It’s an administrative task that many businesses face; background screening.
Background screening is normally one of the few final steps taken by employers when going through the recruitment process. For many employers, background screening is a reliable way to verify a potential candidate is who they appear to be and confirm their criminal record and educational history. Without these checks, companies risk putting staff and customers or service users in danger.
Our experience with our clients.
We see lots of businesses who have neglected background checks unnecessarily and lived to regret it. From our clients’ perspectives, the level of detail on background screening completely depends on what they wish to learn about a potential candidate and their business objectives. Some clients may only wish to meet the contractual background screening requirements, whereas others will want to thoroughly screen potential candidates to detect any issues as soon as possible. Others again find a middle ground, but the important thing is that some level of screening is taking place to safeguard everyone involved.
Case Study
A client asked us to undertake a relatively low-level security clearance for a potential candidate. During our searches, the screening officer detected some anomalies within the results we were seeing compared to the results we were expecting. Not happy to settle for this, CBS staff took the information to the employer. With their permission, we then undertook additional searches which required us to source information from multiple countries across the globe. The initial clearance found the candidate had no adverse information in the UK within the last 3 years. All good then right? Wrong! Our additional searches found that the applicant had been recently released from a European jail for murder and was documented on multiple global sanctions lists for suspicion of being part of a terrorist organisation and disabled from undertaking any financial transactions on UK soil.
We know that not all searches will reveal such surprising information, but it is surprising how often we find information like this.
The negative effects of neglecting background screening
False Information
Trust is integral to recruitment. When looking to employ someone, you want to be able to trust them to complete the tasks they have been recruited to deliver. They represent your business and you need the assurance they will be an honourable, fair and true representation of who you are and what you stand for.
Without background screening, you incur the risk of employing somebody who isn’t the right fit for the business. They could have provided false credentials, employment history or not possess the skills they claim to have or be who they claim to be.
Becoming a victim of fraud
Did you know that nearly 1 in 5 small businesses have been defrauded by an employee at some point during their trading history? When neglecting background screening, you put your business at risk of fraud. Unfortunately, it sometimes can be those inside your business who can cause the most harm and it can happen in many forms such as submitting false expense claims, misusing the company assets, or manipulating potential suppliers and clients.
Employer negligence & negligent hiring.
Here is another fact; did you know that 36% of employers reported workplace violence incidents? This is where employee negligence comes into effect when the employer has been unable to create a safe work environment for its employees.
We also have the issue of negligent hiring. This is when the employer has hired someone into the business without conducting the necessary checks, who have then gone on to cause distress and harm to the company, other employees and third parties.
The employer is liable in both instances.
Why conduct background screening checks?
There are several benefits for any business when background screening is done correctly;
• greater security
• higher level of protection
• better quality of potential candidates
• can increase employee retention
So, neglecting background screening shouldn’t be an option.
When hiring potential candidates, the risk of security can affect your business. Sometimes, the cost of a bad hire is detrimental, so background screening mitigates this risk, significantly reducing the threat of dangerous hires.
In addition, there is a legal requirement for some industries to conduct background screening appointing new starters. These sectors include:
• educational workers
• healthcare professionals
• government workers
• financial specialists
• computer and IT managers
• child-care workers
How we can help
We fully believe that your businesses should always conduct background screening on all potential new candidates as it offers so many benefits, allowing you to be confident in the candidate.
Here at CBS, we offer a whole range of background screening services. We understand that people are central to every successful organisation, so we can help you manage the risks involved in recruitment, allowing you to employ the right candidate, for the right roles, faster.
For more information on our background screening services, contact our team today on 01443 799900 or email us at info@cbsreening.co.uk