- Review what a background checking service can do for you.
- Obtain forms that applicants will complete and sign which provide key information and give permission for the background check.
- Consider if drug testing is appropriate for your business.
Consider Background Checking Service
|
|
While you might expect a large company to have a formal background check and potentially even drug test applicants, you may not expect a small business to have this formal big brother attitude. The reality is that you can not afford to hire someone that has a known problem that will adversely affect your business, especially at this early stage of your growth. Therefore, you may want to explore some of these "big brother" personnel actions to protect yourself against a potentially bad hire.
A background checking service can help you by doing the following:
Research necessary to verify all information provided on the application (such as employment history and educational attainment).
Call personal and professional references and interview the people and report back to you.
Do a check for criminal or credit problems that could affect your company.
Provide you with the forms necessary to have the applicant sign that gives you (and the company) permission to investigate the applicant.
Overall, while we would all like to be trusting of people we meet and we believe we have good judgment, there isn't any harm in having a professional company double check everything and do a little research into things that you might not be able to easily check. They usually charge a small fee for each applicant and you can have them ready to help you whenever you need - without paying a retainer fee.
Drug testing is one of the optional tests that you can use on all applicants. It is a personal decision if you want to conduct this potentially invasive testing on new applicants. Many larger companies routinely drug test and warn all applicants up front that they do this. You will have to decide if you feel this is appropriate and sets the right tone for your business.
It also may depend on the type of work they are doing (physical work such as driving a fork lift would seem to carry a much higher risk than someone sitting at a desk). If you do decide to use drug testing, be consistent with all applicants, use a professional company to implement the process, and make your intentions clear up front when people apply.
While this research can't avoid every potential problem, it can flag certain known issues about an applicant. It is ultimately up to you and your good sense and strong interviewing skills to determine if the person is a good match for your company and the specific open job.
©2002 Track Marketing Group, Inc. - All Rights Reserved.