5 Practices for Assessing Your Employment Screening

Before making a hiring decision, most organizations seek more information on the candidate’s criminal history, credit worthiness, and general background. Employee background checks have become a must have, as they have a definite impact on the success of recruiting efforts. This information is not only helpful in assessing workplace risks and liabilities, but also to assist employers identify those candidates who are suitable for the job at hand.

It is essential that employers switch from ‘one size fits all’ background check procedures to utilizing those procedures that are best suited for the position and the job requirements.

Here are 5 best practices for assessing your employment screening:

Identifying legitimate business reasons that support the background checks

The duties of the position should be thoroughly assessed with regards to the environment where the work is performed and the exposure the employee will have to sensitive business information. Some jobs require employees to interact with vulnerable populations or some job positions may have access to confidential organizational data or personal information of their customers. This is why it is a good practice to identify those positions that require accurate background checks.

Background checks criteria must be based on legitimate business reasons

It’s a good practice to have a written policy to serve as a guide for hiring executives to use for recruitment. The policy must identify the job positions and also state clearly the scope of the background checks so that the right candidates are hired for the most crucial positions in the organization.

Designate a background screening subject matter expert

Having a designated subject matter expert in-house, who is well versed with all the complex legal issues surrounding the background screening is a good practice. If you own or work for a large organization and you recruit in large numbers for a variety of positions, having more comprehensive in-house counsel would be a better choice so that you have expert guidance whenever necessary.

Centralization or decentralization

For businesses with multiple locations, it is important to have a common guideline for background screening policies. The decision should be made whether the policies should be centralized or localized. Some organizations prefer a centralized approach where everything is managed by a single policy. Some may prefer having separate policies depending on the geographic location of each office.

Stay up to date with the latest trends

As businesses and the legal landscape keeps evolving, it is crucial to stay abreast of the regulatory and legal requirements for background screening. Assessing your employment screening practices on a regular basis ensures that your organization is insulated from the expensive litigation that may arise through negligent hiring or worse, through class action lawsuits. This includes everything from the rental application, to the interview, to the background check, and I-9 verification.