Jan 25 2016 3 Situations That Call for Verification Services
Trust your applicants, but verify nonetheless.
The background check is a useful tool for finding the right applicant for a job. But your standard background check won’t find absolutely everything about an applicant, and you can’t check absolutely everything they put on a job application.
In addition to traditional background checks, you can order useful tools called verifications. Verifications will check an applicant’s work history, education, and professional licensing. But when should you use verifications?
When Licensing Is Crucial
The consequences of hiring an employee without the proper licenses to do the job can take unprepared businesses by surprise. For example, a common license employers need is a commercial driver’s license, or CDL. Putting a driver without the proper license behind the wheel of your big rig or delivery truck would have a multitude of consequences. To start with, the driver would personally face up to $5000 in fines. Your corporate vehicle insurance almost certainly requires any driver to have a CDL, and any claims you make might be challenged. The goods that driver is transporting may have their insurance revoked as well. And that’s not even delving into any possible liability for accidents you might face.
So if an employee needs a license, verify it. There’s too much on the line for your business not to. You can also check certifications and other standards applicants list.
When The Work History Doesn’t Make Sense
A standard application will have some form of work history, and most of the time, that work history lines up with the resume and what you hear in the interview. But sometimes, it doesn’t quite line up. Perhaps the dates aren’t clear, or a business wasn’t open when an applicant claims to have worked there. Sometimes, you can just chalk it up to hazy memory, especially if it’s further back, but sometimes, you’re left with questions.
In that scenario, verifying the work history makes sense. A detailed verification will contact the provided former employers, and ask about attendance, rehire eligibility, interactions with other employees, work habits, communications skills, any disciplinary action, and other questions. Due to liability and various other legal concerns, you may not be able to verify much more than dates of employment and perhaps salary, depending on what the employee has disclosed and what their former employers have for policy. But if you’ve got concerns, a verification will be able to allay them or find more information.
Check closely before hiring.
When You Need The Right Education
Most of the time, you mostly need to ensure that an employee is telling the truth about his or her education, but in some cases, when you need specialized education. Verification will allow you to double-check that they have the educational background you need, and that they’ve conducted the research and programs they claim to have completed.
Similarly, perhaps an application contains claims that aren’t quite credible. If you want to check a GPA and a degree earned, verifications can help you check those claims, depending on the institutions you’re making inquiries with.
The more thorough you are with applicants, the better the employee you’ll hire. When you need to know exactly who you’re hiring, down to the slightest detail, use verifications as well as background checks. If you want to hire the right way, request a free background check trial and see what they can do for you.
