Earlier this year Will Barada invited the members of his leadership forum to contribute articles for this blog that might be of interest to our readers from the HR and recruiting industries. This post, by Ron St. Clair, is the second in that contributed series.
What do you really know about a person that is applying for employment with your company or your client’s company? Would you just Google the name and review whatever information turned up? Would you call the listed references or previous employer? How would you make sure that the applicant is who he/she claims to be and is trustworthy?
Think of that same job applicant in another context. Would you allow that person, who has only completed an employment application and shown you a driver’s license, to have complete access to your home without thoroughly checking the background? Of course not! Well that is just what happens when you do not use a professional background/employment screening company to evaluate your employment candidates as part of your hiring process.
The greater the position responsibility, the greater the need to know that the person applying to work for you has the verifiable skills, knowledge, experience, and reputation as presented. The only way to know whom you are really hiring is by using a professional background/employment screening company to discreetly investigate the potential new hire. You need to consider the relatively low cost of pre-employment background screening as an insurance policy to reduce the risk of hiring a fraudulent candidate.
At the St. Clair Group we have incorporated the use of a professional employment/background screening company into our hiring process. For our entry and mid-level positions, we have our third-party screening company complete a pre-employment background check before allowing the candidate to begin employment. For our senior level positions, we have our third-party screening company complete a custom high profile screening including a detailed report. The use of a third-party employment/background screening company has significantly reduced our risk of a hiring mistake without consuming additional hours for our HR personnel.
In today’s environment where identities are easily stolen, the use of a professional employment/background screening company as part of your hiring process is both prudent and cost effective.