It is tough times out there for any business. While the global economy has been with us now for a decade or two, there are employers still making adjustments. It is understandable. Employers are hiring job applicants from all over the country if not from around the world. Each business is competing to gain substantial market share while trying to sustain during a difficult economy.
The last thing an employer needs is for employees to be robbing and stealing from them. It is one thing maybe to steal pencils and paper, and quite another to swipe proprietary data and sell it to your competitors. According to an article in Network World, a new survey has revealed that 35% of those questioned believe that employees have provided sensitive information to competitors. While some of the information was also chalked up to human error, the majority belief was that employees were responsible for the theft and transference of sensitive data.
Nearly two thirds of the IT personnel involved in the survey admitted to having accessed information that was not relevant to their role. While the IT group seemed to be the biggest offenders, Human Resources snooping sensitive data coming in a distant second. As to what type of data that IT staff snooped on varied according to geography. A third of of UK respondents listed accessing HR records first, compared to 28 percent of US respondents, and 38 percent of US respondents choosing to sneakily access the customer database first, compared to just 16 percent of UK respondents.
Whle firms have taken a variety of precautions, this, in-house sabotage had increased from 20 percent last year to 27 percent this year. Not good, Especially during an intensely competitive period in a bad economy.
While background checks are a long way from the cure all, checking an employment candidates criminal history as well as conduct reference background checks will help weed out the undesirable job applicants. The background check is designed to give the human resources personnel and the supervisors and overview of someone’s criminal and civil past as well as an overview of their performance. by conducting professional reference verifications on the job applicant, and employer can better determine if the person drew suspicion with respect to any data theft or snooping.
Compared to the embarrassment and the liability factors involved with in-house snooping, and when compared to the potential business loss from data theft, the background check is a cost-effective alternative. Many employers try cutting corners and do not order a comprehensive series of background checks for their preemployment screening program. It is being penny-wise and dollar foolish. It is always best to know what you may be getting into, before you encounter a very rude awakening.
So check them out before you hire.
