Professional pre-employment screening services are becoming increasingly more essential to employers, and a failure to carry out such background checks could result in serious consequences for your company. There are many reasons for this, ranging from the increased incidence of negligent hiring actions to the apparent ease with which some employees can access sensitive company information.

Poor hiring decisions can result in the failure of smaller businesses and be very costly to larger corporations. Negligent hiring lawsuits can, and have, cost companies millions of dollars in damages, and most of these actions could have been avoided by effective pre-employment background checks. The very fact that such checks were not carried out, or were carried out inefficiently, will count against you in the calculation of any damages awarded against you.

At one time all you needed before hiring a new employee was to give an interview and make a few phone calls to previous employers, but not now. These days are gone due to the increasing prevalence of corporate scandals, computer theft and workplace violence to staff by fellow employees. In a litigious world a large damages case resulting from such omissions can be terminal to companies of all sizes and particularly to you if you are responsible for the hiring.

Not only this, but the incidences of computer fraud are increasing as technology necessitates the hiring of specialized people to carry out sensitive functions within organizations. The potential for the corruption of both authorized and unauthorized users of computer systems is high, and the use to which the unauthorized use of computers can be put, with respect both to dissemination of company secrets and access to financial transactions, is frequently underestimated by companies.

Pre-employment screening is becoming such a specialized undertaking that it is generally safer for you to employ a professional to do the job. The number of companies that employ others to carry out their pre-employment screening services has risen by over 50% over the past ten years, so you will only be going with the flow. Any company that expects their management employees to carry out such screening personally is being unrealistic.

The function requires the comprehensive understanding of legislation such as the fair Credit reporting Act (FCRA) and the Americans With Disabilities Act (AWDA). The application of Acts such as these can be complex when applied to large employers, and specialist help is frequently required, especially where individual states can have their own riders to federal legislation.

The FCRA makes sure that prospective employees are informed in advance that consumer checks will be carried out, and that they give permission for this. It also applies the seven year law, in that reports such as criminal convictions and poor credit history cannot be used if more than seven years old. The use of pre-employment screening services avoids this makes the adherence to this legislation easier for you.

The AWDA protects employers from discriminating against disabled people, though if any other reasons become evident as to why they are unsuitable, the can be regarded the same as any other group of prospective employees. Professional employment screening services are aware of all the legislation involved in pre-employment background checks and prospective employee screening.

In the absence of effective pre-employment screening, any employee that enters the workplace is an unknown quantity. They may bring with them the potential for workplace violence; they may be drug addicts, habitual criminals or even illegal aliens. Ultimately, you are responsible for the workplace actions of the people you employ, and you are also responsible for the safety of your employees. A failure in either of these can lead to very severe repercussions and penalties.

A good screening program should include criminal background checks, drug screening, credit checks to determine the possibility of identity theft and a vehicle records check to make sure that anyone you are employing as a driver has a clean record and is not liable to injure themselves or someone else. Unless you carry out these checks you are not a responsible employer, and the law will regard you as responsible in the event of an incident caused by your negligence in this respect.

The cost of a good pre-employment screening service can be negligible compared to the potential costs of neglecting to carry out proper background checks on prospective employees, or even trying to do it yourself. Unless you have training in this type of work, employment screening is not as simple a task as you might think it to be. There is more involved than simply making sure that there no gaps in an applicant’s employment history and they he or she has the necessary qualifications.

Good and reputable pre-employment screening services will take a lot of pressure off you in ensuring that you are meeting your responsibilities to your employees, and can not only save you money in the long term, but also allow you to sleep well at night.