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6 Popular Employee Background Verification Myths Debunked

2021-06-16 18:11:10

Table of Content

  1. Here are six common employee background verification myths and the truth about what to do
    • Myth 1: Employee Background Verification – That’s for The Big Shots of the Industry
    • Myth 2: Criminal Record Check is More than Enough
    • Myth 3: Employee screening is Slower Than the Tectonic Plates
    • Myth 4: Why Verify Employees Offline When Everything is There Online
    • Myth 5: Background Check is Breaching Privacy of Employees
    • Myth 6: Rescreening is a Waste of Time, Money, and Efforts
  2. Wrapping Up
     

Here are six common employee background verification myths and the truth about what to do

We all know that an employee background verification is an indispensable screening that must be done before recruiting someone. Along with new hires, screening existing employees from time to time or employee rescreening is also highly recommended. From an organization’s safety to safeguarding its people, culture, assets, and data, a background check has an imperative role to play in the corporate world.

However, a number of employee background verification myths circulating around the employee background verification process have prompted some hiring managers to overlook it, thus making their organizations prone to incidents that may jeopardize their credibility and reputation. Here are six employee background verification myths you may have encountered, followed by busters that highlight why one should not believe in these misconceptions.

Myth 1: Employee Background Verification – That’s For The Big Shots of the Industry

Many small companies believe that an employee background check is made for big organizations, not for small and budding ventures. The truth is that turning a blind eye to employee background verification can cost more to smaller firms. From promoting a vacancy to onboarding and training, a new person in the team comes with a cost. If the recruit turns out to be a ‘bad hire’, a small firm will have to bear all the hiring expenses again, which is perhaps not a big deal for the giants of the C-world. All in all, it is better to pay a small fee for an employee background verification than risk a huge sum of money in filling the vacant position.
 

Myth 2: Criminal Record Check is More than Enough

Checking the criminal record of a candidate is helpful. However, solely relying on the same to make a hiring decision is not right. Information from educational records, reference checks, drug & alcohol tests, and social media check brings an entirely different picture to the limelight. Therefore, it is advised to consider all the other parameters of an employee background check for a holistic view of the potential employees.
 

Myth 3: Employee screening is Slower Than the Tectonic Plates

A large number of employers hold the opinion that employee background verification is a slow and time-consuming procedure. The length of the employment verification process depends on the number of candidates and the extensiveness of every verification parameter. Furthermore, technology has augmented the entire process to verify the potential and existing employees for employee rescreening of an organization. With the whisk of tech advancements and immensely experienced professionals in the field of employee verification, the task of employee background check has advanced in leaps and bounds, thus lowering the odds of losing good employees.
 

Myth 4: Why Verify Employees Offline When Everything is There Online

Another prevalent myth is that employment verification is redundant as a lot of information about the candidates is available online. Concluding this and ignoring employment screening based on mere social media platforms and online searches could pose a threat to your commercial establishment. 

Let us break it to you that there is a high chance that you won’t find all the required information about the job applicants online. Scrutinizing popular social media forums and websites are a part of a comprehensive employee background check. Accompanying the online available data are different offline checks and components that help employers make the right hiring decision.
 

Myth 5: Background Check is Breaching Privacy of Employees

Unlike spying, there is the consent of candidates which is a mandatory requirement for conducting an employee background checkEmployment screening, or even employee rescreening, is not an invasion of someone’s privacy. Instead, it’s a protective measure undertaken or outsourced by companies to verify the personal and professional details provided by the job aspirant. In fact, due to sensitive data involved in the process, companies or verification experts practice utmost care to keep any breach or information leak at bay. 
 

Myth 6: Rescreening is a Waste of Time, Money, and Efforts

Numerous HR personnel have this notion that employee screening is beneficial up until the point of hire and re-verification of the employees afterwards is a waste of energy and money. This belief can bring troubles for the organization, especially if the new employee is later promoted to a position with access to confidential information. The pre-employment screening is no guarantee that the employee will never be involved in any crime, drug or alcohol abuse during their tenure with the company. 

Even if there is a self-reporting policy at a workplace, there is a probability that most workers won’t volunteer to disclose any criminal record or other such sensitive information. Therefore, employee rescreening should be undertaken from time to time to ensure the workplace’s safety.

Wrapping Up

Undoubtedly, hiring is easier said than done. From identifying a role to laying down its job description and training the recruit, there are many things that go in the process of employing someone. Amid all this, recruiters often skip the employee background check due to various employee background verification myths surrounding it.

Above, we have mentioned six popular employee background verification myths about employment verification and have debunked them all, thus, clearing the clouds and highlighting the paramount importance of screening employees before and after making them a part of the organization.

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