Pre-Employee InvestigationPre-Employee Investigation

Hiring new employees is a big investment for a company. When a company hires a candidate, the hope is that they will be connected with the company for a long time continuously delivering excellent work which will create a positive effect on the business. But how will you know whether you are hiring a candidate who is perfectly suitable for your organization? This is where pre-employee investigation plays its role.

Pre-employee investigations are a very critical component of a company’s hiring process. A lot of surveys have reported that most job applications contain a lot of false statements. Through a pre-employee investigation, a company can easily find out hidden pieces of information about the candidates. The main motive behind conducting such an investigation is to make the best hiring decisions. A company that does not focus on conducting thorough background checks are more likely to end with bad hiring. So, to save yourself from bad hiring a proper pre-employee investigation is essential before you make employment offers to the candidates.

What are the things covered in a pre-employee investigation?

A standard pre-employee investigation usually uses the name of the candidate, date of birth, and social security number for gathering various details about the candidate from public and private databases. There is also some other information about the candidate that you would need to collect but with permission. An employer has the right to access all the relevant sources with the consent of the candidate.

A pre-employment investigation usually covers the following areas –

Verification of identity – A candidate’s identity can be verified through their social security number (SSN). It reveals whether the candidate has revealed their true identity or not. You will also get an idea of whether the candidate has the legal right to work in the country. Social security records can be gathered from the Department of Homeland Security of your state or the Social Security Administration.

Candidate’s criminal history – A thorough background check of the potential candidates will help you to learn if they have been convicted of a crime or have any outstanding warrants against them. It will also reveal if the candidate is on any sex offender registry or watch list of the government.

Employment history – Browsing through the employment history of the candidates would give you a brief idea about what company they were previously working for. Also, it will reveal their work experience giving you an idea of whether they are suitable for the post open in your company or not.

Educational background – By conducting a pre-employee investigation, you can get details about the qualifications of the potential candidate. An educational background check will help an employer to verify the accuracy of the degrees mentioned on the applicant’s resume.

Credit Check – A credit check is one of the most important aspects of a pre-employee investigation. It will help you to learn whether the candidate is financially responsible or not. It is very important to check their way of managing finance especially if you are hiring them for budget management or will have access to the funds of the company.

A pre-employee investigation helps the company to ensure that the job applicant is being honest and does not have an unscrupulous past. You can research them more by connecting with their previous workplace people. You can also contact their reference contacts to get more details about them. Also, while opening the hiring process you can ask them for their social media handles to check their online presence.

How to conduct a background check on the employees?

Here, we are sharing with you the best practices that employers must follow to avoid bad hiring in your company.

Always research the laws & regulations of your state

There are some specific state laws & regulations that govern the process of pre-employee investigations. You need to ensure that your investigation complies with these laws so that your company does not fall into any liability.

If you are hiring a third-party investigator service then make sure that it complies with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). You can check out these laws & regulations of the state at the official domain of the Department of Public State.

Take the permission of the candidate before proceeding with the investigation

FCRA makes it mandatory to notify potential candidates about the pre-employee investigation and ask for their consent. You need to send them an email notifying them about the areas that you will be investigating. Create an attached document with the email and ask the candidate to provide their digital signature. You must also inform them that the information which shall be obtained from the background check may be used to make the final hiring decision.

Get in touch with your candidate’s reference contacts

While opening the hiring process, make sure the applicants share at least two to three contact references. Talking to the references directly will help you to verify the details of your potential candidates. You can also organize direct meetings or video conference meetings with these references to verify their true identity.

Always go with trustworthy and reliable background checks

Most employers prefer outsourcing to third-party background check service providers to conduct the pre-employee investigation. If even you are willing to do this, make sure that you are hiring a trustworthy and experienced private investigator Dubai so that you achieve relevant, accurate, and verified details. Also, make sure that the agency you choose is FCRA-compliant.

CONCLUSION

A pre-employee investigation helps to predict the future behavior of the candidates. It works as a way to build trust and safety with potential employees who would be a part of your company. But, while conducting such an investigation you should always keep in mind that it complies with all the rules & regulations of your state. So, make sure you follow the best practices and make the correct hiring decisions.

By Anurag Rathod

Anurag Rathod is an Editor of Appclonescript.com, who is passionate for app-based startup solutions and on-demand business ideas. He believes in spreading tech trends. He is an avid reader and loves thinking out of the box to promote new technologies.