A majority of employees who are caught stealing confess to their first theft incident within the first year of their employment. These employees can be discouraged because they feel trapped in a job they thought would be better than what it actually is. They can feel like they were misled in the interview process about how great the business is. Without pre employment screening to evaluate an employee’s potential for on the job performance other issues like theft are more apt to occur.

Employees can feel slighted over job promotions they do not get, or working harder than more tenured employees. Sometimes employees apply for jobs at businesses they know they can steal from, and start their thefts on day one. All of which are justifications for an employee to steal from their employer.

All of those situations are more avoidable by using pre employment screening criminal background checks. The checks are designed to show work history, previous theft issues, criminal arrests, and validations of educational backgrounds.

Coincidentally, for many small businesses, the average length of employment for their non-management positions is also about one year. When there are only a few short months between an employee’s hire date and their first incident of theft, having the right people in place from day one becomes increasingly critical. There is not an extended amount of time that you can hire someone and then find out what a criminal background check will uncover.

In those twelve short months, many things can happen – both good and bad. Since that length of time is so short, conducting pre employment screening and criminal background checks is absolutely essential.

To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547 

Many companies are successfully reducing the number of unwanted applications they need to sort through to hire for an open position within their company. An unwanted application is one that the applicant is embellishing their experience or education, padding their resume, or flat out declining (or denying) to disclose pertinent information like a criminal history.

In order to decrease these unwanted applications, companies, both large and small are starting change their hiring practices, starting by rewording their applications.

Somewhere on the application, whether it is computerized or on paper, there is wording stating that the job requires a through check to be conducted before final approval to be hired. Next is a signature line for the applicant to authorize the check to be completed.

What major hiring companies and managers are finding is that significant quantities of questionable applicants are declining to turn in their applications.

They know that they have potential red flags in their history that they do not want to come up. Instead of completing the application, they move on to the next business that does not require a background check.

In the meantime, you are left with fewer overall applications to sort through. Of those remaining applications, you are left with better overall applicants. 

They are more honest about any previous criminal activity, previous work history, and can actually validate their education and degrees earned. They are not afraid of any background or criminal screenings because they have nothing to hide.

To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547 

I speak often to the front line of defense that retailer’s should implement concerning merchandise and inventory security. The front line of defense also relates to company assets- including your employees. If you are not conducting employee background checks, you are failing to support your front line.

Your front line defense as it relates to your employees is the line of communication and representation between your company and your customers. If this front line does not represent your business, as you see fit, your sales will suffer from customers who leave and will not come back.

Customers are very in tune with how employees act and interact. Often, our customers see and understand more about our employee’s behavior than what we ever will. They see them at their best and also at their worst. Your customers see the actions of our employees when we are not there. That is the most important time to understand what our employees are doing.

They are not going to act out when we are there, they will act out when we are not. If we have hired employees who do not have drive, motivation or integrity, it will become most apparent the second we leave the building.

Pre employment screening and other employee background checks help to keep your front line strong. You can better ensure these employees have the knowledge, skill, and integrity that you need them to have in order to fully represent you to the best of their abilities.

 To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547 

Have you ever stopped to wonder how much damage a single employee can do? Depending upon your business structure and environment, an employee can create minimal damage or maximum destruction. Before we talk about background checks, we need to look at the ways and employee can ruin a business.

In the most common ways, employee can cause inventory losses. They can steal, defraud, or simply be so oblivious to policy and procedure; they cause losses through their negligence and inattentive behaviors. These financial implications create a tangible loss in your inventory, and an increase to your merchandise costs due to repurchasing your inventory to satisfy necessary stock levels.

The next level of damage comes in less tangible ways. A bad apple employee can create devastating issue with morale. The worse your employees feel, the less productive they become, and the more they turn off customers who will go some place else to shop. Once it starts, it is difficult and can sometimes take years or massive employee turnover to remedy. Costing you money in lost sales and increased training costs for rehires. It also takes away your productive time as you are spending more time dealing with employee issues.

Finally, a bad hire can be devastating to your financial or proprietary knowledge. Restaurants that have a “secret sauce” have had employees steal the recipe so they can copy it or sell it for their own profit. Are you innovative or have proprietary advantages? Don’t think you are invulnerable to this sort of attack.

Background checks can help you eliminate these hires and these problems before they even begin.

To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547 

Most businesses rely on a standard application process. Computer generated and screened applications are common in larger businesses with more resources. Smaller businesses still rely on paper applications, since it is easy to purchase a pack of pre-made ones from the local office supply store. Both ways offer little leniency to conduct pre employment screening before a candidate is even interviewed.

What if you started streamlining your application process and allowed applicants to give a better look at their capabilities?

Not every open retail position can have a job posting that allows for specific examples to be included with the application, but there are ways to incorporate tests of their skills.

Ask a potential employee to “sell” you an item, or solve a fictitious customer problem. It can give you a better insight into their skill level and their potential dedication to the job. This can be done in person when the candidate drops off their application, or it can be an essay style question at the end of the application.

Employee background checks are not just about conducting formal pre employment screening. It is also about how to streamline your hiring process to get the best-qualified and most productive employee each time you hire. Save the in depth employee background checks for when you are ready to make an offer of employment.

In the mean time, make attempts to weed out the inexperienced and under motivated candidates before you even feel the need to interview them. Asking real scenario questions gives a better insight into how they will actually perform in the job, which is really what you are wanting to know.

To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547 

There was a recent survey conducted by a popular employment website. It went through many of the pitfalls employers were coming up against in finding new, qualified candidates. It seems that it was not related to findings from employee background checks, but rather communication breakdowns within the hiring process.

Many employers, who received applications, consistently sent out an automatically generated email stating that the application was received and would undergo review. Of those applications, very few were notified by the company that they had not been picked for an interview, and of the ones that had been picked even fewer candidates were actually notified that they did not receive the job.

Communication was not just lacking by the employers. It was also coming from the applicants who at one point or another in the process expressed a genuine interest in the job.

The employers interviewed spoke of candidates not showing up for interviews, declining positions after they had accepted them, and some candidates not even showing up for their first day of work with no communication as to why.

Many applicants cited a lack of initial communication from employers as reasons why their interest waned over the process. As hiring practices are being drug out sometimes as long as four to six months, with many of those months with zero communication from the potential employer, employee candidates second guess if they really want to work for those companies. 

Employee background checks are still very relevant and needed. If an employer isn’t respectful during the hiring process, they can almost guarantee that they will end up with a bad hire by the end, and no pre employment screening is needed to tell you that.

To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547 

If you have hired a background check company to execute your pre employment screening, you are assuming that they will be able to track down every little tidbit of information that they can.

For the most part, you are right. If it is a rather egregious offense, the basic criminal background checks or common credit checks should discover them. However, there are lesser offenses that are just as criminal, but do not show up on criminal background checks.

No matter how thorough a background check company is, they can only discover so much, based on which reports they are searching.

You might assume, for example, that an employee that is caught stealing at their previous employer will automatically appear on criminal background checks. This is not always the case. An employee must be given the chance to prove their innocence in a court of law. If they are convicted and found guilty by those courts, then- and only then- will their crimes be committed to public record.

If a company does not prosecute- for whatever reason- an employee’s misdoings will not become public record, therefore not appearing on criminal background checks.

Background check companies must then do additional employment verifications or search agencies that document employee theft cases. They may charge an additional cost to potential employers to do these additional searches. Depending on the quality of the employees you hire on a regular basis, this may end up being money well spent- compared to hiring a known thief.

To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547 

The computer application process eliminates the personal touch given by one on one interaction. Unfortunately, because these computerized applications don’t evaluate personalities, red flags and warning signs about an applicant are often overlooked. Pre employment screening is needed to help fill in the blanks.

If you are using an online process, computerized applications request most of the needed information to complete pre employment screening; it should be a simple process to have one done.

By adding a sign line allowing a request authorization to do the pre employment screening, it is easy to get the potential employee’s approval before they are even brought in for an interview.

For businesses that are still using paper applications instead of computerized or online applications, it is easy to do quick employee background checks at the time the application is handed in. 

Start with basic questions about the hours the candidate is available to work. Ask why they are leaving their old job, or looking for a second job. Ask if they have experience in the job they are applying for. Follow up with a brief description of the job responsibilities; include some of the less desirable tasks, and ask if they are still interested.

The best ways to do these kinds of informal employee background checks are to create forms with these kinds of questions. Have the form available for all employees to use. It should be kept with the applications. That way as an application is handed in; someone can go through the questionnaire, giving a personal account of the applicant before they are brought in for the next step in the hiring process.

To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547 

Whether you are a consumer, an employer, or a job seeker, you are probably aware of the big three credit reporting agencies. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion are used by virtually everyone from credit card issuers to mortgage lenders, and anyone else needing to conduct employee background checks.

We usually think of the big three first when running employee background checks, primarily because that is where we will find major defaults like foreclosures and public judgments. What you might not know is that there are several other consumer reporting agencies that can be used to conduct employee background checks.

These other agencies are actually fairly diverse in the information the collect. Because of that wide range, you (as a hiring manager or owner)  have a better understanding of the applicant you are doing pre employment screening on.

For example, you can do a check that revolves around their check writing habits. Even though it is not as commonplace as what it might have once been, some people will still write checks, especially if they are floating their own personal loan. A bad check will not show up on one of the big three’s reports unless it goes past the point of collections. A check verification system will show if the checks are being written in the first place.

You can also find employment verification services too. These are certified agencies that track employment dates and sometimes the reason why an employee was terminated- particularly useful for employee theft cases that were not prosecuted.

To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547 

Pre employment Screening might indicate which part time employees are most likely to be disengaged, and potentially cause losses to your business. This is important as many companies are turning to part time employees as a way to control payroll and increase customer service levels.

It is easier to schedule several part time hours in a day, instead of having full time employees with longer shifts that might overlap in unnecessary times.

With shorter time requirements, it is easier to schedule more employees for a few hours at a time, when they are actually needed. As a result, customer service increases because staffing levels are dictated by sales flows and customer needs, instead of because full time employees need to have their hours filled.

Part time employees do not need a guarantee of hours, so when business is slow, you can easily decrease your payroll. 

The downside is that with no hour guarantees, and few to no benefits, many part time employees only do the absolute minimum work necessary to keep their jobs.

Because of this lack of engagement, part time employees are also more likely to cause theft issues, or ignore shoplifters. If essential employee background checks and other pre employment screening are not completed, the likelihood of part time employees causing losses becomes even greater.

Employee background checks, in particular pre employment screening, shows employment and background history that might be a red flag to potentially negative future actions and activities.

To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547