Business
Job Background Checks Surge
This article discusses the resurgence in employer background checks, which have risen 16% in the past year, according to the article, and that number is triple the number of checks done just eight years ago. Why are background checks becoming so popular? That is what this article really attempts to answer. The author maintains there are several reasons that employers are conducting more background checks. One is increased worries about ethics in the wake of many very public business ethics violations in the past few years. Corporations are also required to be more accountable, and so they must hire a higher quality employee that is both ethical and accountable for their decisions. What employers are finding, however, is that there are inaccuracies and inconsistencies in many employee's resume and employment data.
This article is quite informative, and gives anyone interested in staffing trends much information to mull over, especially if they are personally concerned with hiring and staffing in their organization. It has always been imperative to hire the best candidate for the position, but today, the best candidate must also have an impeccable background. Increased information availability both online and off has made it much easier for hiring professionals to delve into the background of their potential employees, and this allows them to be much more thorough in background checking, and much more careful about the employees they eventually decide to hire. There is another benefit to increased scrutiny of employees. If an employee commits an infraction on the job, and the employer has not checked the background, they could be open to legal ramifications if the employee injures or damages a client or another employee. Thus, background checks not only turn up infractions, they may help control many legal issues if used effectively. This article points out what to look for in background checks, and how they can benefit both the employer and the employees who work with new hires. Making sure the workplace is a safe, ethical environment is paramount in today's staffing departments, and this article is a good introduction to some tools to assure this positive workplace environment.
References
Joyner, Tammy. "Job Background Checks Surge." HoustonChronicle.com. 1 May 2005. 2 May 2005. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/3161836
