Does your company have a background check policy? Do you think it’s necessary? According to a recent article on HRDive.com, Tess Taylor gives us reasons why having a specific policy for background screening is important for your company.
First off, company reputation matters. It is important to exhibit that your company treats job applicants fairly. Taylor also points out that it is extremely important to check out why an applicant may have failed a background check, because the reason may or may not disqualify them from employment. It is extremely important to check for any discrepancies that may be found in a background check, because background checks, as we all know, aren’t always 100% accurate.
Taylor notes the importance of developing a formal procedure of addressing candidates that may have failed background checks, assuring that they are FCRA and EEOC compliant.
Finally, Taylor stresses the importance of having a written background check policy that is easy for applicants to understand, getting their written permission to conduct the check, and then having a specific system to “evaluate the validity of any third-party background check companies”.
So if you don’t have a current policy in place for background checks, all of the above are reasons why you may want to consider implementing one.
