JM Blog 8 Background checkes
Key words KW – Employee background checks 5
KW- Pre employment Screening 5
Pre Employment Screening; Preventing Losses Before They Happen
I remember a time when an employer could and did, ask tough questions of prospective employees. My first interview when I was 16 was for a pizza cook job and I remember sweating each question, not knowing if my answer was good enough and I certainly was in no position to fabricate anything. Fast forward 20 years and most entry level interview consist of four, totally non thought provoking, non-fact finding, non- informative questions that that everyone can easily prepare for, especially those planning on committing dishonest acts. Pre employment Screening is now an essential task to protect your business.
Employee background checks used to be a precaution only for the highest level of jobs but, in today’s workplace, with the endless hurdles of HR, legal and government concerns any employee, at any level can be a disaster for your bottom line. Pre employment screening isn’t an option, it is a necessity. We wouldn’t dream of conducting business with vendors and suppliers we didn’t have any information on so why gamble with our biggest investment and area of risk?
On the simplest level, hiring without Employee background checks exposes you to the waste. Waste of time, waste of money and waste of resources. it takes to bring on and train a new hire. Pre employment screening can give you vital information to avoid making a bad hire. With the average cost of hiring a retail cashier being at least a few thousand dollars can anyone’s bottom line afford to burn that cash on an associate who doesn’t make it. It’s a big loss when they just quit, whatever the reason, let alone have to be terminated.
I have worked for employers who have “selective” or “Random” Employee background checks. Iin every instance I run into some unpleasant surprises. More than a few times I have had new hires in orientation let slip their run ins with Law enforcement. It’s a short journey from that information to a full investigation and eventual integrity interview and termination. Each time that comes up the lack of Pre employment screening burns the precious resources of HR, LP and management. The cost in time alone, time where we could be growing top line sales or servicing our customers is no different than burning cash.
I have even had the pleasure of interviewing an associate for theft who, when asked about a gap of employment prior to working at my company, casually informed me of his 23-year stint in prison for murder. Here I am, nose to nose with an individual, who I intend to prosecute for theft, and I have to wonder what he could potentially do when he finds out the outcome of our chat. It was not a great situation. A simple Employee background check would have saved my company thousands in losses from theft alone.
Now I accept that there is the potential for risk in my line of work but what about our non-security associates? You may have stock clerks, cashiers, nurses, volunteers, the young, the old and the vulnerable working in your facility. Employing a booster, a professional thief, could cost you hundreds or thousands potentially from theft but how much do you risk if you hired a violent offender?
How much would it cost if they assaulted another associate? An Employee background check is a tool in your arsenal to prevent loss. Why not use it to protect yourself? Hiring will always have an element of risk and the history of an individual is not always a guarantee of future action but Pre employment screening can alert you to the potential risks. Why make decisions with less than all the facts? Gain the knowledge and use that information to make the best hiring decision possible.
Need information on Pre employment Screening? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547.
I remember a time when an employer could and did, ask tough questions of prospective employees. My first interview when I was 16 was for a pizza cook job and I remember sweating each question, not knowing if my answer was good enough and I certainly was in no position to fabricate anything. Fast forward 20 years and most entry level interview consist of four, totally non thought provoking, non-fact finding, non- informative questions that that everyone can easily prepare for, especially those planning on committing dishonest acts. Pre-employment Screening is now an essential task to protect your business.
Employee background checks used to be a precaution only for the highest level of jobs but, in today’s workplace, with the endless hurdles of HR, legal and government concerns any employee, at any level can be a disaster for your bottom line. Pre employment screening isn’t an option, it is a necessity. We wouldn’t dream of conducting business with vendors and suppliers we didn’t have any information on so why gamble with our biggest investment and area of risk?
On the simplest level, hiring without employee background checks exposes you to the waste. Waste of time, waste of money and waste of resources. it takes to bring on and train a new hire. Pre employment screening can give you vital information to avoid making a bad hire. With the average cost of hiring a retail cashier being at least a few thousand dollars can anyone’s bottom line afford to burn that cash on an associate who doesn’t make it. It’s a big loss when they just quit, whatever the reason, let alone have to be terminated.
I have worked for employers who have “selective” or “Random” Employee background checks. In every instance I run into some unpleasant surprises. More than a few times I have had new hires in orientation let slip their run ins with Law enforcement. It’s a short journey from that information to a full investigation and eventual integrity interview and termination. Each time that comes up the lack of Pre employment screening burns the precious resources of HR, LP and management. The cost in time alone, time where we could be growing top line sales or servicing our customers is no different than burning cash.
I have even had the pleasure of interviewing an associate for theft who, when asked about a gap of employment prior to working at my company, casually informed me of his 23-year stint in prison for murder. Here I am, nose to nose with an individual, who I intend to prosecute for theft, and I have to wonder what he could potentially do when he finds out the outcome of our chat. It was not a great situation. A simple employee background check would have saved my company thousands in losses from theft alone.
Now I accept that there is the potential for risk in my line of work but what about our non-security associates? You may have stock clerks, cashiers, nurses, volunteers, the young, the old and the vulnerable working in your facility. Employing a booster, a professional thief, could cost you hundreds or thousands potentially from theft but how much do you risk if you hired a violent offender?
How much would it cost if they assaulted another associate? An Employee background check is a tool in your arsenal to prevent loss. Why not use it to protect yourself? Hiring will always have an element of risk and the history of an individual is not always a guarantee of future action but Pre employment screening can alert you to the potential risks. Why make decisions with less than all the facts? Gain the knowledge and use that information to make the best hiring decision possible.
Need information on Pre employment Screening? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547.
