Why You Should Conduct Employee Background Checks
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Hiring is time-consuming, expensive, and at the end of the day, a risk for your business.
But what if there was a simple solution that could help cut your problems in half?
Much like having an informative job posting, running a background check before you hire can significantly improve the effectiveness of your hiring process.
Here are a few of the most impactful ways that adding a background check to your hiring process will benefit your business.
4 Reasons To Run A Background Check
1. Objectivity
While you want to hire individuals that you genuinely like, a dazzling personality can sometimes cause you to overlook important factors for candidacy and even major red flags.
That’s where a background check comes in to provide the objectivity you need to ensure you’re hiring qualified, trustworthy candidates.
Pre-employment screenings can provide insight into aspects of a candidate’s background that you can’t gather during the interview process.
For instance, pre-employment screenings would not alert you if the candidate is in the National Sex Offender Public Registry or on the FBI’s Most Wanted List.
Surely, this is information you would want to know.
Another way to ensure you’re able to get the most transparent read on a candidate is to have multiple people interview them.
And, to aid you in getting the most valuable information, you should use predetermined interview questions that will help you make the tough calls.
2. Peace of Mind
The hiring process can be a time full of doubt, but it doesn’t have to be.
And for good reason, bringing on new employees is a significant risk if you think about the frequency of employee fraud, theft, and violence in the workplace.
Above all else, screening prospective hires can provide you with some peace of mind.
From preserving a safe work environment to protecting your company’s financial health, background checks are a powerful tool.
For example, running an employment credit report can help you gather information about whether someone has a history of being financially responsible.
In some cases, this can have a significant impact on your business.
If you’re going to rely on them to oversee the cash register, make purchases on your behalf, or manage your bookkeeping, you want to make sure they are not in financial need and have the capability of sound decision-making.
With a criminal background check, you can see if they have any arrests, warrants, or even a history of violent behavior.
When it comes to providing a secure work environment, that responsibility falls on your shoulders.
Screening employees before they’re hired allows you to maintain the safety of your employees and customers.
Background checks are one of the many steps your business can take to help you ensure that your employees work in a safe environment.
3. Reduced Costs
From using your valuable time and potentially other staff members, to adding another individual onto your payroll, the hiring process is costly any way you look at it.
However, screening employees before hiring them can help you avoid one of the most expensive mistakes a business can make, hiring a bad fit.
Whether they quit or have to be let go, high employee turnover rates are something you want to avoid.
And fortunately, a background check is one way you can help lower your business’ turnover rate.
Additionally, when you let job candidates know that there will be a pre-employment screening, it may save you time because unqualified candidates or applicants who have something to hide will likely drop out of the running.
4. Uphold High Workplace Standards
Whether you’re hiring an individual for a full-time, part-time, or even freelance position, you want to make sure that they’re a good fit for your company culture.
If you have policies on workplace conduct (for example, a drug-free staff) that you’re not willing to compromise on, it’s good to know whether an applicant is the type that is likely to violate these policies.
Establishing this early on will be helpful for both you and the candidate to determine whether your office culture is a good fit for them.
When you verify the experience and skills they claim to have, you can ensure that you’re upholding the professional standards of your business.
You can also improve your applicant leads by establishing good employer branding and detailed job postings.
As you can see, using a background check to improve your hiring process can be invaluable to the welfare and success of your business.
After all, employees are the face of your company.
From safety and peace of mind to ensuring that you’ve found the right person for the job (and one you can trust), pre-employment screening is an essential part of the hiring process, regardless of your industry.
