What are employee background checks?

Right after a candidate has cleared all the interview levels and is ready to be hired, the company runs a background check. Before sending the final offer letter, the company ensures and verifies whether all the information provided by the candidate is authentic or not. 

 

Why are employee background checks crucial?

Employees are the most important resource of any organization. A wrong employee can bring a company’s reputation down and lead to financial losses through fraud and embezzlement. Hiring an employee with a criminal record can put the other employees in danger. 

Here are some reasons why employee background checks are critical:

 

  • Bring to attention any criminal history of the candidate

A company is responsible for ensuring the safety of its employees, especially women working in the organization. Usually, employees have access to sensitive or confidential data about a company’s finances, projects, clients, etc.; thus, the onus of protecting that data also falls on the company and its employees. Therefore, a candidate’s criminal verification before hiring them is an indispensable part of the background verification process. It brings to the employer’s attention if the candidate has any history of fraud or embezzlement or any criminal history of being a sex offender. 

A thorough criminal background check can save the company from any financial losses, harm to its reputation and relations with clients, and threat to other employees.

 

  • Avoids liability

Hiring a candidate after a thorough background verification can help you avoid any legal liability. For example, suppose you hire a lorry driver for your company, and he gets into an accident after driving in an intoxicated state. Upon his arrest, the police find out that he had a history of driving under the influence and has several DUIs. As his employer, you can get into legal trouble for your negligence in hiring such a person. To avoid being considered liable in such situations, it’s important to have a system of background verification by company leadership in place.

 

  • Brings to attention any acts of dishonesty committed by the candidate:

Our 2017 ‘Trends & Insights on Background Screening in India’ study found that one in six candidates lies on their resumes, especially about the previous salary, references, education, and addresses. Lying about anything on your resume is a reason enough for a company to question your integrity and intentions. Providing false information to mislead the employer questions your honesty and ability to perform the role and handle the responsibilities for which you’re being hired. 

Thorough background checks can safeguard the company and its reputation by finding any track record of dishonesty by the candidate.

 

  • Job competence

Often, candidates lie about how competent they are in a particular skill/area just to land a job. This is commonly done by overstating their qualifications, enhancing their previous work history, providing fraudulent certificates, etc. Background verification helps employers to verify whether the candidate is stating the truth about his/her competency or not.

 

  • Helps you feel confident about choosing the right candidate

The growth and development of a company depend on its employees. An organization thrives when it hires the best candidates for each role in the company. For these reasons, it is important to hire the right candidate with authentic records, no track of any misconduct, proven track record of honest and dedicated work. A background will make you feel confident that you chose the right person for your company.

 

An employee background check is a review of a person’s identity, education records, address, financial records, references, and criminal records, among many other things. Companies run extensive background checks to ensure that no fraudulent or harmful person is hired.