Written by GN Feature Story
Taking all the recent technological advancements into account, pre-employment background checks have become an essential tool for human resources departments. Did you know that around forty percent of all background checks will detect at least one discrepancy in job applicants’ resumes? A lot of people will not hesitate to cover up their prior criminal activities when applying to their dream job and the only thing that human resources employees can do is rely on free background checks.
What are the main advantages of background checks?
Comprehensive employment background checks have a wide range of benefits such as reducing workplace violence, increasing applicant quality, reducing the loss of employees due to dishonesty, hiring the right candidate, and avoiding company losses and negative publicity. Furthermore, pre-employment free background checks that are available online help companies reach long-term success. That, in turn, leads to a profit increase for for-profit organizations and greater reach for non-profit ones.
Background checks increase job application quality
Checking the background of potential employees will eventually lead to an increase in high-quality job applications. A lot of companies have reported that they noticed immediate improvements in job applications once they started conducting regular background checks. Complete pre-employment background screening leads to:
- Fewer discrepancies and misstatements in job applications.
- People who are trying to hide serious issues are discouraged from applying.
- More people who are looking for a safe work environment are encouraged to apply.
- The quality of the applicant pool sees a substantial improvement and companies get to hire better candidates.
Background checks can reduce workplace violence
A study conducted by the US Department of Justice indicates that over 1.7 million workdays are lost yearly due to workplace violence. This translates to lost wages of more than $50 million each year, without taking into consideration other costs involved such as legal expenses, loss of productivity, public image issues, etc.
All employers are morally and legally bound to provide their employees with a safe work environment. As such, it is imperative to be able to know beforehand whether a potential employee has a criminal record and has been involved in serious problems such as reckless behavior, substance abuse, theft, violent behavior, or dishonesty. Knowing these details about future employees, allow companies to determine whether or not these employees will prove to be an asset or a liability.
Background checks protect companies from negligent hiring and retention liability
Employers can be held responsible for knowing or not knowing certain details about their employees through lawsuits of negligent hiring and retention liability. In other words, companies can be held accountable when their employees are guilty of certain types of public misconduct. Because they have a legal and moral obligation to guarantee a safe work environment for all employees, companies are also obligated to know whether a job applicant is or has been involved in dishonest or criminal activities. As such, the best tool that helps employers ensure that a potential employee is worth hiring are background checks.
Background check tools that are available online allow companies to check their future employees’ education, license, criminal record, and prior employment. These valuable research tools can provide documentation and can reveal potential problems and discrepancies in an individual’s application. Having access to this type of information will protect companies from future liability lawsuits.
Important! If the job that your future employee is applying for involves the following activities, it is your moral and legal duty to be extra-careful throughout the background screening process:
- Working with hazardous or toxic materials;
- Working with children, elderly people, or the infirm;
- Being responsible for other people’s safety and well-being;
- Accessing other people’s residences or living quarters;
- Accessing other people’s medical, financial, or personal information
Background checks can reduce the losses linked to employee dishonesty
Each company loses, on average, more than 5% of yearly revenues in consequence of occupational fraud and employee dishonesty. Furthermore, one in five fraud cases lead to losses greater than $1 million and smaller companies are more often than not the ones who suffer the most due to occupational fraud. Employee dishonesty and theft has a negative impact on a company’s productivity, reputation, employee morale, and public confidence. Background checks are an extremely effective way to prevent employee dishonesty. By learning about a future employee’s past issues related to drug abuse, violence, theft, etc. employers have the opportunity to avoid future liability.
Background checks help companies hire people who are perfect for the job
Pre-employment background screening helps companies hire employees who will stay with the company longer. Hiring someone who is perfect for the job is extremely important and beneficial in the long run. The information provided by high-quality background checks allows employers to assemble a competent team and to reduce the chances of hiring problematic people. It is important to mention that bad hires can be extremely expensive. According to a recent study, replacing a bad hire can cost a company up to 5 times the employee’s monthly salary.
In conclusion, it is safe to say that pre-employment background checks are essential for all organizations, as they help employers hire suitable applicants, reduce losses linked to fraud and dishonesty, increase employee quality, create a safe work environment, and avoid negligent hiring lawsuits.
