You’ve heard it said before that “a company’s greatest asset is its employees.” However, it must also be said that “employees should be considered as significant investments for every company.”
When you consider the time and expense spent in recruiting, interviewing, hiring and training, a considerable investment has been made before a new employee becomes a productive member of your team.
No matter the size of your business, one poor hiring decision can make the difference between success and failure. In fact, an article in Inc. Magazine confirms that 30 percent of small business failures are caused by employee theft.
One of the best and most cost-effective ways to ensure you make a wise hiring and investment decision is to implement a pre-employment screening policy into your hiring practice. Pre-employment screening is widely regarded as a necessary hiring practice to avoid costly hiring mistakes today and potential lawsuits in the future.
With today’s concerns about security, corporate scandals and workplace violence, pre-employment screening has been gaining ground. In fact, according to a survey conducted by The Society for Human Resource Management, over 82 percent of HR professionals reported that their companies do background checks of new hires, up from 66 percent in 1996.
A pre-employment background screening may help confirm whether or not your top candidate is telling his or her whole story. For example:
- Did he or she actually complete his MBA degree, or is the degree still a work-in-progress?
- Did he or she effectively supervise a large number of people?
- Did he or she leave other employers as a valued employee, or did he or she leave under a cloud of controversy and suspicion?
Many small businesses today employ the services of a background checking company to help them find accurate, complete information on job candidates and to ensure compliance with all the legal requirements of federal and state laws pertaining to background screening.
Whether you decide to outsource or conduct your own pre-employment screening, take steps today to implement a consistent background screening policy for your company.
Background screening should now be a standard practice of operating a successful small business. After all, selecting a wise investment today results in a great Return On Investment tomorrow.