Top 5 Reasons to Background Check for Employment

Are you looking for the best candidate for a job? Background checks are crucial to minimizing hiring risks, ensuring workplace safety, protecting the company's reputation, and selecting the best person for the job.

Below are the top reasons you, as an employer, should run background checks on job candidates.

Jared Rosenthal
Published on

1. Why Conduct Employee Background Checks?

The answer is simple: to verify the authenticity of the information provided by a candidate and to ensure that the candidate is trustworthy.

Employee background checks help employers understand candidates beyond just their resumes. Especially for safety-sensitive positions, an employment background check can help you feel confident in the person you hire. They may seem complex, but our background checks are easy to initiate. Simply choose the type of background check and sign our waiver—we take care of the rest.

2. Protecting Company Reputation

One of the compelling reasons for a background check is to protect your company's reputation. A reliable background screening company, such as Health Street, can help ensure that your recruits align well with your brand's values. Depending on the type of background check ordered, you can gain insights into the candidate's criminal history, credentials, or driving record.

3. Ensuring Workplace Safety

Employment background checks help uncover a candidate's criminal past, helping to identify hires that might cause harm to your business or staff. If an individual misrepresents their qualifications, it could lead to workplace risks and possibly endanger coworkers or clients.

4. Minimizing Hiring Risks

Every hire carries an intrinsic risk. What if the candidate's polished resume disguises a troubled past or potential liabilities? A pre-employment background check acts as a preventive measure, possibly saving the company from potential financial and legal complications.

5. Enhancing Employee Quality and Reliability

So, why do employers do background checks? Think of it like the resume is the cover page, and the rest of the book is the background check. We all know resumes showcase the best bits, but what about the parts that aren't immediately visible? That's one of the primary reasons for a background check. Running a thorough background check with a trusted background screening company can help you verify that there is no mismatch between the resume's promise and reality.

Health Street offers multiple employment background checks you can choose from based on your company's needs. Some of the most common types of background checks are Social Security Number Trace, education verification, criminal history, reference check, employment verification, professional license verification, driving record, and credit reports.

Take proactive steps to protect your company's reputation and mitigate potential risks by ordering a comprehensive background test or choosing from our range of tailored packages at Health Street.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an important reason to perform a background check?

There is no single most important reason to perform a background check. Some of the most important reasons are to ensure a safe workplace, hire the right person for the job, protect the company's reputation, and avoid legal battles over negligent hiring.

Why do companies ask for background checks?

It's about validating the truthfulness of potential hires, reducing risks, and creating a safe and positive work environment.

What background check do most companies use?

Many businesses opt for background checks that cover an individual's criminal history, employment verification, education, or references. Companies should choose the background check that best suits their needs.

Citations

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Issuing Authority. This technical assistance document was issued upon approval of the Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission., & This technical assistance document was issued upon approval of the Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.-a). Background checks: What employers need to know. US EEOC. https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/background-checks-what-employers-need-know
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Leonard, K. (2023a, May 24). What is a background check?. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/background-check/
Jared Rosenthal
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Jared Rosenthal
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