by guest contributor Kevin Connell
Resource Supplement to
No B.S. Ruthless Management of People and Profits
Most employers know that they can significantly reduce risk and improve the quality of employees by doing a thorough background check on applicants before hiring – yet the overwhelming majority of employers don't do them. Many don't even check references. Why?
1: They think 'disaster' only happens to the other guy. This is how the scandals you hear about in the news – like school bus drivers with felony convictions – happen. Employee theft, embezzlement, falsification of resumes, drug use and more affect a large percentage of both blue collar and white collar populations, but it's natural to think these "bad apples" find their way only into other peoples' yards. We like to think the best of people.
2: They don't have time. Doing background checks requires skills, knowledge and ready access to information most business owners don't have. Just verifying the information provided on applications and in resumes takes too much time.
3: It takes too long. Many services take days or even weeks to do background checks. I'm pleased to say that our company, ACCU-SCREEN INC. has changed all that. We are not a private detective firm doing background checks on the side. We SPECIALIZE in employee background checks, and have put everything in place necessary to give you a COMPLETE AND ACCURATE PROFILE within 24 to no more than 48 hours. Further, its an internet-based service, so you can access it anytime – no waiting for return calls from people, no phone tag. Everything is safe, secure and easy to use. You will receive important information including:
...and more
Here's why these things are so important TO YOU:
Your failure to check into criminal histories may lead to your hiring a thief, embezzler or even violent criminal, such as a rapist. Not only could you suffer losses from disruption of your business or theft, but you could be open to negligence lawsuits from other employees or customers robbed or assaulted by the employee. Workplace violence is responsible for injuries to over 110,000 people a year. (A California jury held that an employer's failure to perform a background check on a paroled murders who subsequently stabbed a co-worker to death warranted a $5.5-million judgment against the employer. Think it couldn't happen to you and wipe out all you've worked for? Think again. A carpet cleaning company sued for $1.8-million after one of its employees, hired without a background check, strangled a customer. A furniture store, $20-million, similar situation.)
Failure to verify Social Security numbers could get you in trouble with the IRS.
Failure to verify past employment as well as licenses could put an employee in your business who is not qualified to do the work, or worse, not licensed and legally able to do the work – leaving you open to fines or litigation. The FBI says that as many as 500,000 job-seekers and employees claim college degrees they never earned.
Failure to look into criminal history, bad credit situations, etc. sharply increases your risk of theft or embezzlement by employees. From 1998 to 2007, embezzlement has grown by $200-billion. Further, employees with access to your customers' credit card data and other private information can steal from your customers – but you can be held liable....and if you were negligent in your hiring practices, you'll have no defense.
Our analysis, in screening for many large corporations, hospitals and organizations as well as thousands of small businesses indicates that 38% of applicants lie about something on their resume or job application. Even if your small office, store, restaurant, etc. hires as few as 3 people a year, these odds say you are likely to be hiring someone based on false information without comprehensive background screening. NO ONE should hire anybody without these defensive measures.
Further, the complete screening we provide helps you choose the best qualified people, most likely to be productive in your workplace, so this is not just defense – it is also a positive strategy for creating the most successful staff with the lowest turn-over necessitated by poor hiring and subsequent firings.
To learn more about how Accu-Screen can help your business and arrange for a free, no obligation, online demonstration, call 1-800-689-2228, visit www.accuscreen.com/kennedy or fax Kevin Connell at 813-831-1839. Kevin served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners, frequently speaks and conducts seminars on negligent vs. effective hiring, and is nationally recognized as an expert on resume fraud. ACCU-SCREEN is THE leading provider of comprehensive, affordable job candidate background checks to small businesses and mid-sized companies.