It is always risky to hire an employee without conducting his or her background check to verify the personal information, educational qualification, work experience, character and professional behavior. Even if the position that the potential employee would be holding is not that important, he would be a part of the organization and can have access to the information. Thus, at least the basic checks such as address, criminal background, drug addiction and reference from previous employer are recommended before hiring all the employees.
We need to remember that one bad fish can spoil the whole pond and background check acts as a barrier to the entry of wrong persons in the organization. The more important is the position, the more is the influence that can be exerted by the potential employee on the organization. Accordingly, the background check is strongly recommended prior to appointment of an employee at an important and/or senior position. We categorize employee checks in the following two classes:
• Pre-employment: The background check should be done prior to appointment of an employee and this is done to mitigate the risk of appointing a wrong person. This becomes more important when the position to be held by an employee is important in the organization. As is evident, an employee appointed at an important or senior position will have access to critical and may be sensitive information. Thus, even if you get rid of that employee, he will take such information with him. To avoid such situation, it is prudent to get pre-employment check done on potential employees. The whole process generally covers the following tasks:
1. Physical verification of current address
2. Verification of past employments
3. Enquiries at past workplaces regarding integrity, character, professional behavior etc.
4. Educational Qualification Check
5. Criminal Record Check
6. Reference Check
7. Drug Addiction Check
We would need the written consent of the employee whose background check is desired. It should authorize your organization to carry out his or her background check either by your organization or an external agency hired for the purpose. The fee and time required will depend on the scope of the assignment.• Post-employment: This check is done on existing employees of the organization. This is done in matters such as suspected fraud, suspected collusion with other employees, involvement in anti-management activities, misuse of company assets, negligence in duty etc. If the check indicates a major or serious potential threat, we recommend the deployment of undercover to expose and eradicate that threat...!!