Most people who have a spotty background or work history have a way of sniffing out companies who do not run pre-employment screening, or who do not call for references. This puts those companies and stores at a higher risk for poor performance, excessive absences, and ultimately a higher risk of cash and merchandise theft.

As a retail security manager, I have had the pleasure of working with some of the best companies out there. I have also had the misfortune of working with some of the worst, especially when it comes to pre-employment screening. It’s not that these companies were bad, it was more about the resources they had available to them and to their employees for conducting the pre-employment screening.

I noticed a significant difference in several areas depending on how thorough of an employee background check the company did. One of the biggest areas of difference was in turnover rates. The companies who spent the time and resources to run a better check ended up with employees who seemed to stay longer.

Their retention wasn’t centered on the employees’ happiness; it was more specifically about the termination rate by management of their poor performing employees.

I also noticed that there was a higher rate of inventory discrepancies and unexplained cash shortages in those stores and companies that did not conduct thorough employee background checks.

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

When applying for a new job, you may be leaving a lot to chance with your potential new employer. My brother recently found this out when he applied for a new job after his recent graduation from college. It all started with a background check. More specifically, it started with a criminal background check that had gone awry.

His potential employer had not used reputable background check experts to perform pre-employment screenings. In fact, they didn’t use background check experts at all. They used an in-house program to search through the internet databases to get their criminal background check results.

Well, his background check turned up criminal hits from a state he had never even visited. Because of this, he had received communication from the employer that his job offer was being rescinded due to the results. 

After much discussion and secondary verification, luckily the problem was solved. When they ran the criminal background check, they had only used his name and date of birth. There was a match to someone meeting these very limited search qualifications, and thus the problem started. After they used additional information for a background check like his driver’s license and social security number (and matching up his photo id to the mug shot on file) they were able to verify who my brother really was, and who he was not.

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 

Whenever I try using a search engine to find background checks on someone, I am usually bombarded with online ads. These ads want to charge me money for personal information on an individual. There is usually some sort of teaser about how many results are found, and how many types of records there are – birth, divorce, arrest, death, etc.

I am always tempted to try them, that is, until logic sinks in. If there are so many search results, how will I know that what I am paying for is the right person’s pre-employment screening? What if I pay the fees for access and I can’t really find accurate or timely information on the person I am trying to research?

Going with some cheap online company, I might pay a small amount, but if it isn’t the right person, then I will be left with paying more to get the right information on the right person. It would not only be a waste of my money, but also my time.

I usually leave the website and go back to plan A – using a reputable company for my background checks. Sure they might charge more up front, but I know that they are providing solid, accurate information for my employee background checks, that I can use to make good hiring decisions.

I only want to run an employee background check one time. I don’t want to have to worry about getting the wrong information because the internet gave me the wrong person.

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 ran into an interesting situation the other day involving employee background checks.

We had an associate found guilty of employee theft. It was a pretty open and shut case. We followed our company procedures to the letter, and the end result was that we terminated this employee. She was not prosecuted, but we did require restitution to be paid to us to make up for the losses she incurred.

We didn’t think much else about it. In an unrelated matter, or so we thought, a few months later we were in the process of promoting one of our employees to a management position. They would have keys to the building, safe codes and alarm codes.

As per our policy, we ran a background check before the promotion was to go through. One of the points on the employee background check is address verification. The employee’s current address was different than the one we had on file from his application.

While this was not unusual in and of itself, there was more that this background check revealed. On the list of known residents of that address was our previous employee that we had terminated for theft.

Had it not been for the background check, we would never had reason to question this employee or his motives.

This is just one of the reasons why running an employee background check has different advantages and looks for different criteria than a pre-employment screening might. Because his move was recent, the pre- employment screening would not have turned up the connection with this employee.

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

In the early days of my working life, I knew very little about background checks. I trusted that employee background checks were cleared through some magical process in our main office. At the very least, I thought the application provided all of the critical information needed for hiring decisions.

How wrong was I?  I did not realize that verification of information on applications is one of the main services provided by a background check company.

I was fresh out of high school and working in a small restaurant with a bakery. I knew that our bakers weren’t born here in the USA, but I didn’t know they were here illegally. It wasn’t until the day they asked me to marry one of them to help keep them here in the States, that I realized they were illegal immigrants.

I turned their offer down, but I never turned them in.

It wasn’t until many years later that I realized the full extent of these actions.

They were here illegally, and had to be using someone else’s social security number to be employed. It might have been one of their friends, and the number was being shared within their own group, knowingly and willingly.

It very well could have been the number of a complete stranger who had no idea what was going on. They could potentially have credit or tax problems because of this.

It also meant that the company had not consulted with a background check expert to handle the pre-employment screening conducted by my employer through a background check company that would have potentially caught their secret through the criminal background check process. If an illegal immigrant could be hired on, whom else might I be working with? Criminals with a history of theft? Maybe even violence? The list goes on.

Background checks are there to protect employers from all of these issues.  Employers who consult with background check experts who specialize in criminal background checks and employee background checks can alleviate many of these worries.

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 an interesting article in our local paper last week. One of our city commissioners had been sent a 1099 form from an employer in a different state. Her first thought was that it was clearly a mistake. Shouldn’t a background check be enough to clear the matter up?

She first contacted the company who sent her the 1099. As it turned out, this “employee” had been working there for about five years before they left. Because a driver’s license is not required anymore, there was no picture identification to be able to match up, or use to dispute her claim.

She had not consulted with a background check company or any background check experts to conduct criminal background checks and employee background checks. The credit reports she had run never showed up anything suspicious. Her social security number, luckily, had not been used to open any accounts or apply for any credit or utilities.

So there were no other leads to follow up on whom this mystery person was, and more importantly how they got a hold of her social security number.

It could have been a random input of numbers. It could have been stolen from a database and sold. No telling how many other people have had access to her social security number and what damage they might do!

No telling how many more hours and dollars will be spent to clear her name.

This is another reason why pre employment screening and background checks are needed. There is often more damage than just making a bad hiring decision.

Consulting with a background check expert through a background check company to assist with criminal background checks and employee background checks can help ensure you are getting accurate information.

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