5 Easy Steps to Doing Employment Background Investigations the Right Way

Employment background investigations are a necessary part of the hiring process.

The most common investigations are criminal and drug screens. Those are great if you want to be sure the person can meet the minimum standards of your company.

What can you do to make sure the person you hire is a good fit within the culture of the organization?

If you hire the wrong person, your business can waste thousands of dollars.

Can you afford to waste those resources?

Keep reading to find out the top tips to run a background check that ensure you get the right hire.

1. Know the Laws in Your State

During the hiring process, there are laws at the state and federal level that you need to be aware of.

For example, if you plan to run a credit check on employees in Oregon, you’re restricted by law to do so. Even if you’re not in Oregon or other jurisdiction that has a restriction, you still have to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

If you’re not sure about the laws in your area, check with an attorney before running background checks.

2. Conduct Wider Employment Background Investigations

Instead of conducting just a criminal check, you should expand your employment background investigations.

That’s because 24% of bad hires have cost small businesses customers. They can also cause a toxic work environment.

You can run searches on social media accounts to get a sense of the candidate’s personality. You can also run employment, driving, and education checks.

These checks will make sure that the candidate is a good fit, but also in integrity with how they presented themselves in the interview and on their resume.

3. Outsource or Keep In-House?

Should you outsource your background checks or do them yourself?

Outsourcing can make sure that you’re within the law, but they also cost about $30 per candidate.

Companies like Go Lookup allow you to perform background checks yourself, without taking up much time. Find out more about them.

4. Have a Consistent Policy

You want to stay within the law and you want to avoid discrimination lawsuits. The best way to do that is to have a consistent policy for employment background investigations.

Applicants for the same job should have the same exact background checks done. There may be variations between positions, but never between candidates for the same position.

5. Look for Patterns in Behavior

Background checks are subject to misinformation. With the rise of ID theft, there is a chance that there is bad information that the job candidate doesn’t even know about.

If you find one instance of questionable behavior, that may be OK. However, if you find a pattern of bad behavior, then you need to move on to the next candidate.

Hire Right from the Start

Hiring the right person is a crucial step to achieving growth in your business. The wrong hire can cost you customers, time, and money.

Conducting employment background investigations that give you a broad picture of who you’re hiring can make sure you get it right the first time.

For more great business tips, check out these business advice articles.