A background check study by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) revealed that over 50% of applications contain inaccuracies about things such as educational background and previous employment. Many businesses are uninformed and make the mistake of not conducting a pre-employment background check on their applicants. Here are 5 reasons a pre-employment background check is needed on all potential employees.
1. You want to know your applicant inside and out: Applicants are going to say whatever they need to land the job that they want. Applicants may exclude certain jobs or other vital information in their resume, hoping the employer will never find out.
2. It keeps you, your business, and your customers safe: It’s not uncommon to come across a dangerous applicant during pre-employment screening. These applicants can range from violent criminals to sex offenders, which you cannot risk hiring. But, what if you never ran a background check? How will you really know who this person is? What if you end up hiring a sexual predator, who assaults a staff member or customer? As a business owner, you could be held liable for any incident that happens in the workplace. By simply running a background check you can ensure the protection and safety of your employees, customers and reputation.
3. Verify education and certifications: According to SHRM, 34% of all application forms contain outright lies about experience, education, and ability to perform essential functions on the job. When reviewing an applicant, you should be verifying more than just employment history. A thorough background check will confirm any degrees or professional certifications the applicant may claim to have. Many times, revealing this information can be about confirming honesty and integrity, but other times (when certain degrees or certifications are legally required for a person to do the job) it can be about the law.
4. Peace of mind: You must be able to trust all employees that will be working for your business. A background check will help to alleviate any worries or concerns you may have. Through a background check, you can verify every detail about a potential employee. Running a background check will give you peace of mind so you can spend more time focusing on operations.
5. Make sure you made the right choice: We know that employment screening is a long, stressful, and expensive process. From reviewing countless applications to interviewing candidates, the process takes a lot of time and effort. This can affect the productivity of your business. You want to be as thorough as possible in the initial screening process and make sure to do everything right the first time. It is not possible to be confident in your screening without a professional background check. Running background checks on all candidates ensures you are making the right decision.
According to a survey by Society Human Resource Management, 69% of companies run background checks on all their potential employees. Running background checks are imperative to running a successful, legitimate business. While background checks alone will not guarantee the success of your business, they will guarantee that you are employing top talent you can trust.