employee background checks

How Employment Screening Can Lead To A Safer Work Place

September 24, 2010 by Staff Editor

Pre employment screening has become a necessary process for many companies, industries and firms and especially with high risk positions. Pre employment screening consists of employee background checks and include a criminal background check along with personal, employment, financial, educational and other legal history checks.

There are several reassurances that come with employing the services of a background check company. Of these include knowing that you do not have a criminal amongst your employees, they were honest and sincere with their resumes and histories, and they have the educational training required for their positions.

Employing the services of a background check company also can reassure there are no employees with fraudulent histories that could eventually lead to attempted fraud against their company. If an employee with a bad credit and financial history of length and bankruptcy were to be put in a position that included handling large amounts of money, the potential of a theft happening would be much higher and a situation that can be avoided with employee background checks.

Employment screening and employee background checks decrease the incidences one could expect with high risk employees. You could even say it ensures a much lower percentage of chance that one bad apple will spoil the whole bunch! This can give the employers more time to think about other business matters and eliminate the stress of not knowing who is working for them.

Pre employment screening should consist of employee background checks and a criminal background check at minimum, but depending on the type of business and the potential risk that typically comes with this type of business, the full employee background checks may be more appropriate. Not only will the employer feel more safe and secure but the employees will too, knowing full well what all is being checked before they are hired.

A safe and secure company is able to focus more on running the company and less of watching their backs as those that do not take these precautionary steps should be doing. It’s too bad that this is the way it is, but it is certainly smarter to be safe than sorry.

A criminal background check is a simple, easy solution.

For more information contact us at background check company or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: background check company, Background checks, criminal background check, employee background checks, employment screening

Ho Ho Ho Employee Backround Checks

September 19, 2010 by Staff Editor

It’s the day after Thanksgiving. The store looks wonderful; you are surrounded by customers busily buying! You and your store team have worked hard to get to this day. Now starts the fun and excitement of the retail holiday season. The new folks seem to be fitting in just great! Look at them up there at the register taking care of those customers! You think to yourself, employee background checks, who needs to spend that money? Boy they sure are friendly!

You laid the ground work for a successful holiday season. You bought the merchandise, you planned the advertising and you hired some employees to help you handle the additional traffic this season brings. You ran an ad and had an outstanding reaction to your “now hiring” banner. You took the time necessary to make sure your new people were the right mix for your store. You personally interviewed each one, gosh were they nice. You called and did reference checks on them, gee her old supervisor gave her a glowing personal recommendation! The store owner next door was talking about the employee background checks he did before he hired anyone this year. He got a lot of great information from the background check company. Heck though, what does he know. You have been doing this longer and know people better. Go with the gut feeling that these new employees are all going to be fantastic.

The day ends. Sales were just awesome! Wait, the register is short a lot of money.

How many managers have been in this position? Have you had your heart sink to the bottom of your stomach when the missing cash is discovered? No it’s not always the newest people that steal from their employer but, how much of that theft can be deterred by doing proper employee background checks? As an employer, you are only privy to a certain amount of information. Why not let a professional get the rest for you?

For more information contact us at employee background checks or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: background check company, Background checks, employee background checks

5 Things Employee Background Checks will Reveal.

September 17, 2010 by Staff Editor

In today’s America, pre employment background checks have become a must in every company that thrives for success in the entrepreneurial world. Remember that the government is always looking at you, and you should always be very careful with your potential employees if you don’t want Uncle Sam to slap you in the hands for bad management.

Even though employee background checks can become a scary task if you want to do it on your own, if you hire the perfect background check company, scary will be the least of your concerns. A background check company will help you dig out the dirt out of your potential employees. Employment screening will reveal things like:

* Lies About Past Jobs.
If you thought you’d be hiring the next Bill Gates for your company, think again. Employment screening will reveal if you are about to hire the next Bill Gates, or the next Larry the Cable Guy for your company.

* Lies About Degrees.
It’s very common for potential employees to lie about their academic history. Pre employment background checks will detect very easily degree-fudging in your potential employees as well as your company’s current employees.

* Worker’s Compensation History.
Employee background checks will reveal if your staff has been involved in worker’s compensation fraud, or if they are seriously injured that they won’t be able to put up with the job that you are trying to offer them.

* Sex Offender’s List.
Let’s face it, who wants to hire a pervert? Quick criminal background checks will reveal to you in no time if your baby-faced potential worker is in reality a wolf in disguise. Always be on the safe side and ask to your background check company for a criminal background check.

* Credit Records.
Is money disappearing from your cash registers? Hire a background check company to reveal which person on your total staff is having money problems. However, that doesn’t really mean this person is taking the money, but at least you know you have to keep an eye on this person just in case.

There are a lot of things that a background check company can help you find out. If you want to be on the safe side it’s never too late to hire one of these companies, you don’t want Uncle Sam telling you “I told you so”.

For more information: employee background checks or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: background check company, Background checks, criminal background check, employee background checks, employment screening, pre employment

Employee Background Checks… What is the Applicant Hiding?

September 9, 2010 by Staff Editor

Most employers who conduct employee background checks look first to determine if their applicant has a criminal history. While this is important, there are other factors to consider when performing an employee screening.

Today, we’ll look at previous employment references, and what the employer should consider.

First determine if the previous employer is legitimate. A reputable background screening company won’t depend on the contact information provided by the applicant, but will contact an actual human resources representative or other record keeper to verify employment information. While this information may be limited by company policy, chances are the records are accurate as to dates of employment and position. Some companies will provide more information such as eligibility for rehire or the reason for termination.

Which brings us to the question of inaccurate dates of employment provided by the applicant. Frequently, date stretching is done deliberately to cover periods of unemployment, a negative job experience, or even incarceration, and should not be overlooked during a background check.

Overstating the job title is also a red flag. An applicant may attempt to enhance his prospects by inflating his responsibilities and abilities to obtain a position for which he or she is unqualified and lacks the skills; a fact the employer may only discover when it is time for a performance review. A hiring mistake based on this misinformation can be annoying and costly.

Pay attention to any gaps in employment history and periods of “Self Employment”. Have the applicant adequately explain these periods to determine the validity of the claims and the reasons for them.

The ultimate question is this: Has the applicant represented himself truthfully regarding his previous employment or has he misstated his responsibilities, time on the job, or reason for leaving?

The employee background check is a valuable tool to assist employers in making optimum hiring decisions.

For further information on employment background checks, contact us at 1-770-426-0547 or click here.

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Mandatory Employee Screening Anyone?

September 5, 2010 by Staff Editor

Have you ever wondered if every employee that you are hiring should have to pass a criminal background check? I know that it increases the cost of hiring. But if you add up the hiring costs and training expenses when trying to determine an ROI of a new employee, the cost of employment screening is marginal. However, the costs of not using a background check company could be astronomical.

Have you considered that you could be hiring someone with a very bad driving record as a delivery truck driver? The bad driving record could include speeding offenses and minor moving infractions such as rolling through a stop sign. But it could also represent a tendency for careless or reckless driving. If your new delivery driver has been convicted of driving under the influence and he gets behind the wheel of your delivery truck intoxicated, you could be held accountable for his actions. Your insurance costs could sky rocket and a possible law suit could put your business at risk. A background check company could have been your best friend.

When comparing the costs of employment screening versus disastrous actions caused by employees, wouldn’t you agree that it is in the best interest of everyone that employee background checks are mandatory for everyone during the hiring process. Depending on the type of your business you should conduct employee background checks on your employees during their whole employment.

Employment screening is not something you should ignore or dismiss as unnecessary.

For more information, visit employee background checks or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: background check company, Background checks, criminal background check, employee background checks, employment screening

Employment Criminal Background Checks…Necessary?

August 27, 2010 by Staff Editor

Is an employee criminal background check really necessary? As a former Police Officer I came into contact with people every day that were not fit to be in the same community as the good people in society. This included individuals that caused serious injuries to others. They used weapons to harm, kill, rape and steal. The list goes on and on. I learned quickly that these people cared about themselves ONLY and most had no remorse even when caught.

Then as a loss prevention professional for several major businesses I have personally investigated over 2300 employees for mainly employee theft. I found that many of those same people are in the workforce. I guess the primary impression I have come away with from that is this: These types of employees WILL steal from a business and smile while they are doing it. The only remorse that the majority had was that they were caught. This applies to all ages, sex, race, religion….

Now add this to the fact that many different studies over the years conducted by many different organizations boils down to this: Approximately 20% of the work force has stolen from their employer. This is one in five of the people in the work force today and that work for you! You may not wish to believe this but it is FACT. And we are only talking about theft. This does not include other crimes.

Is an employment criminal background check necessary? It is not just necessary it is an absolute requirement, no compromise. Unless you do not mind wasting money, time, labor and loss of your cash and merchandise to learn the hard way.

Oh, by the way if you hire someone that is violent or prone to it and they injure, kill or harm in any way another employee or customer you will be held liable. Saying I didn’t know does not hold water. The courts lean towards the fact that you should have conducted a criminal background check because they are readily available at low cost.

I forgot to mention, I have seen hundreds of managers and business owners that have said something to me like “I know people, I don’t have people like that working for ME”. They are the ones that are really at danger because their ego out weighs their business sense. Remember one in five!

Don’t compromise on employment screening!

For more information on employee background checks contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Background checks, criminal background check, employee background checks, employment screening

EMPLOYEE BACKGROUND CHECKS….ARE THEY BENEFICIAL TO YOUR BUSINESS?

August 19, 2010 by Staff Editor

YES!! In today’s tough economic times many companies, especially small ones, have eliminated some fundamental job applicant requirements, such as drug testing or checking someone’s history.

In today’s climate, employers should be even more cautious who they hire, particularly in high risk positions, such as individuals in the teaching or day care profession. Things such as the Enron scandal, September 11th and other corporate scandals have caused a heightened awareness of falsifying information and put higher scrutiny on company officials.

Many federal and state laws now require employers to run employee background checks on potential canidates. It will depend on what your particular company does and what those employees are being hired to do. Even if your business ventures are not high risk, resume fraud is on the rise, you do not want to hire an employee that costs your business profits in the long run.

Reporting on a potential hire can include an extensive amount of information or can be as simple as verifying education and social security numbers. Often these reports include: driving records, credit history, court records, bankruptcies, medical history, military records, past employer information and criminal history. The computer and information technology age has increased what we can find out about other individuals. It is up to you how extensive you want your search information to be. Each state law outlines what can be searched on an individual’s history. You can also check the Fair Credit Reporting Act for additional guideline information.

Why is all this information important to an employer? Often an employer can be held accountable for criminal acts or acts of negligence committed by an employee. This is especially true if the employee will be working with the public, elderly, children or entering people’s homes. Conduct employee background checks….it can save your profit margin!

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Find Employee Background Checks

August 10, 2010 by Staff Editor

When you have a need for employee background checks and you are shopping different sites, make certain to investigate fully. To help you make a choice, we have assembled this list of facts for you to consider when buying employee background checks.

Make sure that you are getting an actual criminal record check from the state or county. No matter what you are told “database” checks are not accurate or up to date. We can do database serches but our clients want accurate information.
What is the turn around speed? 48 hours or less is standard. Hint: “database” criminal checks are “instant”
Be sure that there is service beyond the report.

These are the basic but important issues. Sincerely I expect that our check list helps you succeed. In case you are looking for greater detail you could call Loss Prevention Systems at 1.770.426.0547 and we can help. You may find useful many of the other posts on this blog that further explain . As you search around, visit trusted information sources and be careful that the information you read about employee background checks is written by someone who know what they are talking about.

For more information click: employee background checks

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Avoid Negligent Hiring Through Pre Employment Background Checks

August 6, 2010 by Staff Editor

One of the most undervalued benefits of conducting pre employment background checks is that the fact that a company performs employment screening can be a defense against a negligent hiring lawsuit.

Imagine that an employee who has customer contact on a regular basis suddenly loses his temper and attacks and injures one of your customers. A suit is filed against the employee, your company, and you for damages suffered by the customer, now known as “Plaintiff”.

Now imagine that plaintiff’s attorney introduces evidence that his client, your former customer, had numerous previous arrests and convictions for aggressive behavior, including assault and battery. Plaintiff’s attorney contends that you, as the employer knew, or should have known, that the employee would assault someone based on his prior history.

If you don’t conduct pre employment background checks on all your new hires, then you may as well go ahead and write a large check ot to the plaintiff.

Now, even if you had done a background check and it came back clean, at least you made an effort to weed out the bad hires, and you have made an attempt at due diligence.

Employers should make an effort to hire honest, productive employees, a process that should include employee background checks.

Go to: employee background checks to learn more about how to improve your pre employment screening process.

Filed Under: Pre-employment screening Tagged With: Background checks, employee background checks, employment screening, pre employment

True Story Illustrates Why You Should Use An Expert For Background Checks

August 5, 2010 by Staff Editor

Here is a story that illustrates why using an expert for your pre hire background checks is a wise practice.

We were recently contacted by one of our clients and asked to conduct an investigation into a suspected embezzlement/theft by one of their employees. During the course of the investigation, we discovered that the person of interest had been arrested and charged with seven counts of Credit Card Fraud, had been fined and served probation.

The individual had been hired as a temp-to-perm through a staffing agency that conducts employee background checks using a commercial database provider which is very unreliable. This commercial database provider returned “No Record Found”, not only missing the Credit Card Fraud, but also two separate instances of bad checks.

The employee admitted misappropriating more than $10,000 of the company’s money by manipulating the accounting.

It is always a good idea to conduct new employee background checks when an employee comes on board. Do not depend on a staffing company to do a thorough job.

Go here to learn more about incorporating background checks into your pre hire screening or call 1.770.426.0547 x102

Filed Under: Background checks Tagged With: background check company, Background checks, criminal background check, employee background checks, pre employment