The HR Challenge:
Help Wanted! Inquire Within and Without

by Gordon Basichis

Homeland Security and the New Employment Landscape Have Added New Pressures to Your Human Resource Management Staff. Just Because You Are Desperate to Hire, Overlooking the Candidate's Red Flags Can Be a Costly Mistake Companies are hiring right now.

This is definitely good news and the sign of a strengthening economy. Since Corra Group specializes in background checking services we have found our business has increased in these recent months. We are getting calls from all over the country. Some are from companies with HR managers who are experienced in background checks. But many are from HR personnel who are not entirely familiar with the process.

These HR Personnel who are new to employment screening services. They may lack the experience and wherewithal to understand the kind of employment screening they should order, or even how to comprehend the more intricate aspects of a final report. If there are red flags, they may want to know how to proceed. At the same time they are often being pressured by the hiring managers to bring someone on board, to fill the gaps, without much further delay.

This can lead to serious mistakes. This can create oversights or the dismissal of not only the more obvious criminal records, but of the little things that may provide testimony to the candidate's actual behavior patterns. Sometimes these tips are obscure or abstract but telling nevertheless. Frequent MVR violations can be indicators of substance abuse problems. Candidates with such abuse problems will often be difficult in the working place, and may be more prone to theft and embezzlement in order to support their habits. And then of course the minor infractions may show struggles with self-control. Financial concerns, other than actual credit reports, like liens and judgments will show difficulties with money management and overextension.

To be sure all aspects are examined thoroughly; any background checking service should be willing to work with either the accomplished veterans or the neophytes to the background checking process. As well as structuring a thorough variety of employment screening packages, it is important to develop comprehensive and cost effect background services that are designed to fit the particular needs of an individual business. It is necessary to ask questions and use the experience of one's service agency to help design the best background checking fit for a specific company. Bottom line, it is important to be accessible and to have a well trained staff that can recognize a company's individual needs and offer the appropriate services.

While there is much news about inaccurate background screening reports leading to liability and financial complications, a thorough background check still helps a company avoid unwanted disasters and even greater liability through theft, violence or substance and sexual abuse in the work place. Human Resource staffs must always bear in mind they are not only there to recruit the most fitting candidate but to help avoid costly difficulties such as repeated turnovers in the workplace.

In the end an HR manager must be patient and develop a standardized employment screening package for every job level. Some background checks, such as those applied to the laborer or office clerk may be simpler while screening for management and executive positions poses more complex and different challenges. In this day and age of the Enron's of the world it is important to research whether your Ivy trained, impeccably credentialed potential new executive didn't plea bargain his way out of a serious white collar crime. Or sometimes it is necessary to explore the possibility that a laborer or office worker while not convicted of any particular thievery has not ended up on the dark side of the Retail Theft or Esteem Database Search. In many cases, despite a confession, an employer simply doesn't have the time or disposition to prosecute but will list that employee on this database.

Finally, no essay on pre-employment background checking should dismiss either the prospect of threats to Homeland Security or corporate spying. Domestic workers notwithstanding, with the increased hiring of foreign born it is sometimes necessary to order foreign criminal background searches, was well as education and prior employment verification. Some companies are loathe to order these employment screening checks, due to their expense. However, think of the cost if this is the proverbial bad seed on the one with his own agenda. Think of the havoc destruction and the embarrassment they may create for your company.

So in the end, order the kind of background screening packages that will provide you with a comprehensive overview of your job candidate. Despite pressures from the hiring managers, don't be in a hurry to exchange your common sense for expedience. Be patient; wait for all the necessary information to come back to you. And be sure you ire the kind of background checking service where you receive knowledgeable answers quickly. Pick a background checking service that is willing to listen to you, confer with you and help you interpret the information they provide. In the end, not only will you benefit, but so will everyone else in your company.

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