Why Should Employers Prioritize Pre-Employment Background Checks?

Companies hire new employees when they create new departments or when some employees leave. If you run one, a time comes when you need to hire a new employee to fill in the gap. But how well do you know the person you are about to hire? As an employer, you shouldn't dismiss the fact that the new employee could break or make your company's growth or success.

For this reason, you should conduct a thorough background screening to be sure you get the right one. Unfortunately, most employers don't screen the applicants, mainly when their CV or academic level seems enticing. As an employer, you should consider pre-employment background checks for the following reasons.

They Help You Get the Right Employees 

It's one thing to hire someone to work in your business or company, and it's another thing to get the right one. Of course, you want an employee who will help you take your company to the next level. However, this won't happen if you don't carefully screen the applicants. Learning more about their background helps you know if they are the best fit for the vacant position. Some applicants don't provide truthful information about their education, experience, and skills. So if you just go by what they tell you, you may make decisions based on misrepresented information. And by the time you realize you didn't hire the right one, things have gone terribly wrong.

They Help Create a Conducive Work Environment

Every employer should strive to maintain a productive and safe working environment. Unfortunately, the employee you hire could seriously interfere with the safety and productivity of the other employees in your company. For this reason, you shouldn't ignore pre-employment background checks when hiring new employees. Typically, employees with inadequate skills will cause injuries and accidents in the workplace. This means you may have a lot of liability claims to deal with—something you really don't want to experience. Nonetheless, thorough background screening helps you get employees who help you create a conducive working environment.

They Help You Minimize Costs

Hiring the wrong or unqualified employees has many shortcomings. First, it increases your turnover rate and taints your image. Secondly, it attracts unnecessary costs. That's why you shouldn't hire someone just because they promise to deliver quality results or exceed your expectations. You should instead screen their background to avoid hiring a dishonest employee or one with a criminal history. Hiring such an employee could lead to theft, liability risks, higher insurance premiums, and absenteeism, increasing costs you should have avoided.