What is Background Checking? Definition and How to Do It
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You may have heard several stories concerning office theft, whether it is of cash or laptops, or even corruption. Every business wants to avoid this.
Therefore, in order to ensure that a candidate has a positive attitude and a solid record, a company must conduct a background check on them before hiring them.
What is exactly a background check? How to do it? What things do a company and the candidate need to pay attention to?
In this article, we will share with you the details.
What is background checking?
Someone examines your former employment history and behaviour as part of a background check.
The aim is to acquire additional knowledge about the candidates to ascertain their compatibility with the company's work culture.
Additionally, background checks might reveal any potential conflicts down the road and enquire about the professionalism of candidates.
Background checks are typically conducted for jobs in government, healthcare, finance, and education.
Below, Indeed provides a variety of background check kinds.
- Criminal: To confirm the applicant's lack of a criminal history. It is most commonly applied to positions where working with dependents or children is involved.
- Employment: To make sure the candidate can provide value to the firm, many companies use this common procedure. Financial, social media, drug test results, criminal activity, and educational records are among the areas that are examined.
- Fingerprint: The candidate's fingerprint is used in this activity to evaluate and identify data, including nationality and criminal history. Except in the case of law enforcement or other professions, it is not frequently utilised in hiring and employment procedures.
- Worldwide: Depending on the nation, international background checks may encompass multiple countries and regions. When a business employs a candidate who has resided in many places.
Why are pre-employment background checks important?
Let us say you take on the role of hiring the company's financial officer. You will grant access to the key access to obtain the funds as well as the financial profile of the company.
In a different scenario, you appoint someone to the Data Security role. It appears that this individual has a criminal history of taking company information and reselling it online.
Pre-employment background checks are highly recommended if you do not want this person to have the ability to embezzle business funds, engage in corrupt behaviour, or sell corporate information. then make off.
None of us wants this to occur. Therefore, pre-employment background checks can assist the organisation in ensuring that the proper individual is assigned to the position.
In detail, background checking is important because:
- Hire the highest-quality candidates and boost productivity.
- Avoid workplace harassment and ensure safety.
- Prevent theft and other criminal activities.
- Protect the company's reputation and image.
What information can background screening provide for the employer?
A corporation can obtain the following common information items during a background screening process:
Work history
An employer can confirm a candidate's employment history, including the positions held and the duration of each role. This also covers the candidate's performance outcome within the organisation, which might provide insight into how the candidate will function in the real job in the future.
Educational credentials
This is to make sure that the individual has already concluded the study process at a university or any other formal education. It also lowers the possibility of hiring people with phoney academic credentials and guarantees that you only hire qualified applicants.
For instance, an employer might give the university listed on a candidate's résumé a call to confirm the candidate's bachelor's degree.
Credit history
An applicant's financial history may influence the company's hiring choice. This covers any unpaid bills or overdue installments.
If the candidate has overdue credit and the company fails to investigate this, it could have a negative effect on the business.
From an alternative angle, a background check credit report can disclose an applicant's ability to handle their finances, whether they have any debts or loans, and whether they make timely payments on their obligations.
Criminal record
A criminal history demonstrates a person's suitability for a position. Any criminal convictions, arrest histories, ongoing legal proceedings, and court cases are all examined in this examination.
Social media use
Social media checking can give a more descriptive explanation about someone’s:
- Character
- Communication style
- Interactions with others
- Professionalism
- Concerning behaviors or attitudes
- Potential issues that might not be obvious from the resumes and interviews.
Drug screenings
Your past drug test results may be reported by the check if you have had one. This includes the results of any prior testing, whether positive or negative, as these might be important factors in determining your fitness for positions requiring drug-free compliance.
It is crucial to understand that prior drug test results may have an impact on the employment choice.
How to run a background check
A background check is a complex process that takes many steps. Due to the expense, it is completed at the conclusion of the employment process. For this reason, businesses hold off on running a background investigation until after making an employment offer.
Here are Forbes' how-tos.
Make an offer
Conduct a series of job searches (interviews, case studies, etc.) and select the best candidate. Following that, you might make a written offer to the chosen individual as conditional employment. However, you must first inform the candidate that you will be doing a background check.
By deferring the background check until after you make a job offer, you set a clear standard for who is screened and who isn't. This method is not arbitrary.
Explain the screening
Inform the candidate that a background check is required and that the results will be considered as part of the employment screening.
Explain what data will be gathered and how it will be examined. You can also ask them if there is anything in their background that they would like to share, allowing them to explain their side and avoid any shocks.
Obtain consent in writing
After explaining, request that the candidate provide written approval by signing an authorisation for the background check. The authorisation must notify them that a third-party screening will be performed and describe the process.
Be consistent on who is screened
It is critical to observe the human resource legislation of your respective country. For example, in Singapore, the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) governs the acquisition, use, and disclosure of personal information.
This statute establishes guidelines for considering someone's criminal background when making employment decisions. Employment decisions should be based on job duties. For example, you could withdraw a job offer from a driver who has too many traffic fines on their driving record.
Work with a legal team or services if necessary.
If the information acquired yields an unpleasant or unexpected conclusion, you may want to decline the employment offer and provide a notice of unfavourable action. Take note that this must be done correctly and based on facts.
Consult with a lawyer to ensure that you follow the proper processes, including writing a letter explaining the cause clearly and honestly.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What causes a red flag on a background check?
Each organisation has its own hiring rules. So it may vary. Background checks can disclose difficulties such as criminal convictions, failed drug tests, traffic offences, low credit scores, and inconsistent employment histories.
Any choice made based on the background check results must be job-related and necessary for the firm. Companies should adhere to their individual country's laws and rules to ensure that their decisions do not unfairly exclude protected groups.
2. How long does a background check take?
Generally, the entire procedure takes one to two weeks, depending on circumstances such as court and agency delays, holidays, international information requests, and the recruiting manager's time to analyse the results and write offer letters.
Because each organisation has its own process, the time it takes to receive findings varies.
Furthermore, speciality roles may necessitate more thorough checks, and other measures such as drug screens can lengthen the timeline.
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