With so many people nowadays openly sharing the intimate details of their lives via social media, why is comprehensive employment screening still relevant and critical to the hiring process? For most organizations, the answer is clear: Failing to screen prospective employees can result in negative — and potentially dire — consequences, including compromised security and damaged corporate reputations. Bad hires can harm overall employee morale, and disgruntled workers can be major sources of distraction and other troubles.

By thoroughly screening employees prior to hiring, companies can avoid bringing in the wrong people — who can pose significant future problems.

What Does Comprehensive Employment Screening Include?

By using comprehensive employment screening, companies can verify various information about prospective workers, including (depending on industry, position and salary):

• Address history
• Driving and criminal records
• Previous employment
• Educational background
• Financial history
• Reports about evictions

While comprehensive employment screening does not guarantee weeding out all bad hires, it often can identify red flags such as criminal convictions. It also can unearth circumstances that might be undesirable for certain positions, such as an individual who has had significant financial problems applying for a role that involves handling money at a financial institution.

Employees who aren’t truthful about reasons for leaving a past job may be attempting to cover up serious incidences of bad behavior, such as insubordination, and an individual who flouts rules in the workplace may be more prone to behaving badly in the future. To get the full picture of a candidate, screeners may interview former supervisors, along with verifying professional certifications, educational degrees, criminal records and driving records.

What Are the Benefits of Comprehensive Employment Screening?

Most human resources professionals — 96 percent, in fact — report that their organizations conduct some type of background screening or professional reference verification checks for applicants. And the majority of business leaders understand that screenings remain vital for determining whether candidates will be a good match and whether they may pose a risk to security or reputation.

The consequences of failing to verify information about candidates can be detrimental for businesses. Over the past several years, numerous organizations have been publicly embarrassed when it came to light that individuals in high-profile positions lied about their qualifications.

With data-collection technologies continuing to improve and global security concerns mounting, comprehensive employment screening will continue to play an important role in corporate hiring procedures. And human resources professionals will continue to take the lead in guiding their organizations to best use background checks for hiring and retaining top team members.

Disclaimer Statement: All information presented is for information purposes only and is not intended to provide professional or legal advice regarding actions to take in any situation.

Each year, workers are threatened with or experience violence in the workplace. These crimes range from robbery to physical assault and homicide. According to a News Release from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS), in 2014, 749 people received fatal work injuries due to violence and other injuries caused by people and animals; furthermore, of the fatal occupational injuries caused by a major event in 2014, homicides total 9 percent. While it is true that workers in certain occupations are at a higher risk of experiencing workplace violence, the reality is that violent acts can happen anytime and anywhere; therefore, no business is immune. One of the most effective ways to prevent workplace violence caused by an employee is to routinely run employment screening background checks on current and potential employees.

3 Common Human Resources Questions HR Personnel Ask About Employment Screening

1. Is there a criminal database that houses all criminal convictions within the United States?

Although this is one the most common Human Resources questions, unfortunately, there is not a criminal database that houses all the criminal convictions that occur in the U.S. In fact, there are more than 3,100 individual counties that are responsible for public records throughout the nation: Roughly 30 percent of these counties do not currently have a digital criminal records system. For the 30 percent of counties that do not have digital capability, an individual must personally visit the county courthouse to attain a copy of the paper record. Furthermore, each court follows its own timeline and process when providing records to be filed. Complicating matters even further, there are 11 Federal districts where criminal data may be stored: Each of these 11 districts also has multiple courts. Therefore, obtaining accurate criminal background information is a complex and cumbersome process, even for professionals.

2. What does an employment screening background check entail?

An employment screening background check varies based on a company’s needs, the requirements of a specific position, the requirements of the industry or industries that the company is in, and the policies of the Human Resources department. An employment screening provider can help answer specific Human Resources questions related to the components of a background check.

Widely used employment screening services include:

• National criminal database search and sex offender screening
• County criminal background screening
• Federal criminal background screening
• Government watch list screening
• Employment verifications
• Education verifications
• Professional reference verifications
• Professional license verifications
• Driving records screening

3. How long does it take to perform an employment screening background check?

Criminal background screening turnaround times vary by state and county. Verifications typically take 1-3 days to complete and are based on the personal background history of the individual being screened. A driving record history varies by state from which the information is being obtained.

These are some of the most common Human Resources questions. For other frequently asked questions related to Human Resources and employment screening, please visit: Employment Screening Questions

Disclaimer Statement: All information presented is for information purposes only and is not intended to provide professional or legal advice regarding actions to take in any situation.

Employment screening affords businesses higher quality staff, reduced workplace violence, fewer negligent hiring claims and more peace of mind during the hiring process. However, employment screening trends continue to change and evolve.

Here are the top employment screening trends for the second half of 2015 (and beyond):

1. More Stringent and Widespread Screening

Due diligence in hiring is set to become a requirement in many workplaces, not just an option. With so much at stake and the potential of damage to both the financial and brand aspects of a company, employment screening will become the rule and not the exception.

2. Privacy and Data Protection

Increased amounts and availability of data bring more privacy concerns. Both employers and screening companies will step up their precautions and measures to protect the information provided by the consumer.

3. Ban the Box Efforts

“Ban the box” efforts are related to the checkbox on job applications that inquire about the candidate’s criminal record. Ban the box laws require employers to delay asking such questions until after the interview or after a provisional job offer has been given. These laws protect past offenders from immediate exclusion based solely upon criminal record disclosure early in the application process.

While these laws are advocating for more access to jobs, they don’t fully consider the potential hazards for employers who are obligated to hire responsibly. However, a tipping point is near, and employers may stop asking on the job application and rely instead on professional employment screening later in the hiring arc.

4. More FCRA Lawsuits

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) violations and lawsuits show no sign of slowing down for 2015. These suits are related to FTC laws regulating employment background checks. Common violations of these laws are not following proper adverse action procedures and failing to make required disclosures to potential new hires. Because of this, it’s more crucial than ever for employers to familiarize themselves with these laws and abide by them in their employment screening processes.

5. An Increase in Post-Hire Employment Screening Trends

Company insider threats are a very real danger, and they can range from fraud to embezzling funds to workplace violence. An employee may have met background requirements when hired, but their circumstances can change over the course of time. Because of this, rescreening existing employees at regular intervals will grow as an employment screening trend.

6. Creating a Better Interview Experience

Better communication and educating all job applicants during the interview and hiring processes will help with more effective screening and better hiring.

These six employment screening trends are expected to continue as 2015 winds down to a close. Balancing privacy concerns, using employment screening effectively and higher quality communication with applicants can all help to ensure successful hiring.

Disclaimer Statement: All information presented is for information purposes only and is not intended to provide professional or legal advice regarding actions to take in any situation.

As on first dates, employment candidates usually put their best foot forward during a job interview, manipulating responses to reflect what they believe the interviewer is seeking. Learning about an employee’s true character and ability, then, is not easy. They may know all the right answers in an interview setting, but does the candidate really know how to apply that knowledge to the workforce on a daily basis?

Interview questions regarding past behavior are an effective way to learn about a potential candidate’s knowledge and attitude and ability to apply them to every day work functions. Candidates are likely to answer behavior based interview questions honestly as they require very specific details regarding personal and professional experiences that can’t be pulled from textbook memory.

The following behavior-based interview questions are both thought-provoking and insightful:

• Tell me about a time you had too much to do.
• A candidate’s response may give insight into their ability to multitask and manage stress.

• Have you ever worked under a supervisor you didn’t care for?
• How did you handle that situation? This question allows the interviewer to predict how the candidate will address conflict and treat authority.

• What are your strengths? How did you apply them to your previous job to achieve goals?
• The response to this question allows the supervisor to understand the candidate’s ability to apply knowledge to real life situations.

• What is your greatest weakness?
• How has it affected your performance in the past? A candidate’s ability to use a weakness to his or her advantage is a good sign of emotional strength and intelligence.

• Tell me about the last time you missed work.
• The past tends to repeat itself, so this question may provide an accurate indicator of future attendance.

• Tell me about the biggest challenge you have ever faced in a professional role.
• A smart candidate will show an interviewer how he or she applied emotional intelligence and strategy to a problem to produce a desirable outcome.

These interview questions allow an interviewer to imagine a candidate’s ability to contribute and react to the organizational environment, ultimately allowing the interviewer to make an informed hiring decision. Thoroughly screening both personal and professional references as well as ordering comprehensive criminal background searches are also important steps in making the right selection.

Disclaimer Statement: All information presented is for information purposes only and is not intended to provide professional or legal advice regarding actions to take in any situation.

How well does a contractor really know its employees? During the course of a construction project, a firm’s workers are constantly exposed to customer information and belongings. If a less-than-honest employee is added to the team, this could cause big problems for the business.

Here are three reasons why it is important for contracting firms to conduct contractor background screening on all potential workers.

Reason #1: Liability

The most important reason why contracting companies need to complete contractor background screening on their employees is liability. Workers will be in and out of client homes and businesses during the course of their job. This puts them in direct contact with personal possessions and sensitive information. Should an important item come up missing or another similar scenario happen, the company could be open to legal action or something worse. Having a comprehensive criminal background search prior to hiring an employee will uncover previous criminal activity he or she has had and allow the contracting company to make a decision on whether or not they should be on a job site.

Reason #2: Reputation

Reputation is another reason why contracting firms should complete contractor background screening on their employees. Workers are the face of an organization and who they are greatly affects how the community views that particular company. If an employee has had a previous criminal charge, this can greatly change how the overall contracting firm is viewed. In addition, contractor background screening can be used to check the credentials of a potential employee.

Reason #3: Customer Peace of Mind

Customer peace of mind is another reason why contractors must complete employee background checks on their employees. Clients who know that workers have been fully verified are more likely to return for repeat business. They are also more likely to recommend a contractor to friends and family, increasing revenue for the company.

HRemp offers employers the opportunity to pre-screen employees through thorough and affordable employment background searches. The criminal data used comes from federal and local courts in addition to other sources in order to help contracting companies make informed hiring decisions.

For more information or to obtain employment screening solutions for your contracting company, please contact HRemp today.

Source: https://www.sba.gov/content/pre-employment-background-checks

Disclaimer Statement: All information presented is for information purposes only and is not intended to provide professional or legal advice regarding actions to take in any situation.