Pre-employment screening-4 WC blog 419
Background Check Company-3
Be A Trainer And A Mentor To A Young Worker But Use Pre-Employment Screening To Aid In Sound Hiring Decisions
There can be challenges in hiring young people to work for you and some employers are reluctant to even try. They may say that they have no experience or that the young people aren’t mature enough to handle the responsibilities that come with the job, especially in retail. What are some of those challenges? Younger employees may be more prone to use their smart phones while working. They may tend to call out frequently especially when their friends are going to go out somewhere like a Friday night football game or a dance, etc. They may not dress appropriately for an interview. Maybe they don’t conduct themselves well in an interview. What if they decide to steal while working for you or give merchandise to their friends? All of these could be legitimate concerns but I would argue that they could be concerns you can have with older workers too. Rather than avoiding hiring young people, it would be a better option to conduct pre-employment screening to help hire the best candidates.
Pre-employment screening is conducted by a background check company specializing in validating a prospective employee’s application and resume. They may also look at a person’s personal history that is open, public information. For example, a criminal history report can be reviewed or a driving record can be researched. Some credit history information is accessible to certain companies and individuals. Much of this information is useful for determining the compatibility of a candidate for a business. In what way? Well, if an applicant has a checkered credit history it might not be a good idea to hire them for a cashiering position. Someone with too many traffic tickets may be a poor fit for a position that requires someone to drive a company vehicle. A nursing home center may want to do a more in-depth search on sex offender registries to ensure the safety of patients in their care. Hiring someone for a position and then learning about their past due to a safety or security issue puts a business owner at risk for a lawsuit.
Can a background check company make a difference when it comes to hiring young people with little or no work experience? It can still be useful to run a pre-employment screening for these applicants even with the lack of work history. You may still find out about driving history or in some situations a serious criminal history. A juvenile’s criminal record may not be able to be researched due to protections for minors but serious crimes could show up if they are treated as adults. A reputable background check company knows what information they may legally obtain and takes precautions to avoid breaking laws that could violate an individual’s rights.
All of that said I believe that everyone needs an opportunity to get experience and it is in that first job that a store owner or manager can make a huge impact on a young worker. You may not have thought about it but you can be a mentor to someone in their first job. Yes, it may take a little bit more of your time and some extra effort but you have a chance to teach valuable life lessons to someone in their first job. Consider that you can teach that young person that every job serves a purpose and to take pride in it. Whether it is mopping a floor or emptying trash cans the tasks need to be done. Failing to do so and not doing it properly makes the store look bad and customers won’t want to shop there. Even as a Loss Prevention Manager, when I saw our store outside trash can overflow I would empty them rather than let that be the first impression our customers would see. You can teach them how to provide great service to all customers, the nice ones as well as the rude ones. All of these lessons can be carried with them throughout their lives to make them productive workers and good citizens.
Take a chance on hiring a young person (in addition to experienced workers) and be a powerful influence in someone’s life. Use pre-employment screening to help protect your interests in the process of giving a helping hand to a new worker.
For more information about pre-employment screening contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
There can be challenges in hiring young people to work for you and some employers are reluctant to even try. They may say that they have no experience or that the young people aren’t mature enough to handle the responsibilities that come with the job, especially in retail. What are some of those challenges? Younger employees may be more prone to use their smart phones while working. They may tend to call out frequently especially when their friends are going to go out somewhere like a Friday night football game or a dance, etc. They may not dress appropriately for an interview. Maybe they don’t conduct themselves well in an interview. What if they decide to steal while working for you or give merchandise to their friends? All of these could be legitimate concerns but I would argue that they could be concerns you can have with older workers too. Rather than avoiding hiring young people, it would be a better option to conduct pre-employment screening to help hire the best candidates.
Pre-employment screening is conducted by a background check company specializing in validating a prospective employee’s application and resume. They may also look at a person’s personal history that is open, public information. For example, a criminal history report can be reviewed or a driving record can be researched. Some credit history information is accessible to certain companies and individuals. Much of this information is useful for determining the compatibility of a candidate for a business. In what way? Well, if an applicant has a checkered credit history it might not be a good idea to hire them for a cashiering position. Someone with too many traffic tickets may be a poor fit for a position that requires someone to drive a company vehicle. A nursing home center may want to do a more in-depth search on sex offender registries to ensure the safety of patients in their care. Hiring someone for a position and then learning about their past due to a safety or security issue puts a business owner at risk for a lawsuit.
Can a background check company make a difference when it comes to hiring young people with little or no work experience? It can still be useful to run a pre-employment screening for these applicants even with the lack of work history. You may still find out about driving history or in some situations a serious criminal history. A juvenile’s criminal record may not be able to be researched due to protections for minors but serious crimes could show up if they are treated as adults. A reputable background check company knows what information they may legally obtain and takes precautions to avoid breaking laws that could violate an individual’s rights.
All of that said I believe that everyone needs an opportunity to get experience and it is in that first job that a store owner or manager can make a huge impact on a young worker. You may not have thought about it but you can be a mentor to someone in their first job. Yes, it may take a little bit more of your time and some extra effort but you have a chance to teach valuable life lessons to someone in their first job. Consider that you can teach that young person that every job serves a purpose and to take pride in it. Whether it is mopping a floor or emptying trash cans the tasks need to be done. Failing to do so and not doing it properly makes the store look bad and customers won’t want to shop there. Even as a Loss Prevention Manager, when I saw our store outside trash can overflow I would empty them rather than let that be the first impression our customers would see. You can teach them how to provide great service to all customers, the nice ones as well as the rude ones. All of these lessons can be carried with them throughout their lives to make them productive workers and good citizens.
Take a chance on hiring a young person (in addition to experienced workers) and be a powerful influence in someone’s life. Use pre-employment screening to help protect your interests in the process of giving a helping hand to a new worker.
For more information about pre-employment screening contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
