Find Out If Your Seasonal Employees Have Been Naughty or Nice

’Tis the season for good cheer, family get-togethers, exchanging gifts, and… background checks?

Whether your business works in retail, online, or a little bit of both, there’s a good chance that you may be hiring seasonal employees to help you manage the additional workload brought on by the holidays. You may even have a tendency to hire the same workers each year. That way, you can skip several steps during the hiring process since you’re already aware of the employee’s work ethic, personality, and other such elements that make them an asset to your company as sales and customer interactions increase through the end of the year.

This “easy hire” process is great, but businesses tend to skip the background check portion of the hiring steps involved with bringing these seasonal employees onboard again. No big deal, right? Well… it could be. Let’s explore a few reasons why it’s a good idea to run a new background check on these employees.

Anything Can Happen in a Year

There’s really no reason to beat around the bush, so let’s just put it out there… “stuff” happens. The truth is that between the time you last saw these employees and this new holiday season, anything could have happened in regards to criminal activity. Sure, you want to hope and believe that the employees have been good little boys and girls, but the truth is you have no idea how they’ve been living their lives over the past several months. It is in your best interest to find out.

They May Not Be Forthcoming

Seasonal employment is a godsend for many people every year. Some of them rely on getting hired by the same company once the holidays roll around. This could lead employees who are typically very honest to deny any wrongdoing because they don’t think you’ll look into their background anyway since they have been employed by your company in the past. They’re afraid of what you might find concerning that momentary lapse in judgment over the summer, so they might keep the information to themselves and hope for the best.

You Could Be Looking For Permanent Employees

Many businesses tend to keep on the very best employees each season. If you’re one of these businesses, then you’re going to run a background check on these employees eventually. The best plan of action here is to do it right from the beginning. During the re-hiring process (or even afterwards if you neglected doing so), let the employees know that you’re going to be running a background check. Perhaps that will encourage them to come clean right away. Regardless, running a background check from the start could save you a lot of headaches later on, as replacing a person that you were counting on to become a permanent employee can be time-consuming and – let’s face it – annoying.

Possible Theft and Liability Are No Laughing Matters

Unless you’re the cynical type, you probably want to always see and expect the best in people. You don’t want to think that some of the seasonal employees you’ve worked with in the past have been involved in things like theft, domestic violence, assault, sexual perversions, etc. Unfortunately, doing so may not only open you up to possible theft or other such problems in your workforce but could also create a liability situation with your company as a whole if something really bad was to happen.

The bottom line is, even with seasonal employees, there’s no reason to take an unnecessary risk when there’s such a simple solution. NationSearch has been helping employers stay protected and safe for 30 years and we’ll make sure that your holiday season is full of cheer and good tidings. Reach out to us to learn more about how we can help.

During the re-hiring process (or once you’ve decided to take them on as an awesome permanent employee), let the employees know that you’re going to be running a background check.

NationSearch.com can fill all of your background screening needs, and more.

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