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The
Importance of Personal Background Checks
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by:
Steve Valentino
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The purpose of personal background checks is
to get a feel for the applicant’s character. Personal and professional
references are a good starting point, however, experts in the
investigative field caution employers on using this method solely.
Prospective employees are obviously going to give references of people
whom they trust will provide a good character reference for them. Those
references may not necessarily be fabricating information regarding the
applicant; they simply may not know pertinent information about him or
her.
Another method employer’s use is obtaining a credit report on the
prospective employee. While privacy advocates argue the necessity in
reviewing credit reports, many employers find them to be full of
important information. An employer can determine what types of credit
accounts the applicant has open and their history of paying bills on
time. For some employers, this is a good indicator of how responsible
of an employee he or she will be. Employers also may draw a correlation
between credit history, job performance and employee retention. Though
these conclusions are heatedly debated, according to the Fair Credit
Reporting Act, employers do have the right to investigate much of a
person’s credit history as a pre-employment tool.
Credit reports also contain pertinent job and address information. Some
employers and private investigation firms use credit reports as a means
of cross-referencing information supplied on the employment
application. Though credit reports contain much needed personal
information, they should be used in conjunction with other personal
background check methods in order to have a well-rounded view of the
applicant’s character and ability to perform the job duties.
This type of consumer report also contains information that may be
valuable, although legally questionable, to the employer. Age and
marital status are data that are often reported. Employers should
already be familiar with privacy and equal opportunity legislation and
be careful not to discriminate on the basis of these facts. The purpose
of performing personal background checks is to ensure the safety and
security of the company and violating Federal laws is out of the
question.
Identity theft, criminal prosecutions, outstanding debt and
bankruptcies are all examples of information that can be acquired
through a personal background check. As an employer, it is your
responsibility to only gather what information you need; information
gathered should be directly related to the safety and quality of the
company and more specifically, the job performed. For example, if a
company needs to hire a receptionist, it might not be necessary to know
whether or not he or she has filed bankruptcy recently. Other than
using that as a tool to judge character, some information gathered
through personal background checks may not be relevant to the position.
If an employer should require a more extensive background check, things
such as who someone has dated, use of alcohol or drugs or personal
lifestyle can also be obtained. Usually when a firm investigates a
person’s background, they may interview neighbors, friends, associated,
former co-workers and others to gain a picture of the person as a
whole. Some of the information may be of interest to the employer and
some may be irrelevant. It is important when hiring an investigator, to
let them know specific information you are looking for.
When investigating a prospective employee’s background, it is vitally
important to be honest about your intentions. Federal law requires
employers to provide separate consent forms for each type of
investigation to be conducted; it is also good business practice to be
forthcoming about these matters. Background checks on employee’s can
save companies money by avoiding potential lawsuits, theft, and costly
employee retention. It is usually best to outsource the work to a
private firm, if the information is very detailed. For some employers,
searching at the local or state level is much more cost-effective and
may produce the results they need without outsourcing.
About the author:
Background
Checks Info provides detailed information about criminal,
employment, online, executive, and personal background checks.
Background Checks Info is affiliated with Original Content Web.
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