How to Conduct Background Checks for New Employees?

A candidate’s work history and other information related to their present or past employment will sometimes be requested by companies or will be initiated by them. As you may have guessed, this process is called “Employment Verification.”

It is common for employers to verify employees’ employment backgrounds, skillsets, and other details before recruiting or promoting them. The importance of verification has increased exponentially in recent years. Counterfeiting resumes have become more common as the job market becomes more competitive. It is not uncommon to find examples of falsifications ranging from deceitful to shocking.

What is preventing companies from investing more in verification?

A recent study found that 58% of employers have detected misrepresentations and distortions in resumes. Additionally, 33% of recruiters said that the problem had declined since the recession. Most companies, especially outsourcing companies, marketing companies, and labor-intensive manufacturing companies don’t usually pay that much attention to verification. Two main factors contribute to this:

• There is an increasing demand for manpower, so companies are usually eager to hire people.
• Most companies aren’t interested in paying a lot for verification services.

What is the turnaround time for employee verification?

You’d know how time-consuming it can be to verify employment if you’ve ever done much of it yourself. Furthermore, the last employer might not have a team of people ready to answer your call and provide you with the details. Although most pre-employment verifications can be concluded in less than 3 days, the reason for the delay can be attributed to several factors.

It takes time and patience to verify an employee’s employment. Because of this, most businesses rely on introductory reference checks through people the candidate has suggested. Because of the variety of checks that need to be conducted, it is difficult to verify employees. Verification services provide the following services:

• Candidate address checks: Verifying the candidate’s place of residence.
• Criminal checks: An investigation of the candidate’s criminal history is conducted.
• Checking employment records: To find out if there have been any vacancies in the past.
• Education verification: Examining a candidate’s educational background to see if they are really qualified. The company ends up spending a lot of time on all these things.  The verification process can take weeks for a single candidate!

What information can employers ask for?

The previous employer may be requested to provide information that isn’t required for employment verification. The exposure of protected information may result in legal penalties for employers. Data related to health, income, and earnings are the most confidential information employers hold, so they must be especially careful when sharing this information.

Health-related information: In general, revealing information about an employee’s health is not a smart idea. An insurance agent could be seeking information about a prospective customer’s pre-existing conditions. In addition, it may be the recruiting managers of a business wanting to make their labor as appealing as possible.

• It is the recruiting manager’s responsibility to confirm that a prospective candidate is qualified to execute the duties of the job profile under consideration. As part of the hiring process, employers may ask their employees if they will need “rational concessions” for a given role that will ensure they are able to accomplish all of their tasks.
• Income-related information: Applicants are mandated to provide proof of their income in certain circumstances, such as when they apply for a loan. There are, however, several states that have passed laws prohibiting businesses from asking applicants about their previous salaries during the hiring process. The purpose of this is to ensure that employees are not unjustly compared to their previous income for the new role, which may have been below market rates.