07 Dec An Employer’s Guide to Background Check Basics: Everything to Know
Between 2017 and 2018, the annual hires level in the US increased from 65.7 million to 68.9 million.
As anybody who’s been through it knows, the process of hiring individuals requires investments of time and money. To save on both, a background check can help you understand the parts of an individual you don’t get to see in an interview.
But the list of benefits of background checks is just as long as the list of regulations surrounding how they are to be conducted. That’s why anybody performing background checks should know what they are, when to use them, and how to do them correctly.
Keep reading to learn all that and more in this guide to background checks.
What Is a Background Check?
A background check, in the context of employment, is a review of a candidate’s background. It usually involves a criminal record check, that looks into national and county records. They also typically include a credit check and review of social security, which can reveal everything from names and aliases to address history.
Employers may also look into driving records, terror watch lists, and sex offender registries.
When to Perform a Background Check
When you perform background checks on employees, you must do so in a way that adheres to the law. Failing to do so can lead to serious legal consequences.
The best time to perform a background check is during the hiring process. A background check, especially a criminal record check, can provide important information about an individual before they’re brought onto the team.
They allow you to avoid a poor hire, which can cost time, money, and damage to the company culture and reputation. That leads to another one of the benefits of background checks: they allow you to provide a safe workplace for your employees and clients. They reveal whether someone has a history of violent crime or harassment at work, which could potentially put your workplace at risk.
How to Do a Background Check
The first step in performing a background check is to notify the applicants that you’re conducting them. After that, the background check is generally out of your hands. That’s because, in order to properly navigate the laws around conducting background checks, you’ll need to hire a service with the expertise required to perform background checks legally and professionally.
Upon receiving the information, it’s important to review the details. Keep in mind that some information may be incorrect. For that reason, you should allow candidates to review their background checks and provide clarity or context. Finally, you’ll need to make your hiring decision.
Hiring a Background Check Service
Performing a background check on employees is a big step in providing a safe workplace, which you’re legally obliged to do. And performing those checks before making a new hire can also save you time and money.
But a background check isn’t an in-house undertaking. They require expertise and experience that can only be provided by a professional service like ours. Read more about our background check service here.