The Hidden Costs Of Not Conducting Employee Background Checks

Employee Background Checks – 3                                                                                       WC blog 07
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The Hidden Costs Of Not Conducting Employee Background Checks
     Have you ever had to let an employee go after they have been caught stealing, or lying about something they had omitted on an application?  If you have had to let an employee go, have you ever asked yourself afterwards if there was something you should have caught on their application or during the interview process that could have prevented the hire in the first place?  Even an experienced hiring manager can overlook information on an application that might have raised a red flag about an applicant.  Employee Background Checks can be invaluable in making the right hiring decisions.
     There are many reasons businesses have to fill positions, sometimes it is due to growth, which is the best of all reasons.  Positions also open up because employees leave to seek opportunities elsewhere for personal reasons.  Unfortunately, positions frequently open up due to an employee who has been caught stealing, violating company policy or for falsifying an application.  Many times the employees in the last category could have been weeded out with a pre- employment screening.  Thorough employee background checks can include such things as criminal background checks, employment credit checks, motor vehicle records and even sex offender registries.  When a check confirms a problem exists, the hiring process can stop for that applicant and save a lot of problems for an employer down the road.
     One of the commonly overlooked expenses of running a business is the hiring process.  When an employer has to fill a position there is the expense of advertising, whether it is posted online or in a newspaper.  Someone’s time is required to review applications and schedule interviews, using time that might be better spent elsewhere in a business.  Larger companies have Human Resource personnel that may handle most of this, but I can tell you from experience, other store managers assist in the interview process.  Small businesses may have to rely on an office manager or even the owner/operator to handle all of the hiring functions.  If managers are focused on staffing, who is overseeing the operations critical to running the business?  Hiring is always going to take place, but how much hiring could be avoided if a strong pre-employment screening program was being utilized?
     Consider also that the hiring process does not end when the employee is hired and has accepted a position.  The new employee has to be properly trained for the new position they were hired to fill.  What costs are expended by businesses in training and development?  It doesn’t matter whether someone is hired to bag groceries or supervise a shift, that employee must be properly trained.  Failure on the part of an owner or manager to properly train a new employee has its own consequences.  So how much time and effort will be expended training that new employee?  That may depend on the job, the trainee and the quality of the trainer.  The bottom line is that it is still time and money that perhaps could be better spent elsewhere.
     If a company is filling a vacancy because an employee was caught stealing or committing fraud, what is THAT cost?  What did the employee take?  Was it cash, merchandise, or company property that was stolen? Even when the dishonest employee is caught and admits to theft, it can be difficult to be certain ALL theft was accounted for in the termination process.  Can an employer be certain the former employee will pay restitution? Did the employee defraud a customer?  Can that even be quantified in terms of loss of prestige for the business and the negative experience of the customer?  A pre-employment screening might be enough for a business to avoid that nightmare.   
     The process of hiring and staffing a business can be a drain on a business’s resources.  It requires time and money to recruit and train new employees.  If the wrong person is hired it can cost a business a lot more than time and money, it can result in lost merchandise, money and even reputation.  Using pre-employment screening and employee background checks can assist businesses in avoiding hiring pitfalls and protect the investment spent in the hiring process.  
For more information about employee background checks contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Have you ever had to let an employee go after they have been caught stealing, or lying about something they had omitted on an application? If you have had to let an employee go, have you ever asked yourself afterwards if there was something you should have caught on their application or during the interview process that could have prevented the hire in the first place? Even an experienced hiring manager can overlook information on an application that might have raised a red flag about an applicant. Employee Background Checks can be invaluable in making the right hiring decisions.

There are many reasons businesses have to fill positions, sometimes it is due to growth, which is the best of all reasons. Positions also open up because employees leave to seek opportunities elsewhere for personal reasons. Unfortunately, positions frequently open up due to an employee who has been caught stealing, violating company policy or for falsifying an application. Many times the employees in the last category could have been weeded out with a pre- employment screening. Thorough employee background checks can include such things as criminal background checks, employment credit checks, motor vehicle records and even sex offender registries. When a check confirms a problem exists, the hiring process can stop for that applicant and save a lot of problems for an employer down the road.

One of the commonly overlooked expenses of running a business is the hiring process. When an employer has to fill a position there is the expense of advertising, whether it is posted online or in a newspaper. Someone’s time is required to review applications and schedule interviews, using time that might be better spent elsewhere in a business. Larger companies have Human Resource personnel that may handle most of this, but I can tell you from experience, other store managers assist in the interview process. Small businesses may have to rely on an office manager or even the owner/operator to handle all of the hiring functions. If managers are focused on staffing, who is overseeing the operations critical to running the business? Hiring is always going to take place, but how much hiring could be avoided if a strong pre-employment screening program was being utilized?

Consider also that the hiring process does not end when the employee is hired and has accepted a position. The new employee has to be properly trained for the new position they were hired to fill. What costs are expended by businesses in training and development? It doesn’t matter whether someone is hired to bag groceries or supervise a shift, that employee must be properly trained. Failure on the part of an owner or manager to properly train a new employee has its own consequences. So how much time and effort will be expended training that new employee? That may depend on the job, the trainee and the quality of the trainer. The bottom line is that it is still time and money that perhaps could be better spent elsewhere.

If a company is filling a vacancy because an employee was caught stealing or committing fraud, what is THAT cost? What did the employee take? Was it cash, merchandise, or company property that was stolen? Even when the dishonest employee is caught and admits to theft, it can be difficult to be certain ALL theft was accounted for in the termination process. Can an employer be certain the former employee will pay restitution? Did the employee defraud a customer? Can that even be quantified in terms of loss of prestige for the business and the negative experience of the customer? A pre-employment screening might be enough for a business to avoid that nightmare.   

The process of hiring and staffing a business can be a drain on a business’s resources. It requires time and money to recruit and train new employees. If the wrong person is hired it can cost a business a lot more than time and money, it can result in lost merchandise, money and even reputation. Using pre-employment screening and employee background checks can assist businesses in avoiding hiring pitfalls and protect the investment spent in the hiring process.  

For more information about employee background checks contact us or call 1.770.426.0547