Do You Really Know Who You're Hiring?

It’s critical to know who you’re hiring. Background checks are an invaluable tool to maintain a safe and effective work environment for all companies. Frequently, extensive background checks can allow both the hiring manager and human resources to better know a candidate prior to employment. While many job applicants are entirely truthful in their application and interview process, there are those that are not. When a company uses pre-employment strategies, like background checks, potential employees are held to higher standards of accountability and honesty.

Pre-Employment Screening When Hiring

Pre-employment strategies help all companies when looking to expand their personnel in the following ways:

Verify previous employment history
Verify education background
Get up-to-date criminal records of the applicant
Verify any specific licenses required for a position

Any information collected about an applicant gives human resource personnel the tools needed to make informed decisions when hiring. Verifying employment history contributes to the validity of work experience in the field. This single aspect could save a company valuable time, money, and effort in training purposes for new employees. The combination of employment history and criminal records quickly narrow a pool of applicants to those that best fit the job.

Benefits to the Company When Hiring

Beyond the initial benefits of a background check, lasting benefits remain for the company. Having previous knowledge of any criminal records secures a safe environment for employees, clients, and any other individuals within a company. For example, when running a federal background check, employers have access to the classification and type of a crime. Oftentimes, employers will also be able to verify if an applicant is still in the process of handling an arrest by checking for a conviction. Having access to this information prior to employment will show employers the potential risk of hiring an individual. They then weigh any risk with benefits based on other verification strategies to know if the applicant can safely be hired.

Termination Rates

High termination rates are devastating for employers and human resource teams. High termination rates ultimately lead to more money filtering through recruitment and screening processes, along with potential burnout for the staff that covers the immediate shortage. Utilizing efficient pre-screening strategies and background checks helps employers hire qualified and appropriate candidates for the company.