Working in the human resources department of your company offers challenges that other departments never face. One of the biggest is finding good employees for the company. Your job might not be hiring people, but you might have the unique task of running employee background checks.
Why do Companies do this?
The employee turnover rate in a company is important. It affects productivity, profits, and more. By limiting or reducing the turnover rate at your company, your company will not suffer as much. Background checks help companies find great employees that will be advantageous for the company. Running employee background checks on every potential employee could save your company thousands of dollars. The same theory is true for landlords and tenants.
What Information will this Reveal?
When you conduct a background search on a person, you will find out a lot of things, including:
- The Person’s Credit Report
- The Person’s Criminal History
- The Person’s Driving Records
- The Person’s Military Records
- The Person’s Educational Background
How do I do this?
Running a credit check and background search on a person is something you can do online. You choose a company, hire them, and provide them with the information they need. You should get the person’s written consent before you proceed, and you may need to gather information about the person. You will have better luck with this if you have all of the information needed. Companies that offer this service use credit reporting, credit report services, and numerous other avenues to find the information you want to know.
What do I Look for?
Here’s the deal. You need to decide what qualities are found in good employees. Your company may have standards in place to follow; but if not, you should look for several things.
- Does this person have a good credit report?
- Is there any record of criminal history in this person’s past?
- Does the information on this person’s application match the information found through the credit report services and background check?
Does anything stand out that might be a red flag?
Credit reports reveal so much about a person. If a person does not pay his bills on time, or has a large amount of unsecured debt, it could be a sign that the person is irresponsible. Is that the type of employee you want to hire? An online credit report will reveal all of this too you.
The other parts of the background check will reveal other things. You probably want to avoid hiring anyone that has a criminal history. You may also want to avoid hiring people that have clearly lied to you about something.
Bottom Line
Running background checks on potential employees is one of the best ways to protect your company. This will help you select the best employees for the job, and it may prevent you from issues later on. The number one benefit is that it may help you reduce your employee turnover rate, and this will save your company thousands of dollars.