitigate risk, and being aware of past criminal behavior is an important component of effective risk management. That said, it’s important to have clear policies that delineate which positions require clean criminal background checks and why. For example, applicants for positions that come into direct, unsupervised contact with cash and other moveable assets require a criminal background free from fraud or theft, while candidates for positions that involve extensive interaction with vulnerable populations such as children or the elderly must have no history of abuse, sexual or otherwise. Once your policy is in place, background screeners use their considerable expertise to uncover any past criminal activity at home or abroad so you can make safe and savvy hiring decisions.
Protect Your Business
Pre-employment background checks narrow your applicant pool by sifting out unqualified individuals, either because of elements on their resume or their criminal background. With these candidates out of the running, you can focus your hiring efforts on finding great talent that will help you take your business to the next level.
