Post-Hire Background Checks – Five Reasons for Completing Them

Most organizations are familiar with pre-employment background checks. In fact, finding an employer today who doesn’t conduct at least a local screening is rare. However, more organizations are also performing post-hire background checks. If you haven’t considered adding this beneficial tool for your organization, the following are five reasons why you should.

Compliance with the Law

There are many positions that require annual background checks based on state and federal laws. These laws are in place to ensure safety and protect clients in medical, transportation and other industries.

Promotions

Certain promotions entail changes in job responsibilities, and if a basic screening is all that was completed at the time of hire, a more detailed one may be an important consideration. This is especially true if an internal promotion is taking an employee from a position that required very little interaction with others to one requiring it on a consistent basis.

Negligent Retention

If you are an employer who has not required pre-employment background checks in the past, you could be setting your business up for liability issues based on negligent retention. Performing a post-hire background screening can make you aware of employees that could be a major risk. If you don‘t perform a check at all, either pre- or post-hire, you could be liable if the employee hurts someone.

Safer Workplace and Enhanced Security

If your employees work with the public in any capacity, performing a post-hire background check is always beneficial. Not only does it alert you to potential problem employees, it also shows the public that you care about both your reputation and maintaining standards of excellence.

Changes in Circumstances

Some employees remain with a company for several years. This means that someone who had a clean record when you hired them could have criminal offenses of which you are not aware if they occurred after the pre-employment background check. Whether you choose to conduct the post-hire screening after a specified amount of years, or due to an internal investigation, it could protect your company.

Post-hire background checks may seem unnecessary for most organizations, but they are an excellent tool that can provide considerable benefits and protection in the long term.