For many employers, hiring new staff is not an issue they’re dealing with right now. But for those who are expanding or replacing workers, good hiring decisions are necessary to stay viable. If areas of your business growing and need additional staff, here are some tips to prepare for the onslaught of employment applicants you’ll likely see.

1. Gauge Real Interest: You might receive a hundred responses to an advertised position, so screen for the truly interested candidates—before you start reviewing resumes. Send an email to every applicant asking him or her to complete a simple second step—like attending an information session or answering a few preliminary questions. Those who do not respond can be culled out immediately.

2. Schedule Interviews over One or Two Days: Depending on how many candidates you decide to see, plan to interview them all, back-to-back, over one or two days. Dragging the process out over a week or two is inefficient. And only seeing those job-seekers who are able to meet on your schedule is another way to screen out the less-than-enthusiastic.

3. Involve Your Staff: It’s wise to expand interviewing to more than just HR or hiring managers. When co-workers are encouraged to participate in the hiring process, they feel a sense of appreciation—and this approach creates camaraderie right from the beginning. New employees who know that everyone they work with had a hand in their hiring feel more accepted and transition more quickly.

4. Consider Conducting Personality Tests: Some firms have potential candidates complete 15-minute questionnaires that predict behavior, style, and motivation.

5. Observe Candidates Outside the Interview: Creative companies bring finalists into the workspace for a day or two of observation. Both candidates and existing staff and management do the observing—each side to see if the potential hire and company culture are a good fit. Taking candidates to lunch or dinner, or just hanging out after work in relaxed settings with other staffers can be very telling. Human nature leads us all to behave one way in an interview and another when we’re relaxed and having fun.

One might think that the Capitol Police Department would know enough about criminals, persons of risk and habitual liars to avoid placing them on their staff. But last year, halfway through a 12-week training period, fifteen newly-hired recruits were asked to return to DC and resign—or be fired. The problem? They had either lied on their application, failed a criminal background check, or failed a psychological examination—but were hired anyway!

Despite what the Capitol Police describe as a “stringent recruiting process,” including a written exam, application review, interviews, background investigation, polygraph, medical exam and psychological evaluation, each of the fifteen recruits had made it through the hiring process. The result? Not only was the HR Director fired, but also affected were the fifteen families that had been relocated from all over the country. Fortunately, even more damage was prevented by the forced resignations—who knows what could have resulted from hiring these fifteen officers?

In another case, an adult home in Virginia was ordered to pay $750,000 to a disabled resident after he was sexually assaulted by a Certified Nursing Assistant employed there. The CNA had a criminal history before he was hired, and continued to rack up charges, including assault and battery and public intoxication while working for the facility.

Another scary example includes a teacher hired to teach middle school in Nashville, TN, even though he had been suspended from another Tennessee school system after allegations surfaced that he was engaging in misconduct with minors. Even more shocking is the fact that the teacher was hired despite having outstanding warrants for his arrest on sexual battery and rape charges. Not surprisingly, at the new middle school, he was accused of additional crimes involving two 14 and 15 year old students.

Hiring employees is no easy task; there are many risks involved, too.  Employers must take every available precaution when hiring staff, especially when the safety and well-being of at-risk populations, children, and the public are hanging in the balance. The lack of proper background screening in each of the above cases resulted in serious consequences for the employers—and unnecessary suffering for the innocent victims.

All employers must comply with the regulations of the Federal Consumer Reporting Act (FCRA)–whether you have one employee or one thousand!  Make sure you’re in compliance, and avoid making these common mistakes:

1. Using social media sites or a Google search as a background check: Browsing an applicant’s Facebook or MySpace page, or researching them through an internet search engine does not equal a background check.

2. Performing the background check yourself: Employers must ensure they are in compliance with the FCRA. The best, easiest way to accomplish this is by using the services of a reputable background screening company.

3. Burying the screening approval language in the application: You must provide a separate document to obtain the applicant’s approval for credit and background checks.

4. Failing to obtain the applicant’s signature: Applicant signatures must be obtained before you run any type of credit checks.

5. Improper disclosure when rejecting an applicant: If you reject an applicant because of poor credit history, provide them a copy of their credit report, along with the reason they will not be hired.

6. Failure to obtain permission from online applicants: You cannot simply state online that you will be performing a background screening and/or credit check—you must have an electronic approval from the applicant.

7. Inconsistency: You cannot require a background and credit check for some applicants, but not others. Inconsistent policy enforcement could lead to accusations of discrimination.

8. Believing that FCRA doesn’t apply: Even small employers are subject to the law. There is no distinction made between a one-person business and a huge corporation.

9. Not obtaining permission from current employees: If you decide to run credit checks on your employees after they were hired, you must disclose your intention and get their approval in writing.

10. Improper disposal of information: Employers must comply with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA), an amendment to the FCRA. This law requires proper disposal for information contained in or derived from a consumer report. That means no tossing reports in the trash can—they must be shredded or otherwise destroyed so they cannot be reconstructed. Digital information must be destroyed before a computer is sold or donated.

How do you know when you can trust an employee? For starters, if you’ve properly screened every applicant, you can be reasonably sure you’ve hired honest people.  Pre-Employment Screening will weed out those with criminal backgrounds, credit problems, or who have misrepresented education or work history.

Trust is an important component of the long-term relationship you want to build with your employees. It’s vitally important that they feel they are trusted, and can trust you back. Here are some tips that can help!

1. Remember that your employees are adults—and treat them accordingly. For example, it’s reasonable to ask for receipts for employee out-of-pocket expenditures—and unreasonable to chastise someone for spending a few dollars more than you think is necessary.

2. Remember that your employees have lives outside work. Respect their need to care for their families, and their desire to leave work on time.

3. Rewrite your company’s policy handbook. Dictating endless rules can cause resentment. Consider eliminating policies that don’t involve safety, established employment laws, abuse of paid leave, and taking care of your customers.

4. Show generosity. Whether it’s with time, money or with words, be as generous as you can with your employees. A small investment of time or money can return a big investment in terms of loyalty and employee retention. And everyone wants to hear that they are appreciated. Let the compliments flow freely!

5. Ask their opinions. Get feedback on processes, ask for their ideas, and encourage them to make suggestions to improve your company. Just the act of asking shows them you’re engaged; but be careful not to ignore every suggestion—or your employees may stop making the effort.

6. Encourage employees to make their own decisions. Empowerment contains the word “power” for good reason. Let your employees feel powerful by giving them the ability to make decisions that serve your customers’ best interests. Chances are when given the opportunity, they will make the right decisions.

7. Be flexible. Consider employees’ needs concerning work schedules, working from home, and requests for time off. See #2.

If you feel nervous about letting go and trusting your employees, you’re probably not hiring the right people. Keep in mind that you can always take action if and when your staff abuses your trust.

Hiring smart and treating your employees like they are valuable assets of your company will go a long way toward building mutual trust—which leads to loyalty and a happier work environment for everyone!

What do employers need to know about complying with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)? It may seem unlikely that you would have to worry about legislation designed to protect consumers against unlawful use of their credit and personal information. But you must comply with FCRA if you:

• Want to check the credit history of an applicant for a cash-handling position;

• Intend to promote a long-term employee, but want to be certain they have a good credit record;

• Have already obtained a credit history on a job applicant, which is unfavorable; however, it is a lack of experience, not the credit record, that impacts your decision to not hire this person.

Employers are entitled to run consumer credit reports on applicants or existing employees at any time, providing they comply with the FCRA. Employers who use consumer reports have legal obligations under FCRA, which was designed to prevent applicants from being denied jobs or employees being denied promotions unjustly.

You cannot obtain a consumer report until employees or applicants have given their written permission for you to do so. This cannot be accomplished on the employment application.  A separate disclosure must contain the proper notification, and the employee must sign it.  If employees gave permission in the past, you must ensure that they receive a separate notice stating that reports may be obtained over the course of their employment. 

So, what if you didn’t include the disclosure and obtain permission during the hiring process and now you want to run reports on your employees? You must notify employees and get their written permission before you run the reports.

Who can supply pre employment screening reports to ensure an employer is in compliance? To be covered by FCRA, employers must use employee screening reports provided by a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA). The reports can range from simple credit checks to criminal, housing, employment, and driving record checks. 

The FCRA requires employers to comply with reporting requirements. These include: 

• Certifying that the employer is obtaining information for employment purposes;
• The proper disclosure has been provided to and written authorization has been obtained from the applicant or employee; 
• The applicant or employee will be provided with a copy of the report;
• And the information will not be used in violation of equal opportunity laws.

What happens if you deny an applicant or a promotion based on information you obtained from a CRA? 

Before you take adverse action, such as terminating an employee, or denying a job or a promotion, you must give the individual a pre-adverse action disclosure, including a copy of their consumer report and a copy of “A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.” This document can be provided by your CRA.

After you have taken adverse action, you are required to give the individual notice, either orally, electronically, or in writing, that the action has been taken. The notice must include the name, address and phone number of the CRA that supplied the report, as well as a statement that the CRA did not make the decision for adverse action and cannot give specific reasons for it. In addition, the individual must be notified that they have the right to dispute the accuracy or completeness of the information and their right to obtain a free report from the agency within 60 days.

The news is full of reports about the economy’s affect on rising crime rates in communities all over the country. Police departments are issuing warnings, and encouraging citizens to increase their security measures at home, in their cars, and when visiting ATMs. In today’s down economy, more people are hurting; and unfortunately, more people turn to stealing.

Business owners must be vigilant, too—and not only against external threats like burglaries. Your employees may be stealing more, too. While employee theft is not a new issue, studies show that it increases for employers of all sizes during tough economic times. In fact, 24% of respondents to a study conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity reported that internal theft of company-owned items in their workplaces had risen during the current economic crisis. And 18% responded an increase in monetary theft, such as cash or padding expense reports.

Whether they’re taking company-owned items like office supplies or food, products they produce, electronic equipment or cash, employees’ illegal activity is a huge problem for employers.

Often, it’s highly regarded employees who turn to stealing when the economy is bad. They might be feeling the pressure of an unemployed spouse or partner. Attitudes can suffer when there is more stress at home or when workloads increase, or wages decrease. Layoffs affect even the employees who survive them.

Other employees might feel they are underpaid and deserve a little “extra,” or they may see their coworkers stealing and getting away with it. They may feel slighted by declines in perks or benefits. Some might even feel vindictive for friends who have been laid off from the company, so they “get even” by stealing.

Whatever the cause, communication remains vitally important, especially during times of crisis. If additional security measures become necessary, address the issue directly with employees. Conduct more frequent audits and require receipts with expense reports.

Most importantly, when it’s time to hire again, employment background checks will help you hire honest employees, who are more likely to remain honest—in good and bad economies.

Bad Hires can Break up Great Teams

Even one bad hire can have a huge impact.  A friend recently shared the story of a “nightmare” she once worked with at a small Midwest company. At the time, small teams interviewed each potential hire, and the boss made the final decision based on the group’s evaluation. In the case of the “nightmare,” everyone liked and recommended her. Except my friend.

Turned out she was right. The candidate looked perfect on paper and interviewed extremely well, but proved to be a dividing force with a biting personality. No one could work with her and the boss stood by his decision for far too long. She wasn’t dealt with until several long-term employees had already resigned—but by then she had nearly destroyed the entire company.

It’s very easy to be deluded by a perfect-sounding resume and a charismatic interviewee.  The trouble starts when those factors alone make up the hiring decision. In my friend’s case, the employment offer was made before proper reference checks were performed. Oops!  Finally, my friend did some sleuthing into the “nightmare’s” background, and found she overstated her education and understated her experience.  Phone calls were made to former employers, who said they wouldn’t recommend or rehire her.  But by then, it was too late—the good people had already left.

The story sounded unbelievable, but was 100% true—and it happens every day. It proves how overlooked policies—in this case, checking all references—can lead to real disaster. 

An easy way to avoid bad hires is to require background checks on all applicants. You can verify education, previous employment, military service, even credit—in one easy step.  And in my friend’s case, the “nightmare” with the false credentials probably wouldn’t have agreed to the pre employment screening—a big red flag in itself!

Don’t risk your company’s security to a single bad hire. Make pre employment background checks a standard policy for every single hiring decision!

When almost half of all resumes contain false information, it is clear that you cannot depend on a job applicant’s honesty to help you make a hiring decision. Today, thousands of industries, such as government, financial, and child care, routinely verify potential employees’ backgrounds.

What does a typical screening cover?

• Employment History
• Education History
• References
• Earned Credentials/Licenses
• Military Service

But any employer should consider employee screening to mitigate risk and ensure the safety of your entire staff. Your company’s reputation and finances are too valuable to put at risk with a bad hire.

Before you initiate a screening policy, be sure to do your homework to avoid breaking the law. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) covers employee screening, and you’ll need to follow its guidelines. See the Federal Trade Commission’s website for more information on the FCRA. Your state may also have its own consumer protection laws.

The National Association of Professional Background Screeners offers a downloadable guide to best practices in verification screening. This handy guide includes a glossary of terms, general guidelines and lots of helpful hints. And best of all, you can download a copy to your computer (or print out a hard copy) for free!

All employers can benefit from background verification. Don’t forget to check out our Pre-Employment Screening services to ensure that the candidate you choose isn’t hiding an inappropriate background.

Not all companies have hiring freezes and layoffs. The current economy presents opportunities as well as challenges: new businesses start up leaner and meaner during recessions, and companies that survive them come through stronger. Plus, there are plenty of highly qualified candidates looking for work right now. 

If you’re ready to hire and starting the interview process, steer clear of these common employer errors:

1. Letting the interview get personal:  It’s nice to establish a connection with an applicant. But don’t let it become a personal conversation.  Keep on topic, stick to your questions and ensure your agenda—not the candidate’s—leads the conversation.
   
   
2. Going in without a plan: If more than one interviewer is involved, decide who is covering which questions. You should look organized and professional, not haphazard and unprepared.
   
   
3. Assessing the job applicant’s personality instead of their skills:  Related to number 1. It is possible to stay on topic and ask the right interview questions, yet still come away without knowing if the candidate is qualified. 
   
   
4. Neglecting to perform pre employment screening: This includes background checks. Way too many applicants falsify their resumes, so be thorough in checking references and include a background check to protect yourself, your company, and your existing staff from potential harm.
    
5. Failure to objectively evaluate interviewees: After the warm and fuzzy feelings of a positive interview have faded, perform a critical evaluation of each candidate. Assess proven skills, ability to fit in with your company’s culture, and previous successes. Each position in your company should have its own evaluation form.
   
   
6. Skipping the pre interview: A simple ten-minute telephone interview will eliminate unqualified candidates and save everyone’s valuable time. Ask broad questions about experience and background, and ask about salary requirements. Most important, ask if they are willing to undergo a background check.
7. Straying from established questions: Your company developed interview questions for a purpose. Use them, as written, to get the best results, save time and prevent potential legal issues.
   
8. Asking illegal questions: Educate yourself! You are not allowed to ask about hobbies, family (how old are your children?), gender-related work issues (would you have a problem working for a woman?), or even where a candidate grew up. Any of these could show an illegal bias toward a candidate.

Proper planning, plus following procedures, are the keys to avoiding common interview errors. Don’t forget to check out our Pre Employment Screening services to ensure that the candidate you choose isn’t hiding an inappropriate background.

You would expect pre-employment background screening to prevent hiring someone with a criminal background, or to provide information about the truth of a resume. There is additional benefit to be realized by advertising that background screening is a normal part of your hiring process. Most applicants will then either provide a more complete and truthful application and/or resume, or won’t bother to apply at all (especially if they do have a criminal background). This can save employers time and money in the hiring process, before they even begin reviewing applications!