When hiring people to positions of trust and responsibility, background checks and screenings can help to ensure that they will be fitted for the job. In many industries, like aviation, electrical, utilities and power, manufacturing and construction as well as retail and banking, background screening checks can help to identify problems like drug and alcohol addiction and criminal convictions, which could be dangerous to others in the workplace. Professional screening services can help to flag potentially unreliable employees who can pose a threat to the company itself.
Why are background checks needed?
All hiring managers and human resources personnel are familiar with the problem of job candidates falsifying their resumes. This can take many forms, including embellishment and falsification as well as suppressing unfavorable information. The scale of falsification can be surprisingly high. One study found that more than half or 54% of applicants for a job provided misleading information about their educational qualifications and employment history.
Overall, nearly all or 95% of job candidates falsify some facts on their applications or resumes. While some of these omissions can be harmless, others may conceal facts about the individual that should preclude an offer of employment. More than 90% of all companies recognize that background checks can help them to eliminate threats to the company, other employees and customers. Professional screening and information and third party employment verification can help to avoid such problems.
How can background checks help your company?
Background screening checks can help to flag job candidates who may prove to be a liability or even dangerous in the work environment. Drug and alcohol abusers, for instance, tend to be a disruptive force in the workplace and are disproportionately associated with workplace accidents and injuries. In fact, they are involved in about 20 to 25% of all workplace accidents.
Accidents aside, people with drug and alcohol addictions tend to be late for work three times as often as other employees, and are five times more likely to file workers compensation claims. Background screening checks can help to identify such potentially difficult employees at an early stage in the hiring process. In other cases, job candidates with criminal convictions would be unsuitable for positions in education or banking.
Ensuring compliance with background screening requirements
Employment screening services may be required in some industries. In fields like education, transportation, healthcare, justice and financial services, background screening checks are required by law before an offer of employment can be made. These can cover the applicant’s education, work and financial history, criminal record, medical history and even social media.
In these fields, employees are placed in positions where the well being and safety of others depends on them. Background checks help to keep the public as well as the companies and co-workers safe.
Background screening checks help companies to identify unsuitable and potentially disruptive or dangerous job applicants. In industries where they are required by law, they enable companies to remain in compliance.