Hiring the right people is expensive -hiring the wrong people can be an unmitigated disaster
Hiring the right people is expensive -hiring the wrong people can be an unmitigated disaster.
A recent report from HR.com found that 53% of all job applications contain inaccurate information – with nine percent of jobseekers admitting to having lied about a qualification or college degree.
But what’s HR to do? How can you be sure that the candidate sat across form you is everything they claim to be?
This is where background screening comes in.
HRD spoke to Iain Murray, sales director/vertical leader at Sterling Backcheck, and Mark Sward, vice president and global head of privacy at Sterling Backcheck – hosts of our upcoming webinar ‘Beyond the Criminal Record Check – Defining the Background Screening Program’.
We asked the hosts about the potential problems employers could come across when trying to conduct background checks.
“One of the biggest challenges for employers when looking at background screening is consistency,” explained Murray.
“There’s often a lack of understanding of local privacy laws and the nuances behind the kinds of checks which are permissible in each country. That’s a major concern for HR – essentially that employers don’t fully understand which screenings they should be conducting in each branch of their organization.
“And even then, once a policy has been decided upon and implemented, there’s still considerable challenges to be tackled – such as turn-around time and ensuring a positive candidate experience.”
Ensuring a positive candidate experience is paramount when it comes to background screening. How employees feel throughout the process will be reflected in their morale, their productivity and, ultimately, their tenure.
“When it comes to background screening, it’s imperative that the candidate knows exactly what’s going on,” added Sward. “Some candidates may be familiar with the background check process – however, for others it can seem bewildering.
“Candidates may be unsure of what’s expected of them, what information they have to provide etc. It’s important that HR remains transparent – taking the time to walk the candidate through the process.”
To hear more on the importance of thorough background screening, sign up to Sterling Backcheck’s upcoming webinar here.