Background checks are a crucial part of the hiring process, and neglecting to gather all the proper information on a potential candidate can really hurt your company’s image and your bottom line.
Here are four negatives that can come from not performing the proper background checks:
- Waste of time – The hiring process – from the time you read someone’s resume to the time you offer them the job – can be very time consuming. After making sure someone is qualified for a position on paper, you have to call them in for at least one interview, double-check their references and qualifications, compare them with other candidates, and then offer them the position. If you skip the all-important step of thoroughly checking out someone’s references, qualifications, and other background info, you’ll only be wasting time – not to mention that once you do realize they aren’t right for the job, you have to start the process all over.
- Waste of money – Not only is the hiring process time-consuming, but it’s also expensive. Paying someone to be in charge of the hiring process, taking potential candidates out for lunch interviews, and paying someone to look into an applicant’s background all costs money. Unfortunately, if you end up hiring the wrong candidate, you’ll have to start from scratch and wind up paying double the cost.
- Legal liability – If you choose not to hire someone because of something you did or did not find as the result of a background check, you could be leaving yourself open to legal troubles with that person. For instance, if you decide not to hire someone because they have a bad credit history, they could potentially sue you for discrimination. If this ever happens, you’ll just end up wasting more time and money in court.
- Bad reputation – Regardless of your reasoning for not hiring someone, the decision could always come back to hurt you, not to mention your company’s reputation. Even if you have a completely valid reason for denying employment to an applicant, but they feel that they weren’t hired because they are a woman, are gay, etc., they could let everyone know about their grievances, which won’t put you in a very good light.
So keep these simple things in mind when checking into a potential candidate’s history and you should avoid any complications that may arise.
Citations:
- Image via Microsoft Office
Loves giving on advice on how to hire the best people and help your company grow. One way you can do that is by performing the proper employment screening on all your candidates.