Would you hire a security guard with a record of theft? Or accept surgery from a doctor without the requisite qualifications? Unfortunately, this isn’t just a fantasy scenario. An incident at Fortis Hospital resulted in a patient’s death during surgery, allegedly due to mistakes made by a surgeon unqualified to take on the complicated double transplant. Even in less dramatic examples, the lack of proper employee screening poses significant risks to an organisation. CV fraud is endemic, even amongst senior managers, and the reputational damage a bad hire can cause to a company is immense. In one Credence case study, a newly appointed director was found to have given details of a fake university.
Five Ways Background Screening Reduces Risk
1.Security in sensitive positions: If you’re employing someone into a position of significant trust, you want to be certain of their integrity to avoid compliance risks.
2. Make sure they have the skills they claim: In a survey we recently conducted, 49% of employers had encountered a candidate who lied about their degree certificate. If you are looking to rebuild your organisation’s workforce post-lockdown, our education verification can guarantee that a candidate is not exaggerating (or even completely fabricating) their skills and employment history.
3. Reduces uncertainty and deters poor job candidates: Thorough screening removes the need to rely on a gut feeling. Furthermore, a requirement for a background check will put off candidates with something to hide – saving you time and money in the hiring process, and ultimately leading to a higher quality workforce.
4. Demonstrates due diligence: Show that you are taking care of the safety of your clients and complying with all the appropriate regulations. If you’re FCA-regulated or need to regularly carry out KYC, this is likely to be particularly relevant.
5. Workplace safety: Insider threats are one of the largest risks that a business faces, as evidenced by several studies in the US:
– According to the National Retail Federation, a third of the $46.8 billion USD (£34.2 billion) of US retail inventory loss was a result of employee theft.
– The US Chamber of Commerce stated that crime was a factor in as many as 30% of business failures.
– The Department of Health and Human Services found in a study of employees at a Medicare nursing facility that 16% were convicted of a crime after being employed.