The Importance of Background Checks for Companies
BY SAMANTHA
ACUNA -
on March 14, 2018
In order to protect the company from various
potential risks, a background check is considered an
imperative pre-employment screening step before making a hiring decision. Most
of the times, companies assume that the applicants are telling the truth on
their resumes. Most of the times, applicants are honest but there are few areas
where they can hide the truth from you. To ensure that your company is hiring
the right person, a background check needs to take place.
What is a Background Check?
It is a comprehensive review of a person or
any other organization’s commercial records, financial records and most
important of all, criminal records. A background check can include education,
employment, credit history, criminal records, license record, etc.
There are various background check services
providers that can get you all the information on your current or future
employees.
Why Your Company Needs
Background Check Services?
Here are some obvious reasons why your company
needs to acquire background check services to ensure sound hiring decisions:
It Highlights Criminal History
One of the main reasons why companies decide
for pre-employment background checks is to flag any previous criminal history
of the applicant. Having knowledge of the applicant’s criminal history, the employer can make a final decision. Sometimes, criminal history suggests minor
charges on the applicant. However, in order to ensure whether an applicant is suitable for hiring or not, a criminal history check needs to take
place.
It Avoids Liability
Let’s suppose that you hire a person for a truck driver position
without running any background check on him. One day, he gets into a major
accident on a busy road due to driving under an influence. The police arrest
the driver and it turns out that he already had three DUIs in the past. Given
the fact that you didn’t run any background check, there are chances that
you’ll be considered liable due to your negligence.
It Ensures Workplace Safety
There are chances that you’ll conduct interviews
of applicants that are dangerous. From sex offenders to violent criminals, you
just cannot take a risk of hiring them. But what if you do not run a background
check and hire a violent criminal or sexual predator? It will compromise your
workplace safety. Every employer knows that workplace safety is one of the top
concerns and if it is compromised then
there are chances that you will be held accountable for it.
Job Competence is Important
For employers, verifying the claims that are
made by job applicants is important. Let it be the educational qualifications
or any other job history, the employer needs a reliable way that can make the
screening process a success. Without background checks, you just cannot be
positive about the hiring decisions you made.
It Ensures That You Have Made a
Right Decision
In the end, it all comes down to peace of
mind. It is obvious that you want your company to thrive and that is why you’ll
choose the best candidates. There is no denying that employment screening
processes are hectic and full of stress. You go through such lengthy processes
because you want the best for your company. If you want to make sure that
you’ve hired the right person then running a background check is as important
as anything else.
The Bottom Line
All things considered, you need to be thorough
in your employment screening process and that is only possible with a
comprehensive background check on each applicant. So, unless you want the
workplace safety to get compromised or go through the stressful employment
screening process again, it is best to run background checks to make smart
decisions. Needless to say, it is the best approach for you
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