Why Small Businesses Need Identity Verification

More than larger corporations, small businesses depend on the integrity of each and every employee to play their designated role in the functioning of the company. For this reason, it is crucial that, when making new hires, small businesses take extra precautions to ensure that their prospective employee is a reliable one. 

Small businesses who opt out of running employment screenings on applicants may potentially hire a criminal and not know until it’s too late and something illegal has already happened. This decision, though often made to save small businesses money, is a poor investment in the long run because it puts all employees and patrons at risk of becoming victims. 

According to a telling case study titled “Manufacturing Worker Carries Out Multiple Shootings,” a company found itself in a terrifying situation after hiring an unscreened applicant. The detailed case study, compiled by a certified professional background screening company, sheds a disconcerting light on the dangerous ramifications of neglected background checks. 

Franklin was not just a manufacturing worker, but a loose cannon waiting to fire. In the years before he committed a series of heinous firearm attacks on innocent civilians, the worker indicated strong signs of aggression and impulsivity. On these grounds and nothing else, a company may or may not refuse to hire him. In this case, although Franklin’s employer had conducted a background check on him prior to his hire, the check only extended back for the most recent 7 years of employment. Given this limitation, the employer was not aware of Franklin’s previous arrests and reported instances of violence. It was only after he committed several shootings and a police investigation commenced that “Franklin’s background was reported by the local news…they discussed records that went beyond the seven-year limitation of pulling criminal searches for an employer.”  

When it comes to running thorough background checks, small businesses should never sacrifice the precautionary measure in the name of cutting costs. Failure to thoroughly examine applicants, not just in terms of criminal history, but other reports and documentation indicative of one’s behavior, can put countless coworkers and customers in harm’s way. In the manufacturing industry alone, 570 injuries and 36 deaths occurred as a result of workplace violence in 2013.  

To avoid the tragedy of another shooting, or any crime for that matter, it is of the utmost importance that applicants and employees are thoroughly screened. Screenings should not be capped by a limitation of 7 years, nor should they stop at a local or state-wide database investigation.

NationSearch understands the importance of thorough and comprehensive employment screening. The certified, women-owned background screening company strives to protect companies and their employees through the use of extensive criminal history searches, as well as collecting other information pertinent to the hiring process. 

Contact NationSearch to start screening today by calling 800-827-9550 or visiting their website.