Nowadays, businesses cannot afford to take risks while hiring new employees. According to the World Economic Forum, the world population has crossed 8 billion. This means that the number of people eligible for employment has increased. With that, the number of employee frauds and scams has increased. Hence, employers need to conduct thorough background checks before hiring new employees.

Conducting background checks is one of the critical measures to minimize risk and ensure safety. Background verification is a step toward ensuring security, integrity, and quality within organizations.

This article will explore why background verifications are essential and how they can help you prevent hiring fraudulent candidates. 

According to the statistics:

  • Forbes says that 75% of employees have stolen, at least once, some form of information from their organization.
  • Before stealing from their place of employment, 40% of employees had red flags displayed to them by HR supervisors.
  • In small enterprises, 34% of fraud cases were related to employees.
  • 68% of organizations reported that they experienced massive employee fraud after COVID-19.
  • According to the NRF, employee theft costs three times more than shoplifting.
  • CNBC says that because of employee theft, businesses lose $50 billion each year.

 

Background Verification: Why It Matters More Than Ever Before

The rise of digitization has made organizations more vulnerable to fraudulent employees. We live in a competitive world where every business strives to hire the best person for their organization. Background checks allow organizations to verify employment history, business records, financial records, criminal records, and other information related to candidates.

Traditionally, it was difficult for businesses to run background checks before hiring employees. But nowadays, with several background check platforms, it has become easy to conduct background checks before hiring. Here are a few reasons why a background check is needed:

  • Safety Concerns: Having a safe workplace is crucial for any organization. With the rise in global security threats, it has become vital to know the people you interact with, whether as employees, coworkers, customers, clients, or business partners. Conducting background checks can uncover potential red flags related to violence, substance abuse, or other criminal activities that can harm our organization.
    Employee background verifications reveal any criminal behavior that could harm your workplace's safety and integrity. By checking public databases and police registers, employers ensure that they are hiring honest and trustworthy individuals.
     
  • Fraud Prevention: Fraudulent candidates can be highly skilled at telling lies and manipulating others. But they often have inconsistencies or dissimilarities in their past histories.
    Background check services can verify details provided by job applicants and determine if it is safe or not to hire that candidate. Background verifications prevent candidates from using fake identities to qualify for job positions.
     
  • Reputation Protection: Developing the positive reputation of an organization is crucial. Background checks play a vital role in maintaining a company's reputation. They protect you from the wrong candidates, who could push your company into various legal issues.
    A wrong hire can cost you your reputation and cause massive losses, which include losing customers and more.
     
  • Data Breach Prevention: These days, cyberattacks on businesses, government agencies, schools, nonprofits, etc, have increased dramatically.
    Data breaches occur when unauthorized parties access confidential data through hacking attacks on computer systems or carelessness by those who handle such information.

    Hackers often gain access to personal details like addresses, bank account numbers, passwords, credit card details, educational records, birth dates, etc. With proper background checks and fraud prevention methods, fraudulent candidates find it harder to gain unauthorized physical access. This helps companies protect themselves from theft or any other type of damage.
     
  • Know Candidates Better: Background checks help you gain complete knowledge of the candidate in advance. This helps businesses make better-informed decisions regarding job offers.
    HR teams learn more about each individual through background checks than what is present on their resume. During the verification process, employers gain an insightful understanding of candidates’ personalities, which is beneficial at the final stage of decision-making.

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What is included in background checks?

A background check is a process that involves collecting commercial and financial records about an individual or organization. The depth of information collected depends on the purpose of the investigation, laws and regulations, and client requirements. Here are the things included in background checks:

  • Personal Information: This includes basic data such as full name, date of birth, social security number, current address and previous addresses, phone numbers, driver's license number, and emergency contact information. 
  • Education Verification: This includes degrees achieved, educational institutions attended, GPA received, and any honors or awards won at those institutions. This section of the report will indicate if you hold a degree relevant to your current profession.
    Many employers want to ensure that applicants have indeed attended and graduated from educational institutions, as they claim. They verify this through education verifications. Some employers go into more detail.
  • Employment References: Previous employers may provide insight into a potential employee’s work ethic and skill set. Before making hires, businesses might contact references listed on resumes or applications. They can ask questions such as dates of employment, job duties performed, strengths and weaknesses exhibited during the time there, how long you knew them, and more.
  • Employment History: Your employment history for the last seven years should be listed, including job titles, dates employed, and salaries earned from each position. Any gaps in work history could indicate unemployment or time served in jail.
  • Credit Checks: Some roles involve handling money or company data, so credit scores play a vital role. Background screening tells employers about your financial responsibility.
     

What are the types of lies that are found in resumes?

Lying on a resume is not acceptable. But many job seekers still write lies in their resumes. Employers must be able to identify these lies, which helps them filter out unsuitable candidates and find those who genuinely meet your requirements.
Let us take a closer look at some common types of lies found on a resume.

  • Work Experience: One of the most common lies on a resume is overstating one’s previous professional experiences, which includes responsibilities, false accomplishments, or extending dates of employment to cover up gaps. So it is crucial to look closely at the dates and titles listed by the candidates. If something appears inconsistent, go deeper into the candidate’s background.
     
  • Certifications or Licenses: Candidates sometimes lie about their designations. For example, if you are hiring marketers for the food industry, the role will require certified professional marketer credentials, so candidates might lie about the certification to get the job.
    So it is crucial to carefully check all candidates to see if they have or have not completed formal coursework. Also, candidates sometimes lie about holding advanced academic degrees, which can damage a company’s reputation upon discovery. One of the ways to verify educational achievements is by asking for copies of diplomas or transcripts, which should match the details listed on applicants' resumes.
     
  • Technical Skills: Technological advancements today enable individuals to master programming languages, enterprise systems, and tools. Therefore, many aspirants lie to showcase their coding capabilities in newly developed languages. Ensure to select a coding assessment test containing questions ranging across multiple difficulty levels. Allow candidates time, or perhaps retake under guidance by HR business partners or managers.

 

How to pick a background check service?

Picking the right background check service is extremely powerful and plays a crucial role in the success of any company. It helps businesses a lot in choosing the right candidate for their company. The employees of any company contribute the most to its success. Here is how you can choose the right background services for your company: 

Accreditation and Compliance: The background verification services must hold FCRA certification. Moreover, background services provider companies should be members of any national background check associations and strictly follow the guidelines defined by the law.

Customer Support: Check the quality before choosing customer support. Normally, background verification companies provide support via phone, email, or live chat. Ensure that the service provider offers the mode of support that you need. 

Technical Capabilities: We live in an era of technology, and having a partner with technological capabilities such as ATS integrations and electronic consent forms can help you grow. To ensure easy integration, you can check out the EmployeePast background services.

Customization: Every industry has its unique requirements. Having a background check service provider that can offer you tailored solutions as per your business requirements is crucial. So, before finalizing the service provider, ensure that the provider offers the services you need.

Data Accuracy: Accuracy in any background check matters the most. Always choose service providers that have a history of offering highly comprehensive, clear, and accurate results.  

Industries Covered: Choose a background check company that has experience dealing with different industries. This gives you confidence in the service provider, and you can expect to get the right results. 

Online Experience: Nowadays, background check services offer online portal data where HR managers or business owners can check the results or evaluation as soon as it is uploaded on the portal. 

Turnaround Time: The results of background checks are considered relevant if they are provided on time. Ensure that you choose services that offer a good turnaround time and accuracy. 

Pricing: This is another crucial factor when choosing a background company. Compare the pricing and shortlist companies based on the cost. Moreover, ensure to choose the company that fulfills your needs within your budget.

Screening Options: It is crucial to know the types of checks and screening options the shortlisted services offer. Ensure the services offered matches your requirements.

 

Wrapping-up:

Background verification is essential in ensuring the integrity of the employees. But there is always a chance of hiring the wrong candidates. So, to hire right it is crucial to adopt pre-employment screenings, including background verification.

By conducting thorough background checks, companies can avoid damaging situations that are raised due to improper employment screenings. 

So if you are looking for a perfect background check partner for your business, EmployeePast is here. 

EmployeePast offers background check services that are reliable, cost-effective, and secure. It has helped numerous companies across the globe in onboarding the right talent.