By Tom Wright
October 7, 2016
One of the toughest problems people face in Human Resources is finding, hiring and integrating new quality employees. A background check is an essential part of that process, but how you go about it makes a big difference in the type of employees you bring in. There are also regulations that must be adhered to, or one small misstep could open your company up to unwanted lawsuits. So, before taking the leap into background checks, it is important take the time to consider what you want to find out and how you should go about doing it.
Regulation Compliance
Before the background check can be performed, several items need to be completed. First, you will need the applicant to fill out release forms. If you choose not to hire the person because of anything on the background check, you must stay compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). That consists of sending pre-decision and adverse action letters, as well as a copy of their consumer rights.
SELECTiON.COM® provides all of the necessary paperwork that needs to be completed to stay compliant on our website. With one click of your mouse you can also stay compliant with the FCRA. SELECTiON.COM® provides a convenient, easy to use website that provides everything you need for you background screening program.
Is The Applicant Qualified?
Inc.com listed hiring as the number one problem facing businesses today. The article also states “According to one estimate, the total cost of onboarding — taxes, benefits, equipment, training, bonuses, etc. — can range from 1.5 times to 3 times the salary of the position.” So, making sure you hire the right person is financially important. No one wants to find out 6 months into a hire that they never received that Bachelor Degree. And you certainly don’t want to find out that have a habit of quitting jobs with no notice a few months in.
SELECTiON.COM® can help prevent these types of bad hires. Our employment and education verifications not only verify work and education history but include the types of questions that help you decide if it is a quality candidate. Some companies will only provide dates of hire and title, but many that we call will provide more info if you just ask the right questions. For example: How was the employee’s attendance? Are they eligible for rehire? The answers to these questions can indicate whether or not the individual will be a good fit for your organization. We even have a Character Reference report that goes into much more detail.
Where To Start
Many applications ask where you have lived or if you have committed any felonies. These applications often rely on the applicant’s honesty and the information isn’t always accurate. Many criminals leave the state or try to hide the past offenses by providing false names, addresses and the like on their applications to avoid detection.
SELECTiON.COM® will not only validate the SSN, but the report will also identify residence history. The applicant may say they have only lived in Ohio. But through the SSN trace you may find out that they have been traveling and moving state to state. This alone could help flag or determine a bad hire before the problem exists. Relying on an applicant’s honestly can be very costly. The SSN Trace is a great tool to identify what counties you should be looking in for criminal records.
Don’t Depend On One “National” Search
In today’s market businesses are continuously trying to improve the bottom line, so it’s only natural to scale down and just run a single National Criminal Database Search right? After all, it is checking the WHOLE country isn’t it? WRONG. The answer is no, there is not a criminal database search that checks every single county in the entire country. The fact is that every database is different what is contained within varies depending on the different sources.
At SELECTiON.COM® we always recommend a combined approach. Our proprietary Search America® National Criminal Database is the largest of its kind. Search America® contains roughly 1,100 sources with over 650 million criminal records. Combine this national search with a targeted criminal county search using the SSN Trace Report above, and you will receive a much more clear and detailed view of your applicant’s criminal history.
Can You Save Time With an Integration?
Every business like tasks done quickly and for programs to be streamlined and integrated. There’s no exception when it comes to Human Resources. In fact, it has become essential for many companies and organizations to perform background checks through their payroll or applicant tracking systems in order to expedite multiple processes at once.
SELECTiON.COM® has an in house IT department that can facilitate every need you may have. We have performed integrations with businesses across the country. Including but not limited to Virtus, Taleo, UltiPro, Catholic Mutual Group, etc. These integrations have helped SELECTiON.COM® save our clients hundreds of thousands of dollars by streamlining the process. Not only that, but we offer access to our own applicant tracking system, which saves a considerable amount of time for many of our clients, at no additional cost.
SELECTiON.COM® has solutions for all of the above challenges, and more. Customer service representatives at SELECTiON.COM® have a tenure of 7.5 years in the industry. Our entire team is accessible by phone or email and LIVE help via an online chat portal is available M-F, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM (EST). Our Verification Specialists and IT Department are in-house and easy to reach.
Contact SELECTiON.COM® today for your customized background screening solution.
