The 21st Century Guide to Employee Background Investigations
By Lynn H. Levy, owner of Affiliate business L.H. Levy Investigations, Inc
9/11/01….Identity Theft….Employee mass murders…what is next?
The Corporate world has changed, along with the political and environmental worlds. Words such as ground zero, terrorist, anthrax, exit interviews for disgruntled employees were certainly not common terminology prior to 2001. These days a woman in business has to consider, is the person you hire really whom you hire? Computer hacking, feuding among co-workers, external violence from relatives, friends and former employees, not to mention a possible terrorist threat, cause executives of corporations large and small great worry.
A comprehensive background investigation conducted prior to hiring can prevent spending hundreds of dollars building a dossier to fire the employee. Also, it is necessary to take into account the money one spends training the new employee.
Of course, the perfect employee should be free from crime, has low or no debt, have an excellent driving record, and be alcohol and drug free. These “model citizens” are often not the norm. It is imperative for a corporation to know as much about an applicant as it can. An employee background check is one way to confirm the good vibes you may have had during the first or second interview.
Step 1: Read the resume carefully and confirm the facts.
This “fact-checking” could be done by the Human Resources Department or it could be researched as part of the complete background investigation by the firm hired to conduct it. Education, prior employment and all references should be called and notes taken relative to any information provided.
Step 2: Hire an objective firm to carefully conduct a background check. Aspects to be considered should be:
• Past residences to learn where the background should be searched.
• Criminal searches
• Social security number traces
• Civil searches (bankruptcy, huge debt, judgments)
• Motor Vehicle search (brings up DWI’s failures to appear)
• Education
• Past Employment
• Military record
• Credit report, if the laws to the Fair Credit Reporting Act are followed.
• Newspaper searches and business journals
• Worker’s Compensation indices
Costs of background checks range from $65.00 to several hundred dollars, depending on the level of employment. It is a worthy investment to make for any woman business owner considering hiring new talent. If the person has access to money, vehicles, entering homes or other businesses, it is essential to conduct a detailed background investigation to prevent potential liability issues and allow you to rest easy about to whom your company is entrusted. Salaried executives should be well-scrutinized. Litigation costs, EEO lawsuits are only some considerations. One does not want their personnel drinking on job sites, stealing either from the company or other employees, or allowing OSHA violations.
A comprehensive background investigation, although not fool-proof, could be one venue to prevent future aggravation and expense to the Board of Directors or executives of the firm.
Lynn Levy has over thirty years experience in the investigative field. Ms. Levy has taught many seminars relative to security, identity theft and entrepreneurship.
She has appeared on both radio and television, including the USA Channel, WABC and Fox TV. She also has been featured in the Baltimore Business Journal, the Maryland Daily Record, Baltimore Magazine and the Baltimore Jewish Times.
She has been President-elect for the Baltimore National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), and is a board member of the Professional Investigator’s Alliance of Maryland and the Baltimore Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She has been named Investigator of the Year for 2004 by that association. She can be reached at www.i-investigate.com.