CHECK IT OUT
Background Checking Matters, Even When There are Plenty of Good Candidates in the Hiring Pool
Congratulations! Whether you know it or not, you've just wrapped up one of the most extensive hiring processes you'll ever go through. You've spent two years interviewing job seekers, narrowing the field, learning about applicants' prior job experience, skills, education and of course, checking their backgrounds. Finally, you've hired someone. He starts on January 20th and his name is Barack Obama. If only we had a throng of reporters and two years of gumshoeing to make every hiring decision. Unfortunately, small and medium sized businesses don't have that luxury. We have jobs that we need filled to keep our businesses up and running, and the smaller our companies are, the more important each hire can be. With nearly everyone feeling the pinch of the economic crisis, decisions about hiring go from being important to downright make-or-break. There are few things more damaging to your bottom line than hiring a person that lacks the necessary skills and credentials and then having to spend the time and money a second time to refill a position.
Human Resources expert, Nancy Allen, President of NY Allen Consulting and 12 year veteran of HR who has worked with over 70 clients, says that the direct costs to a company are typically a minimum of $3,000 to $4,000 if they hire the wrong person. "But the real cost depends on a number of factors," she adds, "How much time was spent on the search? How critical is the position to the operations of your company? Did you hire an outside search company and do they need to start a new search? There's really no way to recoup any of the money and certainly you can't recoup any time wasted."
With unemployment rising, any business that is hiring these days is sure to receive a lot of interest from potential candidates. Many of those candidates may, in fact, be qualified for the job. That's great news for business, but don't get caught up in the moment and overlook the necessity of due diligence. It doesn't take an expert to determine that the country is in a buyer's market right now. Recent layoffs and rumors of more on the way are a good indication that employers are in the driver's seat when it comes to hiring.
So how do you ensure that you choose the right candidate? Take a tip from the American people...
Define the issues
In the elections we had several issues that trumped just about everything: the conflicts in the Middle East and the economy. Regardless of where you stand on how to handle them, it's hard to argue that anything was more important in determining who would be the next president. To hire right you have to clearly define the issues that are most important to your business.
Nancy Allen suggests you figure out what would be the adverse information for the position. "You can check driving records for drivers, but do you need to check that for cashiers? Are you looking at an employment credit report? If you're a bank you should understand the tellers' credit history. If they have criminal records having to do with writing bad checks, do you want them handling customers' checks or handling company funds?" These questions, Allen suggests, should be covered in a hiring policy.
Ask about the issues, check against everything
Once defined, many people voted based on the key issues that aligned with their vision of the future of the country. Still, we wouldn't have voted for someone with, say, a history of drug abuse, just because we liked his stance on the economy. We vote on the issues, but we check for everything. Similarly, you should focus your interview questions on the integral parts of the job but, at the same time, complete a comprehensive background check. Confront any blemishes up front before investing valuable company resources into your new employee.
Allen suggests that once you have an idea of what's important, you should create a policy that lays out what you're screening for, to whom the policy applies, and what you will do if you find adverse information in a background check. "Consistency is the biggest key," says Allen. "If you're checking anybody, then check everybody."
Be double sure
In the weeks leading up to the November 4th election Barack Obama took the lead in the polls. Did we call off the elections and declare him the winner? No, of course not. The same holds true when hiring. People aren't always who they say they are. A recent study found that over 20% of the population had "inflated" their education on their resumes.
Allen suggests asking questions that uncover the truth in interviews. "You can ask any question in the interview that is provided in the documentation applicants provide you. You can ask a question about their college that they should know if they really went there. Generally people who lie about education don't have all their ducks in a row." These preliminary tip-offs can give you a good sense of where an applicant stands.
No matter how impressive a candidate is during the interview process, no matter how well you know they will perform, do not deviate from your system of hiring. Call references, do the background check and you'll have peace of mind, knowing that you've made the right choice.
We've all heard horror stories of what can happen when employers elect not to complete a background check - everything from embezzlement to violence in the workplace. By following these basic principles you can take full advantage of the surplus of talented people in the current job market while avoiding the wrong employee investment.
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