As an employer, you want honest employees who are reliable and have no criminal background. These are the characteristics of employees you can trust to help you run and grow your business. However, as humans, anyone is capable of falsifying information – intentionally and unintentionally. So before you make your hiring decision, you should gain as much concrete information as possible.
Falsified Applications
As mentioned, the applicant could intentionally or unintentionally falsify information on their employment application. As they complete this application, it is now your job to ensure the information provided is accurate and not tweaked in any way.
If it’s important to you that the person filling the VP role has their master’s degree in a particular field, you should verify this information. If you want to verify they have experience in a particular department, you should verify this with their previous employer, and not just trust their resume or professional online profile.
Criminal Background Checks
Some applicants feel that if they disclose to employers any criminal activity that it will automatically exclude them from a position. However, you may be open to slight misdemeanors. If the application intentionally covers this up, it’s the beginning of a dishonest partnership.
You want to verify and know exactly who you are working with, especially if it involves any merchandise, cash, or access to property. What if this person is applying to be a security guard? Would you want this person guarding your store at night alone? Or what about having access to a gun around your customers and other employees?
Criminal background checks not only save you the hassle of firing someone, but also could save your business from shame and a lawsuit.
Credit Checks
Credit checks are popular these days for employers to run. Credit speaks a lot about a potential employee. Take someone interested in a financial management position. If they have liens, too much credit utilization, late fees, new credit activity, or bankruptcy, these are all signs of:
• Irresponsibility
• An inability to negotiate
• An inability to stick to a budget
• Incapable of handling large projects
• Desperation and in need of money
So What Can You Do?
The above reasons are all valid reasons to perform a professional and thorough background check. Sure, you can run a basic online check, but there are many pieces to the puzzle that may never be solved.
Having someone personally handling it is the best course of action. Companies such as Suncoast PI are even able to check multiple online sources, including social media profiles, so your organization is not hit with an embarrassing situation.
So, first, always ask for consent to perform a background check. Just a simple statement at the bottom of the application will suffice. You can explain you are using a professional service. The application can make that decision to complete the application and agree. This avoids wasting their time and yours.
You can rely on Suncoast PI to provide a professional, discreet background check at an affordable rate.