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With the pandemic changing the ways of the world and technology becoming more advanced to cope with unexpected situations, the volume of remote hires has grown dramatically by as high as 140% over the past 15 years. Remote work is gradually becoming a win-win for both employees and employers. But at the same time, with remote hiring, we have noticed a heightened importance of conducting background checks.But why is that? Employee Background Discrepancies have become a rising concern for HR departments across global companies that are hiring remotely. A pre-onboarding background check will help you track important details of the candidate’s history. Things such as whether they have any criminal records, vehicle rules violations, or whether they are misrepresenting past work experience or education. To help you understand why your investment in conducting background checks is worth it, and how to conduct a background check, let’s dive a little deeper!
Why Are Employee Background Checks Important When Hiring Remotely?
Because Your Brand Reputation is Everything
Businesses that thrive in the current competitive market thrive mainly because of a good reputation. A brand always has to invest in maintaining a positive image and reputation in the market if they want to keep selling forever. If you’re running a business, you very well know that your employees are the face of your company. The people you hire determine how your target market perceives your brand to a large extent. Hence, you need to hire employees that come with a taint-free reputation too. You don’t want to end up hiring fraudsters, addicts, or convicted criminals. Because that will surely harm the reputation of your company. Not only will customers not be willing to buy from you, but job seekers and good talent will also avoid considering you on their job-seeking journey. Conducting background checks on your employees before you onboard them will help you keep your brand image safe and secure.
Because You don’t want to fall prey to Moonlighting
With the increasing popularity of remote work and remote hiring, a new evil called ‘moonlighting’ has stepped into being. This evil is making global enterprises worried about data security and employee loyalty. Moonlighting describes a situation where one remote employee is working for two companies at the same time to simply make more money. This is a risk that the remote setting has brought with it. Moonlighting is bad for employers at so many levels. From being absolutely ethically wrong to compromised productivity, division in working hours, breach of confidentiality, and so much more. To avoid such risks, the best way to go about this is to hire professional services for conducting background checks. You can also hire from platforms where the employees listed are pre-vetted. This means they have already gone through an in-depth background check before their resumes have been dropped on your table. When you conduct reference checks and background checks, your employee’s UAN credentials will be tracked and verified to identify whether they are moonlighting you or not! There have been instances of individual remote employees working with more than five companies at a time and earning millions. All the more reasons why you should prioritize employee background checks.
Because You’re Investing Money & Resources
No matter whether you’re hiring a remote employee or an on-site employee, if you run a business you know that you will have to incur costs when you hire. Such costs include onboarding costs, equipment costs, stationery costs, training costs, and more. When you are spending so much of your money to hire talent, you will obviously want to make sure that you’re investing in a trustworthy candidate instead of wasting on a fraudulent candidate. You will need to verify the education details and project experience that they are vouching for are authentic or not. If he or she is just showing you fake degrees to get hired by your company, you will be paying for talent that doesn’t actually exist. Conducting background checks will help you save your money, time, and resources from being wasted on the wrong candidates.
Learn About The Relevant Federal & State Regulations
When hiring a remote employee, in your state or a different state, make sure to learn about all FCRA regulations of the respective state that both you and your new hire need to comply with. Hence, make sure to consider conducting background checks on both federal and state levels, to make sure that your company is at par with the law in any state when hiring new talent. Legal troubles are the last thing you would want when building a new team.
A Bad Hire Is A Bad Blow To Your Bottomline
<A bad hire, whether remote or on-site, will always impact your bottom line negatively because all the money you invested during the onboarding and training process will be an absolute waste. Neglecting background checks will only increase your turnover costs, leaving you in a puddle of financial waste that you never wanted to generate. If you want to secure the financial investment you’re making when hiring new talent, you have to consider investing in vetting your employees before hiring them as well. Remember, a bad hire is costly.
The Employer Is Accountable, ALWAYS.
No matter whether you make a good hire or a bad hire, the accountability will always be the company’s. You will always be responsible for the talent you hire. You will be responsible for the costs you bear, you will be one at a loss if you end up making the wrong choice, and you will enjoy profits if you can hire the right talent. It all comes down to your decision. Hence the best way to go about it is to never neglect background checks and pre-hiring compliance processes. Always consider your accountability throughout the background screening process, and never skip a single step!
Final Word
When companies hire new employees, they want to make sure they’re hiring the right people for the job. That’s where conducting background checks come in handy. By looking into an applicant’s work history, skills, and even personal behavior, businesses can get a better sense of who they’re bringing on board.Pre-employment screening, or risk assessment, is a way for employers to check if a potential hire has a criminal record or a history of drug abuse. This helps them make informed decisions about who to hire. You ensure they’re bringing on someone who’s a good fit for the role.With more people working from home, it’s important to make sure that remote employees are trustworthy and reliable. Conducting background checks on potential WFH candidates can be a smart way to manage that risk and find great talent for your team.
