Employee Background Checks-4 WC Blog 498
Pre-employment screening-4
The Cost Of Not Conducting Employee Background Checks
Are employee background checks really necessary? With tight budgets and an unemployment rate that is hitting new lows, hiring can be difficult especially for small retailers. National retail chains are now starting their entry level employees at $9 and $10 an hour in order to fill cashiering, salesfloor and stocking positions. Some offer a shift differential to employees who work overnight or early morning hours. Those same retailers can also cut prices to the point that it makes it difficult for the mom and pop shops to compete with them and keep customers. In this competitive environment it becomes increasingly difficult for the small and medium shops to not just retain help but hire new workers. On the surface it would seem that pre-employment screening would increase that difficulty. A prospective employee may be swayed to another job by the prospect of higher pay or a quicker start date. What about the cost of conducting those employee background checks? Is it even in the budget? I would like to pose another question to retail owners who are on the fence on this. Can you afford not to conduct checks?
Employee background checks conducted by a company that specializes in them will identify potential applicants with criminal histories or other anomalies in their past. A pre-employment screening can be customized to what the prospective employer wants to be sure is NOT on an applicant’s record. A delivery company may be concerned about a driving record. Someone who is going to be working around heavy equipment probably should not have an arrest record for drug or alcohol related offenses. A quality check will look at where an applicant has indicated they have lived on their application. Why is this important? If a person is moving around a lot they could be running from a criminal past. Maybe they are trying to avoid bill collectors. That carries its own concerns do you want to hire someone with financial problems? There are a number of other items that can be checked and the details can be discussed with the company you hire to do your checks.
At this point you may be thinking that you have an application in hand and you will conduct an interview so you should be able to determine whether a candidate will be okay. If this is your position consider this story from whotv.com, “Fort Dodge Sex Offender Accused of New Charges Against Minors”, October 10, 2017 by Kelly Maricle. According to the report a hospital worker was charged with three counts of sexual abuse 3rd degree (2nd offense) and three counts of sex offender registry violations against minors. http://whotv.com/2017/10/10/fort-dodge-sex-offender-accused-of-new-charges-against-minors/ How did a registered sex offender get a job in a location where he would be in contact with minors? There is no indication whether employee background checks were conducted by the hospital. If there was not a check conducted then it seems there would be negligence on the part of the hospital. If a pre-employment screening WAS conducted then one has to ask just how detailed was the check or how good was the company that completed the check?
In case you aren’t quite convinced you should check out your prospective new hires before you bring them on board, check out this story about a retail employee. In a July 12, 2017 story on wqad.com, “A Des Moines County jury found him guilty in February of theft and burglary for stealing the safe and more than $4700 in cash from the hardware store where he had been working.” The story reported that he was, “sentenced as a habitual criminal because of his previous convictions.” http://wqad.com/2017/07/12/man-gets-15-years-for-stealing-safe-money-from-his-employer/ Again the question I have to ask is did this retailer complete a criminal history check before bringing this man on to their staff?
It may seem to you that you can’t afford to conduct pre-employment screening but you have to evaluate what your cost may be by not clearing applicants before they join your team. Let Loss Prevention Systems Inc. help you stay profitable and safe by checking out your candidates prior to you giving them a job offer.
Employee background checks are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Are employee background checks really necessary? With tight budgets and an unemployment rate that is hitting new lows, hiring can be difficult especially for small retailers. National retail chains are now starting their entry level employees at $9 and $10 an hour in order to fill cashiering, salesfloor and stocking positions. Some offer a shift differential to employees who work overnight or early morning hours. Those same retailers can also cut prices to the point that it makes it difficult for the mom and pop shops to compete with them and keep customers. In this competitive environment it becomes increasingly difficult for the small and medium shops to not just retain help but hire new workers. On the surface it would seem that pre-employment screening would increase that difficulty. A prospective employee may be swayed to another job by the prospect of higher pay or a quicker start date. What about the cost of conducting those employee background checks? Is it even in the budget? I would like to pose another question to retail owners who are on the fence on this. Can you afford not to conduct checks?
Employee background checks conducted by a company that specializes in them will identify potential applicants with criminal histories or other anomalies in their past. A pre-employment screening can be customized to what the prospective employer wants to be sure is NOT on an applicant’s record. A delivery company may be concerned about a driving record. Someone who is going to be working around heavy equipment probably should not have an arrest record for drug or alcohol related offenses. A quality check will look at where an applicant has indicated they have lived on their application. Why is this important? If a person is moving around a lot they could be running from a criminal past. Maybe they are trying to avoid bill collectors. That carries its own concerns do you want to hire someone with financial problems? There are a number of other items that can be checked and the details can be discussed with the company you hire to do your checks.
At this point you may be thinking that you have an application in hand and you will conduct an interview so you should be able to determine whether a candidate will be okay. If this is your position consider this story from whotv.com, “Fort Dodge Sex Offender Accused of New Charges Against Minors”, October 10, 2017 by Kelly Maricle. According to the report a hospital worker was charged with three counts of sexual abuse 3rd degree (2nd offense) and three counts of sex offender registry violations against minors. http://whotv.com/2017/10/10/fort-dodge-sex-offender-accused-of-new-charges-against-minors/ How did a registered sex offender get a job in a location where he would be in contact with minors? There is no indication whether employee background checks were conducted by the hospital. If there was not a check conducted then it seems there would be negligence on the part of the hospital. If a pre-employment screening WAS conducted then one has to ask just how detailed was the check or how good was the company that completed the check?
In case you aren’t quite convinced you should check out your prospective new hires before you bring them on board, check out this story about a retail employee. In a July 12, 2017 story on wqad.com, “A Des Moines County jury found him guilty in February of theft and burglary for stealing the safe and more than $4700 in cash from the hardware store where he had been working.” The story reported that he was, “sentenced as a habitual criminal because of his previous convictions.” http://wqad.com/2017/07/12/man-gets-15-years-for-stealing-safe-money-from-his-employer/ Again the question I have to ask is did this retailer complete a criminal history check before bringing this man on to their staff?
It may seem to you that you can’t afford to conduct pre-employment screening but you have to evaluate what your cost may be by not clearing applicants before they join your team. Let Loss Prevention Systems Inc. help you stay profitable and safe by checking out your candidates prior to you giving them a job offer.
Employee background checks are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
