Plenty of employers utilize background checks in the hiring process. It’s become standard practice to learn more about who you’re considering before officially inviting them onto your team. This isn’t just to check references and ensure applicants really did earn a degree, though. Performing background checks are an important part of maintaining office safety and ensuring a new hire will contribute positively to the office. Let’s look at a few reasons why performing a fingerprint criminal background check and other types of background checks is important.

Safety

One main reason to conduct these checks is to preserve the safety of your business and current employees. For example, if you ran a driving record background check on an applicant and saw they had three DUI’s, you probably wouldn’t want to hire them to be your new delivery driver. This information shows you they might be a liability to your company.

Similarly, criminal background checks can show if a person has a history of violence, harassment or unethical behavior. It can be tempting to trust your gut, but keep in mind that most people put their best foot forward in interviews. Background checks ensure your initial impression matches who someone really is and that the person you bring in won’t be a threat to your business or employees.

Productivity

Background checks help hiring managers choose the best candidates, which means you often get people who are incredibly productive in their roles. And when just one extra person is productive, it can boost your entire business’s bottom line. 

In a background check, you can see how many jobs the applicant has held and for how long. If you find someone who regularly hops from one job to another, you might be hesitant to hire them. This shows they might not stay around long enough to be truly productive in their role. Information like this can help you make informed, strategic hiring decisions.

Reliability

Checking references is one part of background checking and it can help you determine someone’s reliability. Speaking to past employers gives you an opportunity to see how someone operates day-to-day and if their working style will fit with your office. It also gives you the chance to find out if they have any bad habits such as poor attendance or consistently arriving late. Again, this is just another way to get more information about candidates that can help you make an informed decision.

Background checks are an important part of the hiring process that no company should ignore.