One Big Mistake in Employment Screening
When a company starts doing employment screening, one of the first mistakes made is in deciding what checks to run on employees. Obviously, an employer doesn’t need to run as extensive a check when hiring an hourly laborer as when employing a CFO. The mistake that is made is in not spelling out the requirement for each position level, putting it in writing, and makes it a matter of policy. Having a standard policy for each job level or even each job title makes it a simple matter to apply the checks appropriately, consistently, and fairly.
Employment screening is designed to assure the employer that he is getting the very best candidate available for an open position, but of course each position has different requirements.
For the lower level employee, a credit report or education verification may be unnecessary, while a job reference or criminal record check may be vital. For a company driver, of course, a Motor Vehicle Record is important, for other jobs, maybe not.
The higher the job level, the more a comprehensive the employment screening process would be expected.
It is important to have the written procedure in place for a number of reasons, the most important of which may be that by applying the employment screening standards consistently and equally, the company has a defense against any allegations of discrimination when applying those standards. The policy should also be fully compliant with state and federal laws in the application of the background checks.
Don’t conduct your background checks without having a solid plan in place.
To discuss your employment screening program with an expert, click here or call 770-426-0547.
