Why is Background Check important for HR?

The background check is a fairly modern HR agenda . The background check is the addition to the recruitment process checking the provided data by the final job candidate. Many companies ask for the background check before signing the job contract. The background check is the strong HR tool for the protection of the company. On the other hand, the background checks are not popular, and they can stop many potential job candidates.

Each organization working with sensitive information should implement the background check process for the new comers. Additionally, it can run an exceptional background check for promoted employees into key and highly sensitive job positions. The background check is equivalent to the credit check (but done for a different purpose).

What is the background check?

The background check is about the exact proof of personal information provided in the job resume. The background check is about collecting information from the previous employers (including references and the reason of leaving), education and other relevant sources.

The information gathered is a basis for the decision about signing the employment contract. Most organizations do sign the employment contract and then they check the new employee within a defined period after the start date.

The job candidate has to agree with the background check procedure. The organization cannot request the background check without written and formal approval of the candidate. In case the job candidate does not agree with the background check, the organization cannot ask for it. In such a case, the HR employee has to decide about the positive outcome of the hiring process.

What is included in the background check?

The organization should use different levels of the background check. As the background check is the external services provided by the background check supplier, it is expensive to use the same level for the whole population. The background check supplier usually offers several packages and the organization pays-as-you-go per the individual request for the check.

The basic level of the background check usually includes just the confirmation of the previous employments and their lengths. It does not confirm all the employers, but just the last one is confirmed by the phone.

The most advanced version of the background check confirms the existence of the previous employers, the names of managers, checks the references, reason for leaving and other stuff. It confirms information provided from several employers and the full report is provided to the organization. The advanced version of the background check collects information from the public sources (think of your Facebook and LinkedIn ). The background check report includes the qualitative data and the opinion of the supplier.

The Background Check Risks

The background check is highly sensitive. The organization has to evaluate the potential risks of not checking all job positions. The job candidates are not willing to disclose all information before they have the certainty of getting a job.

The organization has to evaluate the required level of information needed to become mutually trusted. Many organizations are willing to ask information like the credit check. The credit check should not be a standard part of the background check process. There are key job positions, where the credit check should be part of the background check process. In other circumstances, the credit check should be avoided.