Everything You Wanted To Know About Pre-Employment Background Checks But Were Afraid To Ask

Almost every employer has said to themselves, 'If Ikeeping updated with state and Federal laws that
had only known about this person's background,regulate what can and cannot be accessed. An
______(you fill in the words) would have NEVERhonest mistake by one on your valued employees
have happened. That blank could be filled in withcould leave your company open to a civil rights
words like TRAGEDY, ACCIDENT,LAW SUIT, orviolation suit by the applicant. Laws such as the
even Death. The best predictor of the future is pastFCRA, HIPPA, DPPA,the Grann-Leach-Bliley Act, and
performance. You MUST protect your business andso on are at best difficult to understand. If these
your employees from legal action or physical harm byreasons are not enough, Valuable time ($$) would be
detecting problems BEFORE the person is hired.spent tracking former employers, references,
Pre-Employment (P-E) screening is an effective riskeducational institutions, etc. We have all have to
management tool that has been proven to reduceleave a message then wait for the return call...you
the risk of a "bad hire". Employers typically pre screenhave better things to do then sit by your phone
for various reasons:playing phone tag...like raise your profits.
To DISCOURAGE APPLICANTS with something toO.K. Who should I hire to do the pre screening.
hide. It is estimated that over 33% of theContacting a LICENSED private investigation agency
peopleapplying for a job leave information out...anyto do your P-E screening is one way to be sure that
thing from the education that they never got or notall of the state and Federal laws that I mentioned will
including their criminal or bad driving record.be followed. The vast majority of the private
To ELIMINATE UNCERTAINTY in the hiringinvestigators today are retired law enforcement or
process..."Is this person right for the job?" or "I hopeFederal agents so they are not only professional but
Ihave not made a mistake hiring this person".know the importance of quality P-E screening. These
To demonstrate DUE DILIGENCE. Employers mustprofessionals have access to database companies
take reasonable steps of determine whetheranthat are only available to licensed professionals. There
employee is fit for that particular job, does he haveare hundreds on companies on line that will do a
an anger management problem? Things you need tobackground check for anyone who is willing to
know.pay....most of this information you can get yourself,
It is COST EFFECTIVE. Companies spend a greatinformation that may or may not be accurate or up
deal of money to train a new hire only to learnhe/sheto date. Conducting a thorough investigation may well
is not the type of person you want working for yourrequire the investigator to go to the court house to
company. The cost of a background investigation isdo a records search, something the online
small when considering the cost to litigate a neglectbackground checkers will not do. Many Private
hiring or retention suit.Investigators are members of professional
It is important to understand that P-E screening isorganizations such as the National Association of
aimed at how a person performed in the PUBLICLegal Investigators (NALI) or their state
aspect of their lives...it is not an invasion of privacy.organizaation, that means they have a wide rance of
Your employees are your most valuable resourcesresources available to them. You think that just
BUT a bad hire can result inbecause you checked the applicant's state criminal
LAWSUITS BY THIRD PARTIES OR OTHERrecord you have done enough...that is fine unless the
EMPLOYEESperson you are about to hire has as criminal record in
LOSS OF BUSINESS OR CUSTOMERSanother state. Contracting a licensed private
THEFT, EMBEZZLEMENT, OR PROPERTY DAMAGEinvestigator to conduct your pre-employment
NEGLIGENT HIRING EXPOSUREscreening relieves your HR department or employee
TIME WASTED IN RECRUITING,EMPLOYING ANDof this time consuming and specialized task so they
TRAINING.can devote their time and resources to your
There are many other reasons, but you get the ideacompany needs.
Now that you know how important P-E screening is,How do I find a Private Investigator?
NOW WHAT?The National Association of Legal Investigators has a
There is a growing trend among profitable andweb site that you can visit to locate a private
efficient business to out source this important task. Itinvestigator near you, You may go to your state
is an inefficient use of their time and energy ($$) tobusiness web site or type in the first letter of your
attempt to do something that a third party providerstate then ALI. For example in Florida you would go
can do efficiently and cost effectively. To do into California,
house pre screening, a company would have toI hope I have answered some of your questions
devote much time and energy ($$) to learning andabout pre employment screening.