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Monday, October 01, 2007
Tips on Selecting a Screening Service

For most businesses, the driving factors for outsourcing employment screening and background checks are time and the accessibility of data.

 

Despite advances in technology, there is no centralized database of federal, state, and consumer data. background checks require making multiple phone calls, submitting information requests to various agencies, and waiting for responses.

 

The appeal of background check services is convenience and the existence of a practiced approach to accessing data via a network of data purchases, third party information providers, and hiring researchers.

 

The following is a checklist of specifications you should consider when selecting a service:

 

§        How is data collected and updated?

§        Can the vendor collect information directly from the court houses?

§        Does the vendor have a documented quality assurance policy?

§        Is the company insured?

§        Is the vendor certified in states that require a specialized certification and/or a private investigator license?

§        Do their services comply with all applicable federal, state, and local privacy, EEO/discrimination, consumer reporting, data destruction, and other governing laws?

§        Can the vendor provide forms and guidance for obtaining information, notifying applicants, and addressing “adverse action” decisions?

§        Will the vendor provide the individual with access to reports?

§        Will the company follow required procedures for investigating inaccurate information?

§        Can the vendor assist you in developing an effective background screening policy?

Becoming knowledgeable about your potential pre-employment screening vendor is the first step towards protecting your employees and your business.
posted @ Monday, October 01, 2007 11:13 AM | Feedback (1)
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Should You Run Background Checks and Drug Testing on Existing Employees?

Unfortunately, the answer is yes! According to the “2006 ACFE Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud and Abuse,” about 87% of criminals caught had no prior criminal history.

 

An employee’s personal situation and qualifications do not necessarily remain the same throughout the tenure of their employment. Over time, changes in circumstance can make some people vulnerable to criminal behavior or substance abuse. Criminal activity aside, screening employees whose position descriptions have changed or who are in consideration for a promotion can reveal that they no longer have the education, certification, or even skills necessary for the new job.

 

Reducing your organizations vulnerability to fraud, workplace violence, or other potentially damaging scenarios requires a systematic approach to hiring and management that promotes a safe and ethical workplace. The costs for not developing a comprehensive plan are staggering:

 

§        The average fraud scheme in a small business causes $127,500 in losses. The average scheme in a large company costs $97,000.

§        Employee theft costs nearly 1% of total annual sales.

§        Substance abuse saps productivity by up to $640 per employee.

§        The average "bad hire" costs businesses approximately $40,000 in severance pay, training, wasted human resource time, search firm fees, and productivity.

 

The following are a few options to consider when creating a standardized system for your screening process:

 

§        Review company systems, procedures, and policies: Identify areas that leave your organization vulnerable to theft and fraud. Identify a system of checks and balances for financial transactions and inventory/supply distribution.

§        Review and update position descriptions: Identify education, certifications, and skills for the position in question. Identify security requirements, policies, and procedures for the position.

§        Implement random drug testing.

§        Require background checks for promotions and position changes.

§        Conduct annual audits.

§        Set up an anonymous hotline for reporting abuse and employee behavior.

 

Over time, the costs associated with implementing these types of procedures are far less expensive than the recovery costs associated with fraud, theft, and poor employee placement.
posted @ Tuesday, September 25, 2007 10:11 AM | Feedback (0)
Monday, September 24, 2007
Effective Reference Checking: Getting Past Name, Rank, and Serial Number

With a whopping 30% of job seekers falsifying information on their applications, reference checks are critical to making a sound hiring decision.  Reference checks are a valuable tool, not only for verifying information on an application, but also for gaining a knowledgeable perspective of the candidate’s character, qualifications, and work ethic.

 

However, obtaining information from pervious employers beyond objective information verification has become difficult, not to say almost impossible in today’s litigious environment. On one side of the issue, employers are gathering information necessary for protection against negligent hiring suits, while on the other side employers are restricting responses as protection against defamation suits.

 

Despite the fact that most states’ laws protect employer comments made during a reference check as “qualifiedly privileged,” and therefore cannot be held liable “unless he or she knowing and recklessly makes false statements,” organizations still fear law suits due to the burden and costs associated in defending a case.

 

To add to the complexity of the issue, a new scenario is surfacing for possible law suits pertaining to getting and giving reference checks. In a sexual assault case, a California court found a former employer liable for harm that their past employee caused while working for a new organization. In this case, the intial employer withheld the reasons for which the employee was terminated, effectively misleading the new employer into believing the candidate was a good fit for the job. The court found that once the former employer agreed to provide a reference, they were obligated to provide a complete and accurate reference, especially when keeping in mind the safety of others.

 

Ultimately, truthful references will protect both parties. However, until these conflicting legal issues are clarified, hiring managers must still complete all reasonable steps necessary to perform a thorough background check.

 

Getting the type of reference checks that will assist in your hiring decision requires that you create a standardized process that will work toward protecting both you and the candidate’s references. The following are some guidelines for creating an effective reference check process:

 

•    Create a standard set of questions for reference checks based on the position you are filling. Include only job related questions that discuss performance, skills, etc., and be sure to include questions that verify employment dates, job title, position description, pay, professional certifications, education and degrees, as well as the applicant’s reason for resigning a former position. Keep in mind that reference checks must also adhere to the laws and regulations your state mandates for interviews.

•    Get written consent to contact previous employers and references, and to ask job related questions. Ensuring consent includes a background check waiver protecting you and the candidate’s references from lawsuits.

•    If appropriate, verify with the candidate that previous employers and personal references are aware you will be contacting them.

•    Provide a copy of the waiver to references being contacted.

 

While you may still meet resistance while conducting reference checks, having a well thought out and standardized process will assist you in obtaining useful and pertinent information regarding your applicants.

posted @ Monday, September 24, 2007 11:11 AM | Feedback (0)
Monday, August 27, 2007
Determining Multiple Jurisdictions for a Criminal Background Check

In today’s employment world, anyone in charge of making hiring decisions for a business understands the importance of conducting a criminal background check.  Just like calling references and conducting a personal interview with the applicant, a criminal background check is an essential step in the pre-employment screening process.  Using the proper criminal background check allows you to make an informed and confident hiring decision.  Unfortunately, most hiring managers do not fully understand how to conduct a proper criminal background check.

A criminal record is created whenever an individual is charged with a crime.  In order to find out what crimes an applicant has committed, you need to do a criminal background check.  To conduct a criminal background check, it is highly recommended that you utilize the services of a professional background check company.   Using a criminal background check company will give you access to the company’s criminal background check search engine, which is typically either a web-based program or other software system.  To commence the criminal background check you simply enter such information as the individual’s name, address and social security number.  The criminal background check will then search numerous criminal record related databases.  After a complete database search is complete, the criminal background check will let the user know if any criminal history is found.  Having this information about a potential employee allows the hiring company to make a well-informed and less-subjective evaluation of the potential hire.

Seems simple enough, right?  However, there is one more essential step you must understand in order to conduct a successful and useful criminal background check.  Since the United States’ judicial system is comprised of numerous jurisdictions, such as the federal and state governments, there are multiple places where information pertaining to criminal records may be held.  Since each state has their own unique criminal codes, each state also has their own criminal record system.  Further, each state is divided into various judicial districts, which may also have their own criminal record database.  Thus, when conducting a criminal background check, it is necessary you check all of databases maintained by all of the relevant jurisdictions.

In order to conduct a multiple jurisdiction criminal background check, you must first determine which jurisdictions are relevant.  Although you could perform a criminal background check of all jurisdictions, this can become costly and time consuming.  To get the information you want, you must narrow down the jurisdictions and then perform a multiple jurisdiction criminal background check.  First, on the criminal background check system, be sure to check both the federal criminal background check and the criminal background check for the state your business is located and the applicant resides in.  Then, review the applicant’s resume and application to see where else they worked or attended school.  If these places are located in different states, be sure to select these jurisdictions to search also.  Finally, you can also use a social security verification to determine other places of domicile not listed on the applicant’s documentation.  By taking the time to conduct a multiple jurisdiction criminal background check, you will be able to make the right hiring decision.

posted @ Monday, August 27, 2007 11:45 AM | Feedback (0)
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Employment Screening: Performing a Professional Reference Check Before Hiring

All job applications have a section for the applicant to list their professional references.  As an employer, you take the time to carefully review the list of professional references and even call each person individually to ask about the individual applicant.  Everything seems all right so you should go ahead and hire the applicant based on these references, right?  Wrong.  In all too many cases, job applicants simply list professional references who are not qualified to provide the employer with a reference for the applicant.  Usually they do this because they think there is no way for the employer to know otherwise.  Luckily, this is not true.  By performing a professional reference check on an applicant, an employer can ensure that the listed references are actually who they say they are and that they are qualified to act as a professional reference.

 

A professional reference check allows you to confidently hire the right employee.  A professional reference check should be conducted for each applicant who you are considering hiring.  The professional reference is easily performed using a professional reference check system.  To use a professional reference check system, you typically will go through a professional reference check company.  For a small fee, the professional reference check company gives you access to their professional reference check searches.  Most often a professional reference check search is conducted via an online search engine. 

 

To perform a professional reference check you simply log onto the professional reference check system and enter specific data on the individual being checked.  For example, to verify a specific reference, you would enter the name, address, job title, and any other information you have for a listed reference.  Once this information is entered in full, the professional reference check will survey numerous databases in order to confirm the professional reference’s information.  By surveying government and business databases, the professional reference check system will be able to tell you such things as whether the professional reference is who they say they are, what type of work they have done in the past, and information pertaining to any criminal records or credit problems.  Using the information gathered by the professional reference check, you can make an informed decision as to whether or not the listed professional reference is qualified to act as a reference for the applicant and whether or not the applicant is qualified for the job.

 

Performing a professional reference check before hiring an employee is an efficient, effective, low-cost method of ensuring you hire a qualified and trustworthy employee.  It is an unfortunate reality of today’s world that individuals will simply not be honest when applying for a job.  In the past, many unqualified individuals have been hired because they could get away with being dishonest on their applications.  Thankfully, due to advances in technology, this is no longer the case.  Using such hiring tools as a professional reference check now gives the hiring employer a way to ensure that all applicants are honest and that only the most qualified are hired.
posted @ Thursday, August 23, 2007 12:33 PM | Feedback (0)
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Criminal History Check: An Essential Step in Screening the Right Employee

How do you know the person you just hired does not have a long criminal history of theft charges?  Are you positive the person you just hired is trustworthy?  Are you sure the person you hired will not be a danger to other employees and to the workplace in general?  Will the new employee leave you vulnerable to liability for negligent hiring?  “Of course not,” you think.  “Their application says they do not have a criminal history.”  Sure, that is what they said, but how do you know the applicant is telling the truth about their criminal history?  Unfortunately, you don’t.  The only way you can know the truth about a potential hire is if you conduct a criminal history check.

 

A criminal history check is an essential step in hiring the right employee.  It is an unfortunate reality of doing business that some people just are not honest.  If someone has a criminal history, what is to stop him or her from lying about it on a job application?  Nothing, that is unless you take the time to conduct a criminal history check prior to hiring the employee.  A criminal history check is a simple and convenient method you can use to ensure you hire the right employee.  You can conduct a criminal history check by going through a professional criminal history check company.  A professional criminal history check company will allow you to search numerous criminal record databases, such as those maintained by various states, municipalities, the federal government, and even private corporations.  By simply entering such information as the applicant’s name, address, date of birth and social security number, the criminal history check will survey all of these databases, pulling out any information pertaining to the applicant.  From the information gathered by the criminal history check, you can know whether or not the applicant is being honest about the criminal history and, depending on the criminal history check results, whether or not the applicant is a good match for you employment needs.       

 

There are numerous advantages to using a criminal history check, all of which add up to hiring the right employee.  For instance, without doing a criminal history check of an employee prior to hiring them, you could hire someone with a criminal record of stealing.  Without this knowledge, you would be placing a criminal in charge of your company’s finances.  Likewise, conducting a criminal history check prior to making a hire may limit your vulnerability to being held liable for any harm the employee causes.  If you fail to do a criminal history check of an employee and, later, after that employee has harmed other employees, it is discovered the employee has a history of causing harm to others, you may be held liable for the damages caused by the employee under the theory of negligent hiring.  However, if you had taken the time to conduct a simple criminal history check before hiring the individual, this situation would have never occurred.  Clearly, it makes good business sense to make using a criminal history check part of your employee hiring routine. 

posted @ Tuesday, August 21, 2007 2:55 AM | Feedback (0)
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Employment Screening and Workplace Safety

One of the best ways to ensure a safe work environment for you employees is to hire only qualified employees.  One of the leading causes of employee injuries caused by other employees is when an employer hires an employee that they do not truly know.  The only way to truly know an employee is to conduct a full background check prior to hiring them.  An essential part of any pre-employment background check is the criminal background check. 

 

A criminal background check is a simple and convenient tool to use to ensure you hire safe and trustworthy employees.  Although most job applications require an applicant to list their criminal background, often times the applicant is not completely honest.  Without a criminal background check, there is nothing to prevent an applicant from fabricating their criminal history.  A criminal background check will not only check to see if an applicant is being honest about their criminal history, it will let you make hiring decisions that will increase your company’s workplace safety.  Without conducting a criminal background check, you risk hiring an employee with a history of assault and other physical crimes.  Such a criminal background is indicative of the personality of the applicant.  If they have a history of violent behavior and harming others, chances are this same behavior will be exhibited as an employee, which could put you and your other employees at risk.  More so, if an employee is injured by the intentional acts of another employee and you failed to perform a proper criminal background check before hiring them, you may be held liable for negligent hiring.

 

The best way to conduct a criminal background check is to utilize the services of a professional criminal background check company.  Using the services of a criminal background check company will give you access to a criminal background check system capable of searching numerous criminal record-related databases.  Most criminal background check systems are now online.  To begin the criminal background check, you simply enter such information as the applicant’s name, address, date of birth and social security number.  Once this information is entered, the criminal background check will survey the criminal record information maintained by various states, cities, federal government and private businesses.  When surveying the databases, the criminal record check looks for any matches between the entered information and the information contained in the databases.  After the search is complete, the criminal background check will provide you with a report listing any criminal record matches made to the applicant’s entered information.

 

With the detailed information provided to you from the criminal background check, you will be able to make an informed hiring decision.  For instance, you will be able to confirm whether or not the applicant is being honest on their application.  If the applicant is dishonest about their criminal history, chances are they will not be the best fit for you business needs.  Further, the criminal background check will allow you to evaluate the applicant as to whether or not hiring them will have an effect on the overall safety of your business.
posted @ Sunday, August 12, 2007 3:03 AM | Feedback (0)
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