| For most businesses, the employees are valuable | | | | To dig even deeper you should consider doing a |
| assets. This is especially true when a company is | | | | national criminal database search in addition to the |
| small. Not only does training require a substantial | | | | county courthouse searches. These database |
| investment in time and money, but an employee's | | | | searches are fast and cover a large geographical |
| ability to perform reliably each day is critical. When | | | | area. In order to comply with regulations, all |
| companies look for new employees, it's essential | | | | records identified by the national criminal database |
| that they conduct employment background | | | | search should be verified at the county court |
| checks. In this article, I'll describe the items | | | | level. |
| involved when screening employees as well as the | | | | Benefits Of Conducting Employment Background |
| benefits of doing so. | | | | Checks |
| Employment Background Checks On Application | | | | Devoting attention to each of the above items |
| Data | | | | should be a critical part of all of your employment |
| You should require each applicant to either fill out | | | | background checks. It's an effective way to |
| an application or submit a resume. This should be | | | | screen employees. By managing a rigorous |
| done even if you know the applicant well. The | | | | investigation into your applicant's employment and |
| first step to take when conducting employment | | | | education history and possible criminal record, you |
| background checks is to verify the information | | | | can ensure that your staff remains safe from |
| provided by the job-seeker. Human resources | | | | violence, drug-related incidents and other offenses. |
| experts estimate that nearly half of resumes | | | | Painstaking employee screening also boosts your |
| have misleading or blatantly fraudulent information | | | | company's productivity by guarding the workplace |
| regarding education, past employment and | | | | from disruption. One of the reasons why hiring a |
| references. You must verify these items. | | | | bad employee can be so costly is that an incident |
| Digging Deeper | | | | can bring a company's operations to a halt. Last, |
| Next, it's time to dig deeper into a job candidate's | | | | by doing background checks on each potential |
| history. While many employers only check the | | | | employee, you can shield your business from |
| information provided on an application, there is | | | | being sued for negligent hiring practices. |
| much more to conducting effective employment | | | | Doing It Yourself Versus Getting Help |
| background checks. First, you should conduct an | | | | Stringent hiring practices entail an exhaustive |
| investigation into an applicant's past to uncover | | | | investigation into each potential employee. Doing |
| evidence of a criminal record. The most accurate | | | | so can be expensive because it requires |
| and common method used is to actually go to the | | | | specialized skills and knowledge. If your business |
| county courthouse and look up the record. At a | | | | has the manpower available, conducting elaborate |
| minimum, employers should search the county of | | | | screening processes in-house may be the right |
| residence or the last place where the applicant | | | | solution. Otherwise, you should consider having the |
| spent the most time. For a higher level of | | | | help of an experienced service. In the end, the |
| protection you should check not only the counties | | | | small investment in making sure an employee is a |
| where the applicant has lived, but also the | | | | good fit for your company can yield dividends for |
| counties where the applicant was employed and | | | | years. |
| the counties where the applicant went to school. | | | | |