Hopefully in this day and age you are aware that employee background checks are an option for employers before they make a job offer to a potential candidate.  I hope even more you are utilizing these background checks before you make said offer.  Modern technology has made conducting pre employment screening and employee background checks more accurate and affordable and our litigious society has made them that much more necessary.

Did you know that your business is liable for its employee’s actions?  If one of your employees injuries or commits a crime against a customer or fellow employee then you may get sued and end up paying big bucks.  Did you also know that it is harder than ever to get a reliable reference from past employers?  Try it sometime.  Due to lawsuits and claims of defamation of character, many companies will now only verify dates of employment.  That is fine and dandy if the employee was a good employee, but what if that last date of employment was because of theft?  Criminal background checks are the only way to really know what type of employee you are hiring.  Now, criminal background checks are hard to do yourself so I recommend getting your needed background checks done by a reliable Background Check Company.

There is more than one Background Check Company available for hire.  In fact, there are many.  What you may not know is that not every Background Check Company uses licensed and trained Background Check Experts to conduct the services they offer.  When you pay for employee background checks you expect the process to be thorough and complete.  This is hard to accomplish without trained background check experts conducting the pre employment screening.  My recommendation is to check out the credentials of the Background Check Company you are looking at before you sign the dotted line.

 For more information on employee background checks, background checks, background check experts, criminal background checks, or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547 

 

The 2010 National Retail Security Summary (NRSS) is out. I had a chance to read it the other day. It shows some interesting data sent in by 140 retailers nationally. Employee theft remained at about 45% of retail inventory losses reported. This was about the same proportion as last year, according to the NRSS.

The two biggest causes? Sales associate turnover and a heavy reliance on a part time work force.

Retailers are bombarded by the constant flux of open positions and payroll cuts. Combined, they leave little to the employee to hold on to. Often feeling overworked by having to compensate for being short handed. They then are on hourly restrictions, that often decrease their hours to compensate for the payroll reduction.

This creates a breeding ground for inconsistent paychecks and ill will toward their company. Hmm. That explains why so many associates jump ship for other jobs as soon as they can find one. It also explains why the two biggest reasons I hear for employee theft are:

“I felt like they [the company] owed it to me” and “I couldn’t afford it”

Well, now that we have gotten ourselves into this predicament, how do we get ourselves out?

Background checks and pre employment screening

Not just any old background checks either. I am talking about ones conducted by a real background check company with background check experts compiling data and analyzing risk factors.

I personally don’t have time to interview every application that comes across my desk, for every open position. I need someone with an expertise in background checks to give me the cliff notes version of the resume in front of me. I need a Background check company to be a watchdog for me.

My time is limited on who and how many applicants I can interview. If I am armed with information from pre employment screening that saves me from wasting my time, background checks are well worth the investment!

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

With the holidays behind us, many companies are starting to tally up their final numbers for the year. Among those numbers are the dollar amounts lost to shrink. According to the statistics released by the Global Shrink Barometer for 2011, total shrink in the United States comes in at a whopping $41.691 BILLION dollars. Thats right, Billion! That’s a lot of money to be lost. They then go on to state that 44.2% comes from employee theft.

How much of those dollars are coming out of your store at the hands of your own employees?

With sobering statistics like this, it’s hard not to want to pull every associate into the office, shine a bright light in their face and make them confess every secret they ever held! That, of course, would be a HR nightmare. How about as an alternative – running Employee background checks?

Pre employment screening, done by reputable background check experts, will eliminate the obvious bad applicants. At the very least, the Background Check Company should run a criminal background check during the course of their pre employment screening.

Background Checks point out the obvious indicators such as previous convictions or bad credit. Background check experts will sort through the information compiled on an applicant. Their knowledge will help give you a better chance at hiring the person with the lowest risk of becoming a dishonest employee. This allows you to focus on their other skills and merits that qualify them for your open positions.

Hiring a Background Check Company seems much more reasonable than being faced with $41.691 Billion dollars in losses due to employee theft.

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 

As economic times have continued to become more difficult, many employers are now using every method available to ensure they are hiring the right people.  The hiring process has become more important than ever.   Many successful companies are now using background check companies and background check experts.  These background checks include criminal background checks, employee background checks.  These pre-employment screening tools allow the employer to control who enters into their talent pool.

By employing a background check company or background check expert, the employer can access very important information regarding the candidate’s history.  These background checks can reveal other wise private information such as, criminal background checks.  This gives the employer visibility to information that can speak to the quality of employee and can reveal any disqualifying information.  These background check companies and background check experts can also process employee background checks.   These employee background checks provide the prospective employer a look into the candidate’s quality of work and relationship with previous employees.  This is a good measure in projecting the behavior of the candidate while under employment.  A company that is looking to hire can also take the process one step further by using pre employment screening.  Pre employment screening can include all of the above-mentioned criteria, but can also include competency based pre employment screening.  This screening can identify candidates that have the technical and behavior based skills to be successful in your business.

Having worked in the retail industry for a number of years, I have not only been the subject of the practice of background checks and pre employment screening.   The process is very fluid and not intrusive.  It has also provided me the opportunity to work for a few great companies, but more importantly it has guided me in developing myself to be competitive for higher-level positions.  These screens have included background checks, criminal background checks and employee background checks.

 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

Everyone wants to put their best foot forward when applying for a position but when a candidate misleads a prospective employer with the hope of securing employment there is a problem.  Human resources experts argue that nearly 40% of resumes are fraudulent.  That means 2 out of 5 resumes contain exaggerations or omissions that a reasonable person would consider deceptive.  Examples of resume fraud can be anything from claiming to have worked at a job for a longer period of time to outright falsifying credentials such as degrees or professional certifications.

What can employers do?

Conduct pre employment screening and background checks. It’s difficult to spot a liar in a job interview and it’s not enough to just follow-up with references these days.  Employee background checks can help every employer avoid a bad hiring decision.  It’s not hard to write an honest resume but many applicants roll the dice and take their chances because many employers still fail to conduct employee background checks.

I believe there are three overarching benefits to conducting pre employment screening. Deterrence tops the lists because making it clear that background checks are part of the hiring process will discourage applicants with something to hide. Background checks also encourage honesty in the work place by creating a culture motivated by integrity from the start of the onboarding process.

Fact-finding is a key ingredient to pre employment screening so supplementing your initial impression of a candidate forged during the interview process with facts can help an employer make informed decisions. Employee background checks are conducted by major corporations because they can provide an added layer of protection from liability.

One bad hire could potentially cost an employer thousands in lost time or litigation costs and they may not have a leg to stand on in court if they haven’t conducted an employee background check. If you haven’t done so already, take the initiative and make informed decisions by implementing pre employment screening and background checks as part of your hiring process.

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 

 

Retailers both large and small are starting to realize the importance of pre-employment screening via background checks. As a loss prevention professional one of the toughest challenges was to convince the powers that be the importance of preventing loss by contracting a background check company. The proof is in the pudding, countless post theft interviews point out prior terminations as well as criminal convictions. During post theft interviews many of the suspects stated that they were never asked at any stage of the hiring process about previous employment terminations nor whether they had been charged and convicted of any crimes. But a business can not jump into the pre employment screening process without a plan. There are many background check companies out there offering a variety of services. The key is to choose a background check company that employs reputable background check experts and offer various services including criminal background checks (local/state/federal), employee background checks (previous employment & education) as well as pre employment screening training.

In doing research for the right company to conduct your background checks you have to look at the process as a whole not just background checks. I would look into the accreditation of the background check experts for the companies I was considering. I would choose the company that had the widest range of job experience in both human resource and legal backgrounds. I would want their team to include individuals who have worked in the retail world, the legal system and government work. This would ensure a healthy knowledge of not just conducting criminal background checks or employee background checks but also a seasoned knowledge to ensure your company and theirs worked in tandem to achieve common goals.

The pre employment screening process starts with the job application. What is  considered a thorough job application? What are you trying to ascertain in the application to help you select the right person for the interview process. Notice I didn’t say select the right person to hire, this is a step by step journey and if done correctly will lead to the best possible choice of employees. From the very start I would be working with the background check experts by reviewing my company’s current hiring process. I would ask for a review of the job application. It is imperative your job application is detailed and uses correct wording to flesh out any prior convictions as well as terminations from previous employment. Obviously any recommended changes would have to pass through the human resource and legal department, but lets be honest, they should be a part of the decision making from the start. By asking the right questions on the application you will hopefully deter those potentially bad employees from completing an application. Also by asking the right questions you can start to formulate questions for those people whom you choose to make it to the interview level.

The next step should be gathering together all of the applications which have made the cut. Each application should be gone over with a fine tooth comb and pertinent questions formulated for the interview. Typically many of the questions will center around employment history. You can really ask the same questions thereby ensuring the answers are all the same and coincide with the results of the employee background check. The other area to be delved into should be any charges or convictions. If the job application shows a conviction and an explanation of the charges and outcome then it is necessary to ask detailed questions regarding the incident. This again will be either proven or negated by a criminal background check. During this first interview you can also ask specific questions to ascertain honesty and loyalty. Notes should be taken by the interviewer or preferably a witness so as to ensure information has been properly gathered for review. Follow up questions can be and should be formulated for a potential second interview.

A second and even third interview is recommended before actually hiring an employee. After the first round of interviews the powers that be should convene to review the notes and opinions from each interview. Detailed follow up questions should be constructed to hone in on areas of concern or uncertainty. Focusing on honesty, loyalty ability to handle pressure and a person’s disposition can and should be done at this second interview. At this point you as the interviewer can really start to focus on these follow up questions to dig into and flesh out and potential issues not yet fully addressed. Each step is an obstacle a potential employee has to clear to achieve employment. It should not be a walk in the park.

The last step is ensuring the potential employee fills out the proper release forms so the correct background checks can be processed. It is very important that correct addresses and prior addresses are collected since most company’s will conduct local criminal background checks within the county the potential employee resides. I firmly believe that local and state wide criminal background checks be conducted since travel is cheap and readily available thus increasing the bubble we exist within. The employee background check is very important, any shift from the truth should be addressed formally.

As you can see the preemployment screening process is a multi tiered system that will hopefully give you the best of the best potential employees. More and more company’s are realizing that to impact their shrink proactively they need to start at the beginning with a structured multifaceted hiring process. Having background check experts work with you to formulate such a plan will pay for itself in the end.

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