Background Screening | Health Testing & Drug Testing Guides, Reviews, Information & Facts

Employee Background Checks Help You Make Informed Decisions

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

Indeed, your business is a serious matter for you. And when it comes to hiring employees, any business owner would agree that the “right” candidate is not only skills-specific competent but also maintains good character. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Can you really tell if the job applicant has been involved with felony charges in the past by just interviewing him/her?

• Can you detect whether or not a person is taking or has the potential to take or abuse drugs/alcohol by simply observing how s/he conducts himself/herself during a job interview?

The sad truth is, unless you do a background check or a criminal background check before signing up an employee there is no way you can determine whether or not the individual’s CV or personal claims are 100% true.

Nowadays, more organizations are treading the safe side when it comes to hiring employees. Background checks and criminal background checks have become commonplace in the workforce. For employers, this strategy assures them of hiring only the best and eliminates dealing with any future behavior problems.

Knowing the past of a potential employee is also fundamental to the progress of your business. Just imagine the risk you have to take when you hire someone by just relying on the job interview and CV of the person. As an employer, you have to know whether or not you can trust the employee and can delegate him/her tasks that impacts the flow of your business.

There are services – such as the one offered on Testcountry – that are specifically designed to find out the past of a job candidate in terms of their previous work experience, arrest warrants, felony charges, or credit card records. Background checks and criminal background checks dig deep into a person’s past to help you make informed decision.

According to the AMA 2004 Workplace Testing Survey: Medical Testing, the results of medical exams including drug testing are used by the employers in a variety of employment decisions.

• 53.5% for decisions about hiring job applicants

• 37% for retaining or dismissing employees

• 8.5% for assigning or reassigning employees

Furthermore, background checks are ideal for making sure that the workplace is drug or alcohol-free. Likewise, it gives you a great peace of mind knowing that employees are performing well in their jobs. In return, employees who work in a safe and happy environment are guaranteed to have increased motivation and productivity.

If you decide to conduct a background check to your job applicants, go for background services that are reputable and reliable. They are likely to provide you with detailed information in a rapid manner. Background screening like that offered on Testcountry include drug testing, searches on nationwide criminal with SSN trace and aliases, searches on Sex Offender Registry and so forth.

Tags: background checks, criminal background check, Drug Testing, employee background checks
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Types of Industries That Conduct Background Screening

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

According to a survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) between November and December 2009, three out of four US businesses perform background checks and criminal background checks as part of their pre-employment requirements. The primary reasons for conducting these two types of background checks include the following:

To ensure a safe work environment for employees.
To reduce legal liability for negligent hiring.
To reduce/prevent theft and embezzlement, and other criminal activity.
To comply with applicable State law requiring a background check; and
To assess the overall trustworthiness of the job candidate.

The survey was participated by 433 randomly selected HR professionals from SHRM’s membership. Despite the controversies surrounding background checks, it’s good to know that more and more companies are now paying attention to the safety of their office environment. This, after all, is a good way to promote drug-free environment, as well as help employees become more productive at work and increase the quality of services that businesses offer.

The table below shows the industry categories of job applicants where criminal background checks were prevalent. The data is part of the 2010 report of SHRM on background checking.

INDUSTRY CATEGORY
Job candidates for positions with fiduciary and financial responsibility (e.g. handling cash, banking, accounting, compliance, technology)	78%
Job candidates who will have access to highly confidential employee information (e.g. salary benefits, medical information or personal information about employees, etc.)	68%
Job candidates who will have access to company or other people’s property or otherwise placed in a position of financial trust (e.g. IT, administrative services, etc.)	60%
Job candidates for senior executive positions (e.g. CEO, CFO, CHRO, etc.)	55%
Job candidates who will be employed in safety-sensitive positions (e.g. transportation, heavy equipment, construction, etc.)	48%
Job candidates who will have security responsibilities (e.g. security guards, etc.)	43%
Job candidates for positions for which state law requires background check (e.g. day care teachers, licensed medical practitioners, etc.)	40%
Job candidates who will work with children, the elderly, the disabled and other vulnerable populations	33%
Job candidates who will work in health care or with access to drugs (e.g. hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, pharmacies, rehabilitation centers, etc.)	32%
Job candidates for positions involving national defense or homeland security	25%
Other	15%

In general, background checks and background screening reduce instances of drug abuse in the workplace, tardiness, absenteeism, turnover, attitude problems, theft, decreased productivity, crime and violence. The employer has the option to utilize drug testing alone or a combination of drug test and criminal records search. Whichever an employer decides to implement, it is important that the employee or the job applicant is made aware of the procedure to avoid any legal complications.

Source: http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Articles/Pages/BackgroundCheckCriminalChecks.aspx

Tags: background checking, background checks, Background Screening, criminal background checks
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