best background check

Dave Jordan, the background check industry veteran reveals different aspects of an employee background check, why they are vital, and where to acquire service to conduct the necessary background search.

An employee background check can be a major headache if the right steps aren’t taken, but has the potential to safeguard employers from substantial grief further later on. You as an employer are no doubt very well aware that it’s far simpler not hiring somebody in the first place than trying to let them go after the fact.

Experience has shown me there are a few things employers can look for when evaluating a potential employee. Another prominent one is workplace theft; some people just have a propensity to steal. Of course, an item receiving a lot of attention lately is resume falsification. However, despite all these potential hiring problems, you need to remain objective in your analysis of a condidate and get the facts striaight before jumping to conclusions.

Data has shown that a rather substantial segment of the workforce is engaged in, or has been involved in some form of resume modification. The main targets being education, successes, and inflated responsibilities at past places of employment. Of course, a majority of the workforce does not do this, and doesn’t need to. However, because of the ones that feel the need to embellish, reference checks have practically become standard on most white collar jobs. Blue collar jobs aren’t checked quite as much because it’s easier to spot ambiguities when conducting an interview.

In my past experience, considering someone for an electrical job and asking them the appropriate questions makes the situation very clear, very quickly. However, when interviewing someone to be an attorney for my company, knowing legal vernacular doesn’t mean they are right for the job. In such a case, past experience is far more important, and a reference check would be of utmost necessity regardless of how highly I think of them.

Employee Traits That a Background Check Could Help With…

Workplace theft seems to be about as common as Monday morning these days. I don’t mean stapler theft either...but the mind boggling embezzlement of millions of dollars that appear more and more frequently in the news. The accounting nightmare resulting from this can cost even more to cover up, or to fix when caught (In IRS fines perhaps). The result is suspicion within the company and the next domino to fall after that is amicability. The final domino is productivity within the workplace.

The real stickler is that the offender is usually not caught until a serious problem emerges, just like aggressive cancer. Like aggressive cancer, it is often too late as the serious damage has already been done. This brings us to a possible solution…

The Ongoing Employee Background Check Process...

When a person applies for a job, a background check of some sort is standard operating procedure. However, what some folks and even employers may not know is that this process is being carried out on a wider basis during employment as well. There are an increasing number of employee background check services that are starting to offer ongoing monitoring of employees in an effort to help catch misconduct, theft, and other activity that could eventually spell serious trouble. Even many consumer services now offer this. Obviously they will not be as extensive as an employment service, but the same general idea applies.

Employee misbehavior isn’t the only justification for conducting an ongoing employee background check on an individual. Occupations where access to critical data is part of the daily procedure, or a job where money is being dealt with every day, such as a Treasurer, may demand ongoing background checks. This is used along with internal audits, as an external audit of sorts to ensure an employee is capable of maintaining the trust they are being shown. In this day and age, terrorism and the threat thereof, is one of the biggest reasons for ongoing monitoring.

As an employer, you may or may not know that employee associations outside the workplace are a great way to help with determining the character of a person. Social networking sites are one of the first places to check and these include LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, and industry specific social networking sites that are popping up every day. Most employee background check services don’t offer social network searches, but their consumer operations have made it available. USSearch, Intelius, BackgroundChecks offer a consumer accessible social network search that is just as useful as an employee service, were it available.

Even Google is chiming into the debate on personal data that is available on the internet. CEO Eric Schmidt recently pointed out that people generally just don’t seem to comprehend the fallout that can result from posting too much personal information. He maintains that this problem has become so severe that some folks would have to go so far as to change their name and identity in order to separate themselves from their online identity. For you as an employer this is a gold mine. Social menageries and what employees may fill their time with, are of extreme interest to prospective or current employers, and two rationales for using social networking sites.

Employee Background Check Methods and Requirements…

When beginning the process, there are basically two directions you can go as an employer. The first one involves the employer conducting all the necessary research themselves. The second direction is to hire a third party (background check service) to conduct the search. Employee rights and requirements pertaining to information that is acquired are different for each method. Businesses that have the resources to hire personnel so they can conduct their background checks in-house generally have to meet fewer requirements and regulations. Why is this? Because the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the governing rule for background checks, is mainly concerned with information offered by 3^rd party providers.

Any information pertaining to an individual that is used to make an employment, credit, or other decision is known as a consumer report. If the employer would like to acquire a “consumer report”, he/she must first receive the written and signed consent of the individual they wish to obtain a report for. However, a business that carries out investigations themselves has no legal contract to let the subject know. This is a very fine line and one you should discuss with your attorney prior to making any decision….

Plus, there are a few states and the number is increasing, that have eliminated this technicality within the FCRA, using their own legislation. One example of this is California. Whenever an employer wants to conduct a employee background check or even any other form of background check on an individual, their written consent must be secured first. This type of legislation is meant to protect both the employer and employee from potential legal and personal strife.

Another stipulation for using consumer reports in the hiring process is that you must notify the prospective employee that negative decisions may be made as a result of a background check. This is known as “adverse action notice” and it is of vital importance you carry this out correctly. Countless lawsuits have arisen from incorrect administration of criminal background checks. Should there be records that contribute to adverse action being taken against an employee, you are required to notify that person in writing. You are also required to provide a copy of the consumer report, and information on how they can challenge incorrect records on the report. Once again, California is leading the pack, having passed legislation establishing directives that require companies collecting their own background check data to follow similar requirements.

Employee Background Check Costs and Sources…

The available services have an extensive price range which go from $3 into the thousands of dollars. However, the average employer utilizes fairly inexpensive services that check national databases and cost as little as $13 for a nationwide criminal search.

An extensive probe necessary for vetting prospects for such positions as school superintendent or CEO, run into the thousands of dollars. They include complete address histories, an FBI background check, county records checks, reference checks, interviews with past employers, and a general canvassing of the individuals past achievements and professional relationships.

Another thing you should know as an employer, is that some data on a background check is not legally permissible when making a hiring determination. Nonetheless, such information is included in many background checks and they way you use it is entirely at your discretion. For example, workers compensation claims and bankruptcies cannot be considered when making a hiring decision. I have to be absolutely clear; it doesn’t matter if there are repeated claims, legally your hands are tied. Bankruptcies follow the same kind of rules and have to be respected.

Employers must be cognizant to the fact that complaints of erroneous data on consumer reports do occur at times. In some cases, faulty records will lead to an upset prospective employee who didn’t get the job. Obviously a business has no interest in being without a worker while somebody’s records are verified and updated. However, companies should be very careful about the line they walk when conducting a background check. The difference between due diligence and discrimination can appear very blurry to the prospective employee and even to the judge.

If you would like to use an employee background check service, be sure to use a company that provides assistance with staying within FCRA and state specific guidelines.

Presently I only recommend one employee background check service, but will keep this updated if and when that should change. That service is BackgroundChecks.com, and they provide services to both small businesses and Fotune500 companies.

Proceed to the employee background check page and get started with a service that helps you stay FCRA compliant throughout the background check process. Plus, a long standing professional relationship with BackgroundChecks.com has resulted in a 10% discount on all employment services, and those savings are being passed on to you.

All the best,

Dave Jordan

P.S. Get started with your employee background check today and enjoy dedicated support through phone and email whenever you have a question. Plus, you can manage your account from anywhere in the world through an online account secured by the same state-of-the-art encrypion technology that banks use.