How To Properly Conduct An Employee Background Check
By Space Coast Daily // April 8, 2021
The recruitment stage is arguably the most important part of building a good team. The way you handle recruitment will dictate the efficiency of your team, and potentially that of your entire organization.
With that said, background checks play a major part in finding the right candidate. Or more precisely, evading the wrong ones. Here’s how to do a background check the right way.
Be Transparent
Transparency is always appreciated, especially when conducting recruitment and onboarding of new employees. You need to tell your prospects that you are about to conduct a background check and then explain why this step of the process is important.
Most candidates will understand and comply, but you will sometimes run into applicants who won’t be so understanding. At that point, you should consider whether you want such individuals to be a part of your team.
Conducting a secret background check and then having the candidates find out from a third party is probably the worst possible scenario. Just like candidates need to leave a good first impression on their potential employer, the employer needs to leave a good first impression on the candidate.
Use Proven Background Check Services
Conducting a background check isn’t something everyone can do. In the UK there are only so many companies that are recognized as the responsible organization for basic checks by the DBS.
In other words, to conduct DBS checks, you need to find the right company that has all the necessary accreditations and certificates. Not only are such companies the only ones who can legally access what is sometimes sensitive private information, but they are also the only ones who will give you an accurate assessment of potential candidates.
This is even more important if you plan on conducting more deliberate background checks in the future.
Social Media Screening
Social media plays an important part in most people’s lives these days. So much so that you can tell a lot about a person based on what they post on their social media accounts. Of course, taking a look at their social media shouldn’t be the main factor when conducting a background search on someone, however, it can be a good indicator if you’re trying to find out more about a candidate.
This type of screening can be done in-house and will let you know if the applicant is a good fit for your company, or not. Sometimes you can find out details about a person on their social media, that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to find when conducting a regular background check.
Run the Right Kind of Background Check
Not all background checks are the same, nor should they be. Choosing what type of background check you’ll do on a potential candidate should depend on the sensitivity of the position they’re being hired to fill.
If you’re looking to hire someone for a position that gives them control over your company’s finances, you’ll probably want to dig a bit deeper into their past. Then again, hiring waitstaff doesn’t require such severe measures.
