- Greater assurance of a hire’s compatibility with the company
- Less legal and financial liability in case of a dishonest applicant
- Higher workforce productivity and ROI
Unfortunately for managers who might not have specialized experience with the procedure, the process of implementing and maintaining an employment background check policy can be a daunting task. Follow these four best practices to ensure an effective execution of a screening program.
Create Standardized Policy
In order to create a robust employment background check strategy, first create an official written set of rules and standards. By doing this, the company creates a clear standardized set of rules for human resources personnel to follow. It also protects the company from any claims of discrimination and can help during regulatory audits.
While creating the policy, the company should alter search criteria to fit the needs of specific job roles. For example, examining a candidate’s credit history might only be applicable for positions with access to the company’s finances. Requiring credit checks for all applicants can be susceptible to discrimination suits.
Use Checks with Expanded Criteria
Managers need to consider several factors regarding the employment background check program to ensure that it is as effective as possible. Factors such as the search time period, location and frequency can greatly affect the results. Based on the search criteria, the examination might have several gaps and loopholes that can miss potential red flags.
Additionally, many managers often opt to use an employment background check for full-time employees only, leaving the company liable to part-time employees with criminal backgrounds. By using searches with expanded criteria such as county, state and federal criminal searches in all jurisdictions where the applicant has lived in or worked, employers can cast a wider neat and as consequentially be more protected.
Don’t Limit the Search
The majority of small business owners only use an employment background check for basic criteria such as criminal and identity checks. By limiting the search, employers are prone to missing critical red flags or information that could otherwise play an important role in the hiring decision. Information such as employment and education history among other things can be verified to gain a better understanding of the candidate’s skills and character. By implementing multiple types of criteria into a single search, the procedure becomes much easier for the candidate to complete and the company to process.
Regularly Update Your Program
According to a recent small business survey, over 50% of respondents don’t regularly assess their screening standards. This indicates a massive source of liability for companies. Industry best practices and government regulations are constantly evolving and employers who do not update their policies to comply with these shifting rules can expose themselves to great legal and financial risks.
The most robust employment background check policies are generally reviewed about once a year. This, in addition to regular monitoring of updates to legislative requirements, can ensure that the company’s policy remains up-to-date.
About HumCap
HumCap is a premier Dallas TX HR and Recruiting company. We provide small to mid-size businesses assistance with various human resources and recruiting needs such as:
- Employment Background Check
- Safety Risk Assessment
- Employee Benefits/PEO Services
- HR Consulting
- Search and Contract Recruiting
Our expert HR professionals can help guide small and mid-size business owners through the employment background check integration and management process. With our years of experience supporting growing businesses, we understand the specific difficulties managers face in implementing such policies and can help them smoothly develop the infrastructure to support the changes.
Contact us today for an immediate consultation!