In today’s competitive job market, companies are constantly recruiting top talent. Gone are the days of relying solely on a resume. Pre-employment background screening has become an essential tool for employers, acting as the first line of defense in securing your organization. It helps mitigate risks associated with hiring the wrong person with issues such as theft, fraud, misconduct, or other criminal activities.
What is Pre-Employment Background Screening?
Pre-employment background screening is a process conducted by employers to verify the information provided by job applicants. This verification helps them make informed hiring decisions and build a strong and trustworthy workforce.
Common Background Checks Conducted:
- Employment Verification: Confirms previous employment history, including roles and responsibilities, work ethics, period of engagement, and reasons for leaving among others.
- Education Verification: Validates educational qualifications presented by the applicant.
- Credit Check where needed: This may be conducted for certain positions to assess financial responsibility.
- Identity Verification: Ensures the applicant’s identity matches the information provided and they are who they claim to be.
- Criminal History Verification: Checks for criminal convictions that could impact job performance or pose a safety threat.
- Reference Checks: Provides valuable insights into the applicant’s work ethic, interpersonal skills, and past performance through conversations with previous employers or colleagues.
Background Screening for Your Organization
According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Survey (2018) and other industry sources, more than 53% of all job applications contain some form of inaccuracy or misrepresentation. The SHRM survey highlights how common resume falsification has become, with many applicants exaggerating their skills, responsibilities, and even academic qualifications.
Background screening helps uncover discrepancies and ensures the information on the application aligns with what is real. This process can expose:
- Forged certificates or doctored grades
- Unreliable references
- Fabricated work history or titles.
- Integrity issues among others.
Importance of Pre-Employment Background Screening:
- Mitigate Risk: Reduces the chance of hiring anyone who could pose a threat to the workplace, lacks qualifications, or has a history of misconduct.
- Protect Your Reputation: Safeguards your company and clients from potential harm caused by a bad hire.
- Informed Decisions: Ensures you hire the most qualified and suitable candidate for the position.
- Cost-Effective Investment: Saves you from potential future costs associated with lawsuits or performance issues.
Prembly for your Background Screening Needs?
Prembly is a leading provider of Know Your Customer (KYC) and background check solutions among other services. We provide reliable information backed by data to ensure organizations safely hire and onboard right. Our comprehensive background screening packages can be customized per the organization’s specific needs, and turnaround times are typically 24 hours – 6 business days depending on the package chosen.
Visit our website at https://prembly.com to learn more about our background check services and other solutions or request to speak to sales directly here.
Collaboration is the Cornerstone of Innovation.
Kaiyera Murocia – Data Verifications Analyst – Prembly Kenya
