Are you running background checks on new hires? If you aren’t – you really should be.
I get it. It might seem too complicated, or pricey to run these kinds of tests on every fresh face joining your team. You want to believe you’re a good judge of character, and that you wouldn’t make the mistake of hiring a person with a tendency to stick their hand in the petty cash.
However, this really is one of those instances where what you don’t know can cost you – and hurt your business in a major way.
In this post, I’ll be getting into exactly why you should be running these kinds of checks on your potential hires, and how to do it in the most cost-effective manner.
Let’s get to it!
Background Checks
Don’t think you need to run a background check because your prospective employee won’t be dealing with cash? Think again. Your liability as an owner goes much further than petty cash. Lawsuits for “Negligent Hiring” have been on the rise.
To give you an idea of how far your liability can go:
A pizza company hired a delivery driver without looking into his criminal past — which included a sexual assault conviction and arrest for stalking a woman he met delivering pizza for another company. After he raped a customer, the pizza franchise was liable to the victim for negligent hiring.
It has been proven time and time again that companies with background check policies have fewer employee theft and violence issues than companies without them.
How to run a background check
I like GoodHire.com. They are actively trying to help out the small employer. Some of the larger background check providers just don't seem interested in the business with less than 50 employees.
For around $55 you can get: A SSN Trace and Address History (this verifies their SSN, Names, Aliases and Addresses for verification process) plus, a National Criminal Databases Search (used to find felony or serious misdemeanor convictions), a County Criminal Court Check (Used to obtain court records that haven't been digitized yet), a Sex Offender List Check, and a Domestic Terrorist Watch List Check.
For around $79 you can get a report that included education and employment verification. You can also add on items like a Motor Vehicle Records check ($15) or a Professional License Check ($15).
You can complete a very robust background check on a potential hire for less than $100. Consider it money well-spent, because that would buy you about 30 minutes of your attorney’s time if something bad did happen.
Isn’t it funny how that works?
My favorite background check story is the DMV Screening I ran for a client. The candidate assured me there wouldn't be any issues…So imagine my surprise when the report came back with 5 speeding tickets in excess of 100 MPH in the last 2 years…plus 1 more at a mere 98 MPH. Needless to say, he wasn't hired and given a company car.
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