Understanding Employee Background Checks
Today, the term 'employee background check' is a pivotal component in the hiring process. As a job seeker, if you have recently applied for a job or attended an employment interview, you've probably been asked to consent to a routine background check. If you're the person responsible for hiring at your organization, you would be well-acquainted with the process of employee background screening.
Today, employee screening is as important to hiring managers as resumes, applications, and the interview process. Yet, many hiring managers, HR managers, and job applicants have numerous misconceptions about what background checks are and how they work.
Having spoken to scores of applicants and hiring managers about employee background verification, I have elucidated below the most common misconceptions.
Common Misconceptions About Background Checks
Let's clear the air, read on:
• Google is not the ultimate solution - Many employers feel an in-depth and wholesome background check can be done using Google. The internet is most definitely a useful tool, widely used. However, you will not have most of the information available online. Furthermore, trusting the available information online is another risk. Using a background verification company will ensure that the information you have is not only accurate but also legally procured for you.
• Background checks are now a standard practice - This statement might have been true a few decades back, but today, it doesn't hold true. With the job market teeming with aspirants willing to go to any length to secure a job, and employers becoming more conscious of threats and lawsuits, you'd be hard-pressed to find any employer these days that doesn't require a background check or get one done.
• Character checks versus reference checks - Employers often want a character check done on an applicant or an employee. A person's character is not for us to judge. Good and bad are relative terms! What may be a virtue for me, may be a vice for someone else. Instead, we advise them to go for a reference check wherein they can know more about the candidate's skills, abilities, and competencies.
• Consent is necessary for background checks - An employee background check is done with the consent of the person it's been undertaken for. We are not a detective agency where checks are carried out without the knowledge of the person. Here, the concerned person is not only informed, but an undertaking is also taken. So, for all the employers out there who want to initiate a verification without the employee's knowledge, that is not likely to happen!
• Not all companies provide the same information - This misconception is often presented by service providers offering low-priced services. Their goal is to convince employers and applicants that their services are as good as the value-for-money ones. However, this is not true! Every organization has a different approach. Every background verification vendor will have their own way of carrying out verification and handling clients. Accuracy, adhering to timelines, and customer service are a few aspects that are key differentiators between mediocre vendors and competent ones.
• Background checks are essential for all companies - A background check is designed to help employers make confident and safe hiring decisions. Many small companies believe that these are only necessary for larger companies, but the truth is that smaller companies are more at risk. The bigger players can absorb bad hiring costs, which would totally kill a smaller player. The relatively small fee of a background check can save many thousands of rupees, and months or years of valuable time.
• Background checks go beyond criminal history - When applicants consent to pre-employment screening, they often equate this with a criminal background check. Many times, even employers feel background screening is only to screen the criminal history of a candidate. However, a complete background screening solution is this and so much more. A background check also includes education checks, employment verification, reference checks, address verification, drug testing, and many more important checks.
• Social media screening is important - Many employers tell me that it doesn't matter to them what an employee does in their personal life as long as they are great at their work. However, I beg to differ. I feel these very social media handles give us a lot of important insight into the minds and lives of applicants. Scanning social media handles of applicants/employees may reveal inappropriate photos, profane comments, or anything else that might indicate a person who is a risk to their company's reputation.
• HR departments may not be equipped for in-house screening - This is the most common misconception managers have. I have had countless managers tell me, "Why should we spend money paying someone outside when we have our HR in-house? They can very well make a few calls and screen an applicant." Take this from a former HR professional: we are already burdened with enough and do not have the resources to screen an applicant's background. Moreover, an HR department would not have the resources or knowledge of what has to be done and how. That's where professional agencies like ours step in. We have the resources, the expertise, the technical know-how, and the proficiency which an HR specialist/generalist would not have.
The reason I share these misconceptions with the readers is to make them aware and to debunk the common myths that surround this process. In a nutshell, mentioned above are the common employee background check misconceptions. It is crucial that job seekers and employers seek factual information about background screening solutions from us.
Let us know (in the comments section below) of any other background screening myths or misconceptions you've stumbled across. We'd love to hear from you!
Read more at: https://www.jantakhoj.com/blog/top-c...ground-checks/
Today, the term 'employee background check' is a pivotal component in the hiring process. As a job seeker, if you have recently applied for a job or attended an employment interview, you've probably been asked to consent to a routine background check. If you're the person responsible for hiring at your organization, you would be well-acquainted with the process of employee background screening.
Today, employee screening is as important to hiring managers as resumes, applications, and the interview process. Yet, many hiring managers, HR managers, and job applicants have numerous misconceptions about what background checks are and how they work.
Having spoken to scores of applicants and hiring managers about employee background verification, I have elucidated below the most common misconceptions.
Common Misconceptions About Background Checks
Let's clear the air, read on:
• Google is not the ultimate solution - Many employers feel an in-depth and wholesome background check can be done using Google. The internet is most definitely a useful tool, widely used. However, you will not have most of the information available online. Furthermore, trusting the available information online is another risk. Using a background verification company will ensure that the information you have is not only accurate but also legally procured for you.
• Background checks are now a standard practice - This statement might have been true a few decades back, but today, it doesn't hold true. With the job market teeming with aspirants willing to go to any length to secure a job, and employers becoming more conscious of threats and lawsuits, you'd be hard-pressed to find any employer these days that doesn't require a background check or get one done.
• Character checks versus reference checks - Employers often want a character check done on an applicant or an employee. A person's character is not for us to judge. Good and bad are relative terms! What may be a virtue for me, may be a vice for someone else. Instead, we advise them to go for a reference check wherein they can know more about the candidate's skills, abilities, and competencies.
• Consent is necessary for background checks - An employee background check is done with the consent of the person it's been undertaken for. We are not a detective agency where checks are carried out without the knowledge of the person. Here, the concerned person is not only informed, but an undertaking is also taken. So, for all the employers out there who want to initiate a verification without the employee's knowledge, that is not likely to happen!
• Not all companies provide the same information - This misconception is often presented by service providers offering low-priced services. Their goal is to convince employers and applicants that their services are as good as the value-for-money ones. However, this is not true! Every organization has a different approach. Every background verification vendor will have their own way of carrying out verification and handling clients. Accuracy, adhering to timelines, and customer service are a few aspects that are key differentiators between mediocre vendors and competent ones.
• Background checks are essential for all companies - A background check is designed to help employers make confident and safe hiring decisions. Many small companies believe that these are only necessary for larger companies, but the truth is that smaller companies are more at risk. The bigger players can absorb bad hiring costs, which would totally kill a smaller player. The relatively small fee of a background check can save many thousands of rupees, and months or years of valuable time.
• Background checks go beyond criminal history - When applicants consent to pre-employment screening, they often equate this with a criminal background check. Many times, even employers feel background screening is only to screen the criminal history of a candidate. However, a complete background screening solution is this and so much more. A background check also includes education checks, employment verification, reference checks, address verification, drug testing, and many more important checks.
• Social media screening is important - Many employers tell me that it doesn't matter to them what an employee does in their personal life as long as they are great at their work. However, I beg to differ. I feel these very social media handles give us a lot of important insight into the minds and lives of applicants. Scanning social media handles of applicants/employees may reveal inappropriate photos, profane comments, or anything else that might indicate a person who is a risk to their company's reputation.
• HR departments may not be equipped for in-house screening - This is the most common misconception managers have. I have had countless managers tell me, "Why should we spend money paying someone outside when we have our HR in-house? They can very well make a few calls and screen an applicant." Take this from a former HR professional: we are already burdened with enough and do not have the resources to screen an applicant's background. Moreover, an HR department would not have the resources or knowledge of what has to be done and how. That's where professional agencies like ours step in. We have the resources, the expertise, the technical know-how, and the proficiency which an HR specialist/generalist would not have.
The reason I share these misconceptions with the readers is to make them aware and to debunk the common myths that surround this process. In a nutshell, mentioned above are the common employee background check misconceptions. It is crucial that job seekers and employers seek factual information about background screening solutions from us.
Let us know (in the comments section below) of any other background screening myths or misconceptions you've stumbled across. We'd love to hear from you!
Read more at: https://www.jantakhoj.com/blog/top-c...ground-checks/