Small Businesses Need Background Checks, Too

It has become regular practice for large corporations to conduct background checks on anyone being hired for a position in their company. The same is mostly true for medium-sized businesses, though some of them make the mistake of skipping this important part of the hiring process from time to time.

Small businesses seem to have the most difficulty in consistently running background checks on their incoming employees due to the cost involved – when every dollar counts, it can be difficult to make the choice to reallocate funds to this necessary process. While background checks are an expenditure, they’re a cost that small businesses can’t afford to ignore. Here are some simple reasons why:

Safety of Your Employees

Even though you don’t employ a lot of people as a small business, one of your jobs is to keep those employees safe from harm while they’re at work. When you hire a new employee but haven’t taken the time to check him or her out, you are potentially putting your team in danger. Small businesses tend to have employees with a tighter relationship with each other due to a greater level of interaction with the same individuals, so you should think of your employees as a family – and protect them as such. Running background checks that focus on criminal activity, drug offenses, and verification of information provided by the new employee can help you ensure you’re keeping the workplace safe.

Protection of Your Assets

As a small business, every expenditure must be accounted for on a regular basis. You can’t afford to have items in your company damaged or, worse, stolen. New hires may have criminal backgrounds that could put your assets at risk, resulting in costs that could very well set your company back for months as they eat into your profit margin. The same is true with employees who have histories of drug or alcohol abuse, so the more you can find out before hiring a person, the less chance that your assets will be in danger.

The Costs of Liability

In some cases, hiring a person without performing the appropriate level of due diligence can result in employees or customers suing your company over liability issues due to harm that was inflicted upon them. Even though small businesses have insurance to protect them to a certain degree from such liability claims, there have been many cases over the years where small businesses have been forced to shut down due to the costs involved. And even if the costs don’t take down your company, you also have to consider the increased costs of liability insurance going forward since your rates will almost certainly rise.

Your Reputation is at Stake

No matter the size of your business, its reputation is one of its most important assets. While larger companies may be able to sustain a hit to their reputation because they have the money and resources necessary to weather the storm, small businesses are not in the same position. Any damage to your reputation due to matters that occur from hiring questionable employees could be absolutely devastating to your bottom line, even going so far as to put you out of business entirely.

NationSearch provides background checks that help keep your company and its employees safe, not to mention the consumers that get involved with your business. You simply cannot afford to skip this essential part of the hiring process. Whether you need employment verification, criminal records, social security verification, education information, or any related details on your applicants our professionals can make sure you have all your new and current employees vetted properly. Contact the professionals at NationSearch today!