Mar 16, 20224 min read

The Basics of Background Screening: What You Need To Know

Are you looking for Tenant Screening, Employment Screening, Verification of Employment, Credit/ Scores/ OFAC, Criminal Background, Eviction Records or DMV Records?

Perhaps you want to lower you risk of a bad tenant and reduce new hire turnover costs. Or maybe you want to reduce the risks of negligent hiring to improve safety and security by verifying employment or checking their background.

If so, then it’s time to consider background screenings.

As a business owner or manager, decisions greatly impact your firm’s attrition rates. If you make a bad hire or sign a lease with a bad tenant, you suffer decreased productivity, damage to property, and plenty of headaches.

By partnering with the best third-party background screening company, you’ll have a system that best suits your company’s needs. Are you still on the fence about whether you should screen candidates when hiring or verify employment with a potential tenant? Read more to learn the benefits of background screening for your business.

Let's look at how background screening can greatly impact employment for example.

It Increases Job Application Quality

Conducting background checks on potential employees can increase the quality of job applications. If applicants are aware your firm conducts background screening, they’ll provide correct info. Also, those who don’t meet your requirements won’t apply for the role.

Background screening will result in;
Fewer misstatements and discrepancies in job applications
Individuals seeking a safe work environment will apply
People hiding serious issues are discouraged
Your pool of applicants improves, translating to hiring the best candidates.

The quality of hiring depends on the available information concerning the candidate. By weeding out unsuitable applicants in the application stage, you’re left with potential employees for your company. At the end of the recruitment process, there are higher chances of picking the best candidate for the role.

Reduce Workplace Violence

Do you know more than 1.2 million workdays are lost every year due to workplace violence in the US? This translates to over $50 million of lost wages annually without considering other costs. These include loss of productivity, legal expenses, damaged brand image, and more.

As an employer, you’re required to provide employees with a safe work environment. Thus, before you bring a potential employee aboard your workforce, you’ll want to know whether they have any criminal record.

Also, you want to check if they have been involved in serious crimes. These include substance abuse, reckless behavior, dishonesty, theft, or violent behavior.

By knowing these details about a potential employee, you can make an informed choice of whether they’ll be a liability or asset to your firm. This guarantees a safe working environment for all your employees. Also, it reduces costs associated with workplace violence, such as lawsuits and litigation costs.

Protect Against Hiring and Retention Liability

As an employer, you may be held accountable for either knowing or not knowing particular details about your employees. This implies you’ll be held accountable if your employee is guilty of some public misconduct. In such cases, you’ll face negligent hiring and retention liability lawsuits which can cost your business dearly.

Also, you have a moral and legal obligation to guarantee employees a safe work environment. This means you need to unveil any cases of criminal activities or dishonesty pertaining to potential employees. One of the best tools to ensure your potential employees are worth hiring is background screening.

Screening helps you for a criminal background check, license, prior employment and education. If there are discrepancies in one’s application or potential issues, it’s easy to reveal them. This protects your business against future liability lawsuits.

Also, a third-party background check company can develop a screening solution to meet your firm’s specific needs. These include your industry standards and federal and state requirement, which varies with job type and state. Thus, with every hire, your company we’ll have met all the stipulated requisites.

Reduce Losses Associated With Employee Dishonesty

On average, every company loses over 5% of annual revenues as a result of employee dishonesty and occupational fraud. Employee dishonesty impacts your firm’s reputation, productivity, public confidence, and employee morale.

One of the best ways to prevent employee dishonesty and theft is by conducting background checks before hiring. Screening helps to reveal past issues of a potential employee related to theft, drug abuse, violence and more. As an employer, you will cut off any employee with dishonesty or theft issues in the past to prevent losses in the future.

Knowledge on Track Record

When hiring a candidate, it’s almost impossible to deduce from the interview or resume what it’s like to be with them on a daily basis. By conducting background screening, you’ll get crucial insights into the track records of the candidate. To verify their track record, it’s necessary to get the information directly from their former superior or HR department.

Some of the applicant details you’ll need to verify include;

Working period
Position
Performance
Employment status
Candidate eligibility
Reason for employment termination

Screening is perfect for verifying this info as it digs into three previous employers or work experience up to the past ten years. This ensures you don’t hire applicants who have exaggerated their education or work experience. Without verifying their background, you’re likely to hire unqualified candidates, which can be costly to your business.

Here Are Benefits of Background Screening

Pre-employment screening helps to speed up the recruitment process and ensure you pick the perfect match. However, it’s crucial to partner with a third-party background screening service to get the service. Choose a reputable background screening company to save money time and enjoy all these benefits.

Important Things To Consider When Background Screening

Verifying income, employment references, and conducting credit and background checks are just part of what a property manager should have in place prior to leasing to a potential tenant.

Tenant Screening
Employment Screening
Verification of Employment
Credit/ Scores/ OFAC
Criminal Background
Eviction Records
DMV Records

Are you looking for a background verification company? At Service 1st, we got you covered. We are a credit reporting agency offering background screening products to our clients.