Even companies within the same industry have different business needs. One company may require certain educational credentials and/or professional licenses, while another may not.
One may have felonies and certain misdemeanors as disqualifiers, while another may consider only certain felony convictions as cause for adverse action, i.e., not selecting the applicant for the particular business purpose ̶ such as employee, resident or tenant, client, member, volunteer, franchisee, etc.
Also, the “look-back” period may vary, some companies review the past seven years for criminal history, while other companies may consider a shorter or longer period of time.
When mitigating risk, companies should evaluate the following factors when developing their background screening program:
- Regulatory mandates
- Client requirements
- Position qualifications
- Position duties
- Insurance stipulations
- Type of potential risk
- Personal injury
- Property damage or theft
- Financial fraud
- Driving versus non-driving positions
Rather than asking a potential background screening company, “what do you charge?” companies should ask “how will you best protect my firm?” A background screening partner will probe to understand your business, so that they can provide recommendations for you to consider in your risk mitigation program.
Remember it’s not just employee screening. It could be client vetting, membership screening, resident or tenant screening, volunteer screening, franchisee screening, etc. Within each category, there can also be variations as to the scope of the background check.
The bottom line is that companies should analyze their business needs to determine both the types of background checks, and the customization that they will need. Then they should seek out a reliable background screening company that will meet their specific needs, and also provide guidance for other risk-mitigation issues that they may not have considered.
Posted by: Rudy Troisi, President and CEO, Reliable Background Screening
Copyright © 2019, Reliable Background Screening, a Division of Marcett, Inc. All rights reserved.
