The Importance of Background Checks in Employment: Key Factors Unlocking

Some say background checks are essential for modern privacy & security concerns. What does background check mean? It refers to the set of processes of investigating a person’s past, family, nature or any other records for employment purposes. 

This may include verifying educational qualifications, employment history, criminal records, credit history, and other relevant information. The purpose of conducting a background check is to ensure that the potential employee is honest and trustworthy, and to minimize any unnecessary outside risks to the organization. But spending resources on background checks is worthy? Let’s check.

How important is background check verification for an organization?

A basic background check can uncover potential threats or inconsistencies in an individual’s previous employment, higher education, criminal history, financial status, family issues, and more. This information can assist organizations in making a final decision on hiring a potential candidate and preparing for any potential issues.

Also read: What are the 5 strategic priorities HR leaders find critical?

Large corporations place great emphasis on conducting thorough background checks for hiring senior personnel, as their background can directly impact the brand reputation of the organization. A candidate with a history of unethical or illegal behavior will be immediately rejected even if they have considerable experience, degrees, or certifications. This is because building a reputable brand is worth more than taking such a risk.

A thorough background check not only helps to build trust towards employees but also reduces the gap between the employer and employee. Some job roles might require the employee to take responsibility for the organization’s bank accounts, valuable machinery, purchase orders, and internal assets. In such cases, trust plays a vital role.

That is why companies conduct background checks even though sometimes it may incur additional costs.

Can background checks show employment history?

In simple yes, background checks are crucial to verify past employment history by contacting previous employers or checking employment records. This is important to ensure that the candidate’s job history matches what they have stated in their resume or job application. It can also help verify the length of employment, job titles,  job duties, salary info and sometimes your performance.

How do companies do background checks?

Conducting a background check can be done in various ways. For junior positions, a reference call may suffice, but for senior positions, it requires multiple layers of screening. Sometimes, companies opt to outsource background check services to third-party companies for convenience and thoroughness.

• Basic reference check: The HR executive can easily verify the candidate’s information and clarify any doubts by contacting the listed references in the resume through a simple call or email.

• Criminal record check: Companies usually outsource private investigators for conducting thorough criminal record checks. However, in some countries, police departments can provide necessary details upon request by the candidates, and the organization can obtain a certified copy from the government.

• Education verification: Verifying a candidate’s educational qualifications can be a complex process as it may involve multiple educational institutions. However, some universities provide websites where degree certificates can be cross-checked with their certificate number.

• Employment history check: Contacting the previous company’s HR department can help sort this out. Additionally, we can gain insights into the candidate’s behavior through this process.

• Credit check: Assessing a candidate’s financial stability and responsibility can be challenging, and the outcome may vary. HR can request a bank statement or previous company’s payslip from the candidate to gain insight and help in the analysis process.

• Professional license verification: HR executives can verify professional certifications or license by contacting the respective hotline or information email ID provided by the certifying authority.

Conclusion

In today’s technological era, maintaining accurate employee records is not only beneficial for organizations, but it can also help others. Experts emphasize the importance of having a comprehensive employee database management system to facilitate future decision-making processes. Background checks require precise data, and modern technologies can make this possible. 

By investing time and effort into thoroughly collecting and organizing employee data, organizations can mitigate risks and build a strong and dependable workforce. Try Better HR Cloud HR Software for free!