If you are a savvy business owner or manager, you are certainly working with a background check company when it comes to hiring new employees. The question is this: Is your background screening company doing what you need them to do?
You probably think they are, but the truth is, looks can be deceiving. Choosing a provider that does your background checks is one of the most important decisions that you will make as a hiring manager and it is certainly not one that should be taken lightly.
The worst thing that you could possibly do, when it comes to the wellbeing of your company, is to choose a low cost, low quality screening company.
Are You Monitoring the Performance of Your Background Screener?
One mistake that many employers will make, especially those that are busy, is once they hire a screening company, they believe that they don’t have to do anything else. That isn’t exactly true, however, as you should certainly be monitoring the performance of this screener.
One way to do this, which is the most popular way, is to audit the work of your background check company. In fact, the top background screening companies will be certainly willing to allow this to happen and will provide all of the information they have used, including phone numbers and email addresses, so their work can be audited.
Generally, companies who audit their background check companies will ask for 5% of all reports to be audited. If you aren’t comfortable with the company self auditing, you can also hire another firm to audit the work, just note that there is an added cost to consider. You can also do a form of this on your own, but due to limitations of information, you won’t have access to everything.
What to Consider When Auditing Your Background Screener
Though you can’t totally audit the background check firm on your own because you don’t have access to the same tools they do, you can do some checks on your own. For instance, you should have a well defined set of requirements for your background screening company to follow. Are they meeting those requirements each and every time?
Another thing that you should be doing is looking at the contract. Though you probably didn’t fully understand the terms of the contract from the start, after time has passed, you will want to look at it again…are you happy with everything in it?
Finally, you will want to make sure that your firm is knowledgeable with the laws in your state. Employment law is different in each state, so what may be fine to do in Indiana, may not be legal in California. If your background screening company is not up on the laws in your state, choose one that is.
As you can see, it can take minimal time to ensure that you are working with a company that will serve you well. You are working with a background check company for a reason…make sure that they are working with you, as well.
About The Guest Author: Jim Addison writes on behalf of BackgroundChecks.com and has been in the ever-changing background check industry more years than he cares to count. Currently, he lives in Denver with his wife Catherine and three boys. He adores hiking in the Rockies, letterboxing, and craft beer.
Employee Screening Photo via Shutterstock
