What Happens If I Don’t Run Background Check On My Employees?

Prior history is a good predictor of future performance. Background checks are used by employers to identify applicants prone to unacceptable workplace behavior. Background check tools such as Criminal Record Checks, Prior Employment Verification, Education Verification, License Verification, and other research tools can reveal potential problem areas.

Negligent hiring liability holds employers responsible both for what they do know and what they should have known about their employees. It can even hold employers responsible for employees’ actions off the job. Courts have repeatedly affirmed that employers have a duty to exercise reasonable care in hiring individuals who, because of the nature of their employment, may pose a threat to the public.

However, employers have a moral and legal obligation to provide a safe work environment, knowing whether a potential employee has been involved in criminal or dishonest activity (such as drug or other substance abuse, reckless behavior, theft, or dangerous and violent behaviors) allows the employer to better determine if an applicant is appropriate for the job and work environment. Background Checks allow an employer to better determine if an applicant poses a potential threat to other employees or customers.

Essentially, failure to run background check on your employees can be costly not just financially but also to your brand / organizational image. Here are some of the situations you may encounter as a result of failure to run background check on your employees:

• You would end up hiring individuals with a criminal record. For instance, imagine hiring someone with a track record of theft. What do you think would happen in your organization with that person having access to your financial records or other sensitive equipment,
• It brings about financial loss. When important decision making is left in the hands of an individual that presented a forged certificate or an exaggerated CV, that individual is bound to make certain wrong decisions that would have financial implication on your firm.

• You might hire incompetent people. Imagine hiring a customer care officer with anger issues. He/she would chase away all your customers before you even realize there is a problem.