Eyes Wide Open

With over 16 years in business doing background screening, it’s surprising that we still encounter scenarios that surprise us. We have a number of clients that use our background screening services when doing their recruitments internally. Recently, we were conducting a check on behalf of a client and found that the applicant was misleading on her education and reference information. She passed through our client's recruitment stages and was a step away from being offered the job. Many employers stop there and make a job offer based on resume and interview alone. However, when we checked her education, she claimed to have 2 degrees. One she had obtained, the other she had done course work for but did not complete the degree. Close enough doesn’t cut it in this regard and we consider that fraudulent. In addition, when checking her references, it was clear that she didn’t ask the referee's permission to be contacted. One no longer worked at the place she listed and another was so surprised that he would be listed and said very pointedly that he would not provide a reference. As an employer, not only do you want an employee who is qualified to fill your position, you want someone you can trust and performing thorough background screening will verify their honesty, work history and work ethic. Our client was thankful for the revealing information and indicated that this applicant would not be offered a position.

We don’t just consider background screening a check box in a recruitment to say we’ve done it. We consider the results as indicators for a successful placement. If an applicant has a criminal record, find out what the charges are for and if it is something you are comfortable with. If the check comes back "incomplete" it means the applicant did not disclose their record in its entirety or accurately. Their lack of honesty and transparency is just as concerning as what is on their record. If you are hiring for a position that handles money or inventory, performing a credit check will show you if they are able to manage their personal finances and if they are trustworthy with yours. Performing an internet check can also reveal if the applicant has concerning activities or history.

In a tight applicant market, sometimes it is tempting for employers to hire quickly and rashly without doing the due diligence of background screening, because they feel they don’t have many options and the job needs to be filled. As a staffing firm, it would be tempting to fill and bill quickly, however, we know from years of experience and perspective that waiting for the right candidate will save you time, money and hassle of retraining, negative staff moral and other potential pitfalls from hiring without careful process and the confidence and peace of mind of background screening. Even if you have gone through the steps to advertise and interview for your job opening on your own, consider letting us help you with the background screening before you make the job offer. It's better to be sure than have surprises or regrets after the employee has started.