If you didn't perform even a perfunctory background check on your employees and business partners you may be surprised by what they didn't reveal in their resumes.
Many would-be employees have dark, even dangerous, pasts. Statistics show that five percent of job applicants falsify their name and/or Social Security number. Eleven thousand violent occurrences in the workplace are reported annually. Employee theft and dishonesty account for losses of billions per year, not including the billions spent protecting against theft.
Expert Advice
How might a company go about a background check, and why do so many choose to forego it?
Is it too expensive? Too time consuming? It isn't a terribly expensive thing to do, particularly because so much is available online now. I just think people are doing business more the old-fashioned way, they do trust people and they do believe that a handshake is enough. I think that in light of recent events people will be more sensitized to doing this kind of thing. The world has changed and the rules have changed in terms of how to do business and I think people are going to be much more careful with who they're hiring and who they're doing business with.
How reputable are online sources? They're tied right in to state and government databases. The data is purchased from the government and from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and other publications. While there are still some inaccuracies due to data entry and human error—we never rely on it exclusively—it is an excellent starting point. It is relatively reliable just in terms of uncovering the best amount of information you can scour in no time, really.
There are three steps employers and investigators need to take to fully explore a person's history: Typically the phases would be online investigation, then retrieval of public records, and finally field investigation.
Online investigation is a fairly comprehensive, cost-effective method of conducting a primary search. The basic elements of a background check (verifying name and Social Security number, confirming that the subject has actually lived and worked in areas attested to on a resume), can be covered by accessing any number of online sources. If you need to go further, there are news and media sources that provide a wealth of information. Or you can search the varied compilations of public records accessible on the Web. Here you can find federal and state civil court proceedings, federal criminal records, federal bankruptcy court records, and more.
Watch Your Back
But what if a more thorough investigation is called for? You should always question the investigator about their methodology and their ethics. There are a lot of investigators out there that will go into gray areas that they shouldn't be going into. Companies have to be very, very careful about who they hire to do investigative work, because if there's a problem it's going to come back to them. This point is crucial to note. Liability for negligent hiring and retention practices rests on the employer regardless of the scope of investigation into a subject's history.
To be safe you must understand the limits drawn by state and federal laws concerning background checks and criminal records, as well as those drawn by the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act). There is an elegantly simple gauge to determine how far to go with an investigation: If you are questioning whether to do something and imagine that someone found out that you did it, and it ended up on the front page of the Wall Street Journal and you were horrified, then don't do it. Each investigation will be different depending on the situation, so remember to treat each one with individual care and caution.
