Hiring might seem as the simple task of choosing the most suitable person for the role and then explaining the roles and responsibilities. Once the negotiation part is over then it might seem that you have easily boarded the respective employee. But no, because now this employee is going to become part of your company and is going to bore the name of your company and if there is any issue with his details then eventually the roots are going to lead to the organisation.
So here comes the cumbersome process of background checks which is in itself a multi staged process. This process minimises and even eliminates the risks of employees affecting the company’s reputation. Let us explore the benefits of conducting status background checks on the employees and various policies involved in the same.
Compliance Checks
There are a series of rules and regulations which have to be kept in mind which makes it easier for an organisation to maintain decorum and discipline. These compliance policies are the core of the company and in the longer run these checks play a vital role in ensuring that each employee of the company abides by these rules. There are multiple criteria for these compliance checks and some of them are listed below.
Legal Obligations
As the name suggests the legal obligations ensure that the particular employee is legally allowed to work in the particular region and domain , it does not hinder the interest of the organisation. There are multiple policies which have to be kept in mind to abide by the legal obligations and these are listed below.
- The employee must have a work visa and other required legal clearance for working in the particular region. The visa tenure of the employee is checked and once the tenure is under the working period then the legal tie ups with the previous organisations are checked to ensure smooth flow.
- There are some strict immigration laws in few countries and failing to align with them results in heavy fines and furthermore it can even result in the notice against the organisation. Inability to provide legal explanation against the same results in criminal charges against the organisation which degrades both the monetary losses and brand value.
EEOC and Fair Hiring Practices
EEOC stands for Equal Employment Opportunity commission, this commission looks through the policies and tests which are placed for clearing the interviews. In case of any discrepancy serious actions are taken against the organisation. For a better understanding of these policies there are certain things which have to be kept in mind.
- The background check scores should be the same for all the employees and no employee should be provided with added benefits or relaxation on any rule which is part of the selection process.
- The employees with close connections with the interview panel should be on strict review because even a slight relaxation in the interview process would harm the credibility of the test and harm the organisation in the longer run.
Non-Disclosures And Industry Regulations
Non Disclosures play a vital role in any organisation and inability to work smoothly with these regulations can result in some serious implications. This should be more focused for the roles containing the sensitive information like accounts departments, sales head and a lot more which have a direct connection to the clients and can affect business. The status background check of such roles should be extensive and to utmost details.
Legal Checks
There is a significant difference between the compliance checks and the legal checks as compliance checks focus on enhancing the organisational value and ethics. The compliance checks mainly focus on the factor that the particular employee is the best suited employee for the role based on the ethical grounds. Whereas the legal checks ensure that the person selected for the role is the most suitable person as per the government norms and regulations. Some of the legal checks are listed below.
Immigration Status
Visas and work permits play a crucial role for an employee and if the employee is unable to provide the suitable permissions in the same then it can be a bigger issue. Hiring is an expensive process and when you reach out to the final processes and you come to know that the particular employee does not have the work visa to work for the particular country then this results in a dire situation. A status background check eases things down and checks for immigration documents and status of a particular employee.
Criminal Record Checks
Employees with criminal records have a hard time finding jobs because if a person with criminal background joins a job then he turns out to be the first suspect in any mishap. Being associated with such employees tarnishes the image of the company so the company makes sure to run a thorough criminal record check to double check things.
- The legal records are checked along with the criminal records to ensure that the employee is not convicted in any of the crimes or has been a part of any activity which affects his candidature for the role.
- There are various roles like accounts and customer interaction which requires complete faith and reliability on the particular employee. So for such conditions an extreme precaution has to be taken in mind and security and financial vitality of these roles plays an important role.
Education and Employment History
The educational qualifications are the foremost criteria to clear preliminary rounds in any interview. There have been multiple cases in which employees have forged their educational details to obtain a particular role. With little bit of expertise and thorough checks things can be uncovered with ease.
- Various institutions are contacted with the details about the educational qualification of the person and unable to tally the records can be a serious concern. If any discrepancy is found in the particular claims then the candidature of the employee is cancelled instantly.
- Some employees even make fake claims about their experience and expertise which is a serious concern. So in such instances a feedback call is made to the previous employers for a better understanding of his skills and expertise.
Streamlining The Background Check Process
Now that we have understood the utter significance of the background check process, we have to proceed in understanding the phases which are performed so that the background check occurs with ease. These phases are listed below and discussed in detail.
Consent and Disclosure
Before researching or performing a background check a company must obtain a written consent from the employee because it’s their right to freedom. Though companies can cancel their candidature if they don’t comply with the policies, still seeking consent is the first and foremost thing which has to be followed when a company is planning to run a background check.
All the information obtained from the status background check should be provided to the employee too as he has the right to check the information obtained from the check. Unable to do so can result in serious actions against the employer.
Third-Party Screening
Background checks require a hefty sum and some companies do not want to invest such hefty amounts on a different wing. So to ease down things there are multiple third party companies in the market which are ready to perform background screenings and make things much easier. These companies abide by the client’s disclosure and they even make sure that they do not breach any of the employee’s privacy laws.
An impartial criteria of ranking the employee should be decided based on the outcome of the result which maintains a discipline in the organisation.
Final Note
Some people believe that investing in the background checks is a way of burning money but no this isn’t true. Performing background checks is both the professional and ethical duty of the organisation. When you hire an employee then he becomes your responsibility because any role or comment made by him on the professional platform will link your organisation with the same. So a systematic approach has to be followed which makes it easier for the organisation and the employee to stay updated on the process.
A thorough process with status background check updates makes it much easier for companies to hire reliable employees with ease. This helps in forming a strong and skilled workforce which brings in greater impact in the market with its employees and customer trust.