7 Issues You Can Avoid By Doing A Background Screening Before Hiring

When employers have job openings, they usually want to fill them as quickly as possible. We understand the need to get back to speed and avoid disruptions in your workflow and productivity. However, we strongly advise companies to take the time to conduct thorough background checks on candidates.

You don’t have to do pre-employment screenings on everyone you interview, but we urge you to screen the top runners before you make a job offer.

Why? Because these candidates may look great on their resumes and during interviews, but they may be concealing a dangerous past and bad intentions. A person who intends to steal company secrets or disrupt your business’ operations will not share this information with you. It’s up to you to do your due diligence and ensure you’re not bringing somebody in who will endanger you, your business, your employees, your customers, or anyone else, for that matter, in any way. A background check company can serve you well in this endeavor.

Read on to learn about seven issues you can avoid by doing pre-employment screening before extending a job offer and regretting your decision. Since you can’t turn back the hands of time, be sure to get into the habit of doing background checks before making any job offers, no matter how great the candidate may seem.

Endangering Others

Your biggest concern is a new hire who becomes a threat to others because unresolved anger management issues or violent tendencies may be present. What could happen when a manager tries to give this new hire constructive criticism? When a fellow employee declines an invitation to lunch? When a customer is insulting or accusatory? Everything from angry outbursts to worst-case scenarios can happen, endangering those the new hire comes into contact with. This can be avoided with a background check.

Belligerence

For a company to work well, everyone involved needs to cooperate. Without collaboration, your workflow can fall into chaos very quickly. A belligerent employee can become aggressive, antagonistic, combative, argumentative, and even hostile, creating an unpleasant work environment that can negatively impact everyone who has to come into contact with this individual. Avoid belligerent new hires through pre-employment screening services.

Sabotage

Your new hire may be a pleasure to work with, but he or she may have ulterior motives. Are they trying to sabotage you or your company to doom you to failure?

You may ask yourself, “Why would somebody do this?” The short answer is: Any number of reasons! It could be someone who finds it thrilling to destroy others. Perhaps this person was fired by a previous employer and is out to get revenge, so to speak, by trying to bring the industry down.

Or it’s someone you knew way back in high school whom you’ve forgotten but who hasn’t forgotten you. They feel they were slighted by you and now want to get back at you.

Honestly, you’ll never know a person’s hidden motives when you’re conducting an interview. You may see the confidence and strength you’re looking for. You may see smiles and poise, but it’s unlikely you’ll see an overinflated ego, a narcissistic personality, or any cruel intentions that may be present. This is why a background check is imperative.

Sexual Harassment

You do not want to put any of your employees in a situation where they may be sexually harassed. There are varying levels, degrees, and types of harassment, and all of them are unacceptable. It is your responsibility as an employer to create a workplace environment that’s respectful of everyone and free of harassment. An investigation into past records can turn up an individual’s criminal past; do a check to avoid hiring a sexual predator.

Dangerous Drivers

Whether you’re hiring someone to drive for a living or to occasionally transport people in vehicles, or to make deliveries from time to time, you’ll want to choose a candidate who will be safe on the road. Dangerous drivers can imperil those around them and put your company at risk for lawsuits. A background check will alert you to any driving under the influence charges or convictions. For a real-life example, read our case study that shows how a background check stopped a medical transportation provider from hiring a convicted DUI driver.

Theft

Workplace theft can take on many different forms. Theft can involve one employee stealing from others. It could involve an employee stealing office supplies and equipment, or worse yet, stealing company secrets and divulging them to competitors. Pre-employment screening services can turn up red flags that point to theft or other disturbing patterns.

Imperiling Sensitive Information

As we’ve just touched upon, you could be putting your company at risk by hiring somebody who thinks nothing of stealing sensitive information for personal gain. This individual may hack into personnel files and access private, sensitive information that could harm other employees. Or the individual may come into contact with company secrets that, in the wrong hands, can bring your business down. Everything from secret recipes to groundbreaking designs can be snatched away and sold to competitors. Make sure you don’t hire someone who might do this to you.

Learn More About Pre-Employment Screening

How do you go about protecting yourself, your business, and your workers from the scenarios we’ve covered here and other potential threats? You have a thorough background check done!

Good background check companies will professionally handle pre-employment screenings to ensure you don’t hire a predator, a sociopath, or any dangerous individual set on hurting others or sabotaging companies.

What’s more, employment check companies can use sophisticated applicant tracking systems (ATS) and handle ATS integrations to streamline the whole search. Just as important, the background check provider can ensure you’re in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and other important regulations.

NationSearch has been providing companies across all types of industries with valuable employment screening services since 1987. We offer the searches you need to protect your business. Our services include criminal records searches, drug screening, credentials verifications, reference checks, and much more. Contact us today to learn how we can help you avoid making a costly mistake!