Hire faster and smarter using a background check company for employment screening

If you are considering the use of a background check company for pre employment screening you are probably aware that there are powerful benefits in doing so.

Hiring managers and HR departments spend many hours weeding through the mountains of resumes and applications received for each open position. This process takes time that can cause other tasks to lag behind and good candidates to slip by to the competition in the meanwhile.

The latest technology in employment screening offered by any leading edge background check company allows you to enter some basic info on line at your convenience and submit for very fast results.  Getting theses results emailed to your inbox means you do not have to wait for your provider to get around to your file for processing and you can read them on your timetable.

Having your background check company perform pre employment screening before you get too far along in your hiring process will weed out some candidates cutting down on the face to face time spent with someone you may like personally in one brief meeting only to discover serious disqualifiers in the employment screening results later… and then it is back to the drawing board.

It is easier than ever to know who you are hiring and that what you think you see is what you are actually getting.  We would all like to trust our gut with candidates but the smart thing to do to protect your business and employees is contract your employment screening to a background check company. There are countless stories of ” I trusted…”

To learn about your employment screening options, visit: background check company or call 1-770-426-0547

Employment Screening and the Keys to Your House

Would you go up to a random stranger and hand over the keys to your house, telling him that you are going to be out of town for a while and would he please keep an eye on things?  Probably not, but if you hire new employees without an adequate employment screening program in place, that is essentially what you are doing with your business.

You want to have some degree of trust in the person you hire to perform any function in your business from the lowest to the highest.  Think about the assets you have in your business:  Merchandise, supplies, cash, electronics, vehicles, customer lists and proprietary information, for a start.  There’s also your reputation and the good will of your customers.  Each time you bring in a new employee, you potentially put some portion of your business at risk.

The thought of that is frightening enough, but to bring in a new person without checking on his past performance or character is really scary.  A background check as part of your employment screening program is designed to mitigate your risk.  A background check will not prevent a person from becoming a thief or an opportunist; but it will help prevent you from hiring one.  Most employers feel that it’s better to know all they can about their future employees than to blindly turn over their assets to an unknown entity.

Trust is developed over time, but starting out with an employee who is honest and trustworthy certainly will take some of the uncertainty out of the road to trust.

As a manager or business owner, you have enough on your mind without worrying if your own employees are going to undermine your business through theft or carelessness.  Just as you wouldn’t turn over the keys to your house to just anyone, always start with the best possible employee you can hire by checking the past through employment screening.

We are ready to help with your employment screening questions.  Call 770-426-0547 or click here.

Pre Employment Screening as a Deterrent

How much time could an employer save if undesirable or unqualified applicants just didn’t apply for open positions in the first place?

Letting all applicants know – up front – that your company conducts a pre employment background check on everyone as part of the applicant screening process is often enough to discourage potential applicants who have something to hide from applying.  Let them know that you do check relevant claims on the resume, such as previous employers, education and address verifications, as well as the information contained on the application, and that you do conduct these checks early in the hiring process.  If an applicant seeking a position with your company is aware that he will be facing scrutiny through a comprehensive background check, he may either decide to not pursue the position at all or to be more open and honest when describing his past and abilities, allowing a decision to reached more expeditiously.

The earlier in the process an applicant reveals any potentially adverse information, the more likely the potential employer will be to consider the relativity of the information to the position offered.  The attitude of the applicant is often, “If I can just talk to the hiring manager, I can explain this issue”, but this approach will usually not work if information has been withheld, falsified or embellished by the applicant.  However, if the applicant is honest up front, the chances are greater that the message will be heard.

The bottom line is that the sooner an under qualified candidate removes himself from the pool of potential hires, the more time that can be spent qualifying candidates who are   would truly be good fits for the open positions.  Similarly, the sooner a lesser qualified individual is removed from the process by a pre employment screening process, the better for all concerned.

For information on a personalized pre employment screening program for your company, call 770-426-0547 or click here.

The Criminal Background Check and the FCRA

A number of employers are unsure of the elements that comprise a criminal background check .

A background check company and the information it provides to the End User (the customer) is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission and the FCRA, the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  Under the FCRA, booth the background check company, also known as a Consumer Reporting Agency or CRA, and the customer have certain rules to follow.  Although many employers think the FCRA regulates only credit reporting, but that is far from the case.

As far as criminal records are concerned, the FCRA restricts reporting of any arrest that does not result in a conviction beyond seven years in the past.  Some examples of non-conviction are acquittals, nolle prossequi, withheld or deferred judgments, successfully completed first offender programs, dead dockets, and others.  Any arrest or disposition that occurs within the seven-year window may be reported to the end user.

Arrests that result in convictions, however, may be reported as far back as records are available.

But there are certain states that have reporting restrictions that are even more stringent than the Federal Government’s.  All End Users should check their local laws, or ask their background check company for the states that are more restrictive, and what restrictions apply.

A “rule of thumb” for many employment screening companies is to check the records back seven years only.  Be sure to ask your company what their policy is regarding years searched, and what you prefer for your pre employment background check program.

For further explanation and information regarding criminal background checks and the FCRA, click here, or call 770-426-0547.

How Employment Screening Can Lead To A Safer Work Place

Pre employment screening has become a necessary process for many companies, industries and firms and especially with high risk positions. Pre employment screening consists of employee background checks and include a criminal background check along with personal, employment, financial, educational and other legal history checks.

There are several reassurances that come with employing the services of a background check company. Of these include knowing that you do not have a criminal amongst your employees, they were honest and sincere with their resumes and histories, and they have the educational training required for their positions.

Employing the services of a background check company also can reassure there are no employees with fraudulent histories that could eventually lead to attempted fraud against their company. If an employee with a bad credit and financial history of length and bankruptcy were to be put in a position that included handling large amounts of money, the potential of a theft happening would be much higher and a situation that can be avoided with employee background checks.

Employment screening and employee background checks decrease the incidences one could expect with high risk employees. You could even say it ensures a much lower percentage of chance that one bad apple will spoil the whole bunch! This can give the employers more time to think about other business matters and eliminate the stress of not knowing who is working for them.

Pre employment screening should consist of employee background checks and a criminal background check at minimum, but depending on the type of business and the potential risk that typically comes with this type of business, the full employee background checks may be more appropriate. Not only will the employer feel more safe and secure but the employees will too, knowing full well what all is being checked before they are hired.

A safe and secure company is able to focus more on running the company and less of watching their backs as those that do not take these precautionary steps should be doing. It’s too bad that this is the way it is, but it is certainly smarter to be safe than sorry.

A criminal background check is a simple, easy solution.

For more information contact us at background check company or call 1.770.426.0547

5 Things Employee Background Checks will Reveal.

In today’s America, pre employment background checks have become a must in every company that thrives for success in the entrepreneurial world. Remember that the government is always looking at you, and you should always be very careful with your potential employees if you don’t want Uncle Sam to slap you in the hands for bad management.

Even though employee background checks can become a scary task if you want to do it on your own, if you hire the perfect background check company, scary will be the least of your concerns. A background check company will help you dig out the dirt out of your potential employees. Employment screening will reveal things like:

* Lies About Past Jobs.
If you thought you’d be hiring the next Bill Gates for your company, think again. Employment screening will reveal if you are about to hire the next Bill Gates, or the next Larry the Cable Guy for your company.

* Lies About Degrees.
It’s very common for potential employees to lie about their academic history. Pre employment background checks will detect very easily degree-fudging in your potential employees as well as your company’s current employees.

* Worker’s Compensation History.
Employee background checks will reveal if your staff has been involved in worker’s compensation fraud, or if they are seriously injured that they won’t be able to put up with the job that you are trying to offer them.

* Sex Offender’s List.
Let’s face it, who wants to hire a pervert? Quick criminal background checks will reveal to you in no time if your baby-faced potential worker is in reality a wolf in disguise. Always be on the safe side and ask to your background check company for a criminal background check.

* Credit Records.
Is money disappearing from your cash registers? Hire a background check company to reveal which person on your total staff is having money problems. However, that doesn’t really mean this person is taking the money, but at least you know you have to keep an eye on this person just in case.

There are a lot of things that a background check company can help you find out. If you want to be on the safe side it’s never too late to hire one of these companies, you don’t want Uncle Sam telling you “I told you so”.

For more information: employee background checks or call 1.770.426.0547

Employment Screening and MVR’s

When employers implement an employment screening program for new hires, a major question is often “What should I look for in a potential employee?”  Most agree that a criminal record check is certainly required, but what other services are offered that could be of value to the employer.

One such search that is sometimes overlooked is the MVR (Motor Vehicle Record) or state driving record search.  The MVR will reveal several pieces of relevant information to the employer:

§ Is the license valid?
§ Are there excessive traffic violations?
§ Have there been any suspensions or revocations?
§ Are the identity and date of birth correct?

Remember that the person may have a revoked or suspended license and still have it in his possession, and that drivers’ licenses can be forged, counterfeit, or altered.  The only way to be sure that the license is legitimate is to verify it with the DMV.

If your employee is going to be driving as a part of the job, of course the employer has an interest in the driver’s status, because the record can have an effect on the insurance premiums paid by the employer.  Bad drivers equal high rates.

But what if an employee who doesn’t normally drive as part of his duties is running an errand to the office supply store for your business in his own vehicle, and has an accident in which someone is injured.  The liability is likely to fall back on the employer.  If the driver was unlicensed or had a bad driving record, the chances of being found negligent potentially rise.

So weigh the potential risk of unknowingly employing an unsafe driver against the satisfaction of knowing that you have a safe and responsible employee on the road.  An MVR check as part of your overall employment screening process is a relatively inexpensive way to have one less thing to worry about.

To learn more about employment screening call 1-770-426-0547 or click here.

Criminal Background Checks

In employment screening, all criminal background checks are not alike.  They can be from the narrowest, most focused type (generally a county court search) to the broadest (a national commercial database search).

Let’s examine some of the differences.

The narrower search at the county level is the most detailed.  The information is contained in the file from a criminal proceeding, and is public record.  All details of the record are contained there from the date of the offense until the final disposition.  Generally, these types of records are obtained by a runner, a live person who goes to the courthouse, looks up the name in an index, and pulls the actual file to examine the information that is recorded and reported as part of the background check.  Some county indexes are on line, although the record itself is maintained physically at the courthouse.  The advantage to this type of search is that it is extremely accurate and detailed.  The disadvantage is that it is narrow and doesn’t include nearby counties where the individual may have committed crimes.

Next is the statewide criminal repository, which approximately 40 of the 50 states make available for defined purposes.  The repository is made up of criminal information forwarded from local police departments, as well as municipal, lower, and upper courts.  The advantage here is that the search covers a much broader area than a county specific search, but all statewide repositories are not equal.  Some include only conviction information, which precludes pending cases, while others are too slow or expensive to use, making them impractical.  The decision to utilize a statewide repository depends on cost, accuracy, and the content included.  Not all local courts report every court action to the repository usually by oversight, but some repositories are very thorough.  Your background check company generally knows which ones to avoid.

Finally, the national commercial database is an extremely broad based search.  The information contained in it comes from government agencies that sell the information to subscribers, and from public sources such as on-line court systems or state departments of correction (prison inmates).  The data may also come from searches that have been conducted on an individual in the past and been added to the database.  This type of search can be a valuable add on tool to a more specific search, but should never be relied upon solely to make an employment decision.  The advantage to this type is obviously breadth, while the disadvantages are accuracy and timeliness of the information provided.  Identifiers like dates of birth and social security numbers are frequently redacted, and criminal information may be only sporadically uploaded to the database, missing recent criminal activity.  Further, a crime may have been expunged by the court, but remain on the database, causing problems to the applicant and the employer.

For further advice on criminal background checks call 1-770-426-0547 or click here.

Mandatory Employee Screening Anyone?

Have you ever wondered if every employee that you are hiring should have to pass a criminal background check? I know that it increases the cost of hiring. But if you add up the hiring costs and training expenses when trying to determine an ROI of a new employee, the cost of employment screening is marginal. However, the costs of not using a background check company could be astronomical.

Have you considered that you could be hiring someone with a very bad driving record as a delivery truck driver? The bad driving record could include speeding offenses and minor moving infractions such as rolling through a stop sign. But it could also represent a tendency for careless or reckless driving. If your new delivery driver has been convicted of driving under the influence and he gets behind the wheel of your delivery truck intoxicated, you could be held accountable for his actions. Your insurance costs could sky rocket and a possible law suit could put your business at risk. A background check company could have been your best friend.

When comparing the costs of employment screening versus disastrous actions caused by employees, wouldn’t you agree that it is in the best interest of everyone that employee background checks are mandatory for everyone during the hiring process. Depending on the type of your business you should conduct employee background checks on your employees during their whole employment.

Employment screening is not something you should ignore or dismiss as unnecessary.

For more information, visit employee background checks or call 1.770.426.0547

Do you Know Whom you are Hiring?

Years ago, most employers had no use for pre-employment screening because they had a pretty good idea of who they were putting on the payroll.  The applicant might be personally acquainted, be a relative of a friend, or come highly recommended by a colleague.  Populations tended to remain static and close to home, and also stayed at one job much longer than they do today.  After a couple of phone calls or letters of reference, the employer was ready to make a decision.

Today’s employees are highly mobile, ready to move to almost any city for an opportunity.  Today’s workers also spend less time at a company before moving on to greener pastures.  The current economic environment has mad it much more likely that what you see is NOT what you get when it comes to applicants.

These facts have made pre-employment screening an indispensable part of the hiring process.

Whom do you eliminate with a good background check process?  Criminals, resume padders, unqualified and undereducated candidates, and those who live beyond their means, not to mention embellishers and underperformers. Plus those prone to violence and dangerous drivers.

Some may say that these things are none of the employer’s business, but you don’t have to let your potential employee’s past become your future.

Use pre-employment screening to help you make your hiring decisions.

Call 1-770-426-0547 for a free consultation with a background check expert.