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 

Pre employment screening is highly recommended by the Small Business Administration. They realize that one of the most important factors in a small business’s success is its ability to hire and retain quality employees.

If a small business hires improperly, their chance of success are drastically reduce. A “bad” employee can do unending damage to a business. 

When customer service is lacking, the company’s image is hurt. Customer’s stop coming in, and word of mouth takes care of any remaining customers who may have contemplated shopping with you. 
A bad employee can be the root cause of such a change in your customer base.

A side step from bad customer service is bad employee morale. An employee that shows up late to work, doesn’t pull their weight, or disregards policy and procedure brings everyone down. Time is spent correcting their actions and playing damage control with the rest of the hard working employees. This is just one more disadvantage of a bad employee.

Finally, the most egregious of these employee infractions can pale in comparison to the damage an employee can do if they are stealing from you.

These employees can still turn away customers and fellow employees, in addition to causing financial disaster from cash theft, credit card fraud or inventory theft.

Pre employment screening and employee background checks help to weed out these potentially disastrous employees. The reports can contain vital information that might sway the hiring decision one way or another.

Because the Small Business Administration has seen the repeated advantages of using pre employment screening and employee background checks, they are strong proponents of using them.

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 1.770.426.2

In my experience, people will admit to the lowest denominator that they think they can get away with. Employees and shoplifters only admit to a fraction of what they actually stole. Other criminals will downplay the number of times they committed a crime. Do they really think that we will believe they were caught the very first time they did something wrong? No, they probably had done the action/ criminal activity over and over until it was so blatant that they were finally caught. Criminal background checks help to unearth if there is more activity than what a job applicant is admitting to.

I was recently looking to hire a new employee. He came on a referral and the store managers wanted to rush to hire him, even to bypass the usual pre employment screening. I was hesitant to hire someone so quickly, but I told them to fill out the application first and I would see what I could do.

On his application, he put down that he had a DUI a few years ago. While I am glad that he admitted to his charge, I was still left with questions about his judgment.

Is this someone with a drinking problem, or just had a momentary lapse in judgment? 

Can I rely on them in a high impact situation, or to have consistency in their day-to-day behaviors?

I knew then that I needed to have a more thorough criminal background check. As I suspected, this applicant had a long history of DUI related incidents. He had thought if he admitted to one, I wouldn’t pursue other pre employment screening and see how many he really had.

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 

For some employees, Social media is an outlet for their personal expressions. In spite of their need to over share personal information or their questionable behaviors, many in the job pool believe that their personal lives should remain private. Any digging into social media sites would therefore constitute a violation of their privacy. This puts potential employers in a precarious position if they decide to use social media as a part of their pre employment screening.

With privacy and security controls available on such social media websites and networks, it should reasonably fall to the responsibility of a job candidate to keep their sites private and block public viewing. If they do not want the Internet documentation of their activities, they should take the responsibility to maintain their privacy controls.

In response to the business need for a social networking arena there are sites specifically designed and created for the working individual. These sites give potential employers unofficial employee background checks that are allowable for hiring purposes.

Since the site is to be shared within the professional community, instead of a personal network of friends and family, employers are welcomed more freely to investigate through those networks. The down side to using these for informal pre employment screening is that the job applicant puts the information on the site. It is at their discretion what is posted and what is omitted.

While the debate continues to surround social media as a viable way to conduct employee background checks, it is probably best to have a more traditional pre employment screening weed out your job candidates.

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 

So often when we (as business owners and managers) think of running background checks for potential employees, we do so with the mindset that it is for our benefit. We rarely stop and think about pre employment screening from the perspective of a new hire.

Maybe it is time that we do.

With so many companies making it blatantly obvious that the employees are an after thought, background checks are frequently viewed as another company hoop to be jumped through.

Maybe it is time we talk to our potential employees about the benefits that they will get from undergoing the pre employment screening.

Since we are all aware of the benefits from low turnover, we should be presenting background checks in the same context that we do vacation time, insurance, or 401K opportunities.

When you are able to weed out potentially dangerous or deceitful employees, you are creating a safer work environment for the employees who do make it past the initial screening.

When you are validating education history, you are ensuring that other employees will not have to work double duty to compensate for the lied about skill and knowledge sets of a potential bad hire.

When you verify work history, you can discover large employment gaps or frequent job bouncing. Those employees can exhibit a serious lack of commitment to their job and their productivity. Not hiring those candidates help keep high employee morale as everyone is doing their share of the workload.

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