Happy Spring! April is a month to celebrate Easter, Passover, and Patriots Day. April and the Spring season is also a good time to “clean house” with regard to your employee background screening policies.
All businesses need to do this, but at this time of year many businesses are facing hiring for the busy summer season. Some of these businesses are hotels, resorts, and restaurants, especially those in tourist vacation spots. Retail stores in these areas will be busy too, and prospecting for new employees.
In addition, summer camps, sports centers, and children’s daycare centers are anticipating the school vacation crowd. Outdoor businesses like landscaping companies are gearing up for a busy summer season, too.
Employees hired in these businesses will include full-time, part-time, and temporary staff.
What Risks Do Businesses Face if They Do Not Do
a Thorough Employee Background Check?
Theft and Fraud
Employee theft and fraud statistics are staggering:
• 75% of employees admit to stealing at least once from their employer. (Source: Embroker, an insurance company)
• Employee theft and fraud is estimated to cost U.S. businesses up to $50 billion a year. These range from fraud to data security incidents.
(Source: Embroker, an insurance company)
• More than 30 percent of business bankruptcies are due to employee theft. (Source: Service Management Group)
• 90% of all significant theft losses are from employees. (Source: Willis North America)
• 40% of employees stealing from work have had HR red flags prior. (Source: SHRM)
• 60% of employees would steal if they knew they wouldn’t get caught. (Source: FBI)
• The top three sectors where insider attacks occur are finance, insurance, and healthcare. (Source: Carnegie)
• 27% of employee fraud occurs in government, healthcare, construction, and service industries; 23% occurs in finance, technology, and other. (Source: Ernst & Young)
Workplace Violence
Some examples of workplace violence include verbal abuse, harassment, pranks, arguments, property damage, vandalism, sabotage, pushing, physical assaults, psychological trauma, anger-related incidents, rape, arson, and murder.
Some workplace violence statistics are as follows:
• In the United States, there are about 2 million victims of workplace violence each year.
• Workplace violence causes American businesses to lose, on average, $250 to $330 billion every year.
• 85% of workplace violence deaths are due to robbery.
• Workplace assaults resulted in 20,050 injuries and 392 fatalities in 2020 alone.
Why is workplace violence increasing?
Some causes for the increase in workplace violence are staff shortages, exposure to violent individuals, and the absence of strong workplace violence prevention programs and protective regulations.
(Source for workplace violence statistics above: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)
What Can You Do to Prevent This from
Happening in Your Business?
A Thorough Employee Background Check
We recommend a thorough employee background check that includes:
• Misdemeanor and felony criminal records searches at the county, state and national levels (international also, if necessary)
• Sex-offender status searches
• Social Security number traces and validations
• Employment and education verifications
• Professional license verifications
• Checks on references, credit reports, civil records, driver’s license, and motor vehicle records
• Military records verifications
• Workers’ compensation history searches
• Healthcare sanction checks
• Address history checks
• Social media screening
In addition to a thorough background check being done for new, prospective employees, it is recommended that employers implement a continuous monitoring of existing employees to identify changes in criminal or other status since their hire.
Why Choose The Hire Authority for Your
Employee Background Screening?
When hiring employees, it’s important to hire an experienced and professional firm like The Hire Authority to do a thorough screening. Hiring the wrong employee can cost you a lot of money in the form of assaults, theft, fraud, accidents, low productivity, damage to your reputation, and even lawsuits.
The Hire Authority is also expert in complex compliance issues regarding state, federal, and county laws. These laws are complex and are constantly being updated, and are difficult for employers to keep up with. Failure to comply can cost you big in the form of fines and even shutdown.
So be safe, not sorry!
We hope that this blog is helpful in protecting your business, staff, and customers by providing the first step in preventing crimes like these from happening.
We’d be happy to talk to you about screening your employees.
Call us at (508) 230-5901 or visit our website www.hireauth.com with any questions you may have.
The foregoing should not be construed as legal advice. Employers should always consult their own legal counsel for advice on labor and employment matters.