Your organization may invest heavily in cutting edge infrastructure. But, the bottom line is always impacted by the way employees at various echelons conduct themselves professionally. Importance of strategic selection of right candidates can be understood from the fact that any wrong decision can potentially bring your entire system down on its feet. This consideration renders it paramount to get the backgrounds of shortlisted candidates duly checked by a professional body. An efficient and comprehensive background check in Canada can help you get true insights into the veracity of the credentials of a candidate. This post runs you through the importance of background checks and why your organization needs to prioritize it.
1) Disclosure about Potential Criminal Intent of Candidate
On the interview table, you can’t intuitively know what is going at the back of the mind of a candidate. His/her intent of joining your firm can be inspired by malicious motives. A thorough criminal background check would disclose perspectives about the candidate that won’t be apparent from resume and discussions. If the person had past track record of being convicted for crimes like theft, fund embezzlement, child abuse, sexual assault, organizational asset misuse, etc.; the same would be disclosed. It would help you hire professionals who are sincere, honest and won’t vitiate the productive ambiance in your organization.
2) Seek Insights into Past Employment Track Record
The commitment, dedication and proficiency levels of the candidate can be assessed to a large extent with employment background check. If the candidate states a certain number of years as professional experience in the resume, his credibility and proficiency in past jobs need to be ascertained. A background check would provide insights into things like whether he had been sacked from the previous job due to misconduct, embezzlement, asset misuse, sexual offense or any other negative trait.
If disciplinary actions had been initiated against the person, the same would become apparent too. From a corporate perspective, the check would reveal vital stats like the number of years the candidate had been employed with previous organizations, companies he/she had worked for if the competence showcased at the site is commensurate with qualification stated, etc. It would help you counter-check the facts stated in the resume and judge the honesty and sincerity levels of the candidate.
3) Gain Knowledge about Credit History
A responsible employee can only discharge assigned assignments with dedication. The credit rating of the prospective employee may be an indicator of his/her management skills, mature handling of difficult situations, commitment to living up to promises made and familial well-being. It is not necessary that each candidate would have a perfect record, however, if the credit score is really poor deserve investigation. Repeated bankruptcies, frequent evictions for failing to pay rents, and other financial issues may indicate that everything is not OK. Under such circumstances, the candidate may not be able to leverage his potential optimally. Credit background check would keep you from hiring the wrong candidate.
4) Exercise Proper Leverage While Bargaining Over Salary
The shortlisted candidate in an attempt to pull off the best deal in terms of remuneration may exaggerate his/her past job accomplishments significantly. Misrepresented job titles along with inflated salary figures may inspire your HR to hire the candidate at a premium. A proper background check would offer you clear insights into the tentative salary drawn by the candidate during his/her last professional stint. Further, you would come to know if the candidate possesses all needful work visa clearances to work in your country in the event of him/her hailing from an offshore location. This would prevent you from getting embroiled in expensive legal hassles at a later date.
5) Learn about the Authenticity of References Cited
Candidates are required to produce letters of references recommending their professional rectitude and proficiencies. Reference check would enable you to directly contact those authoritative persons who had endorsed the candidature of the person you plan to hire. Your HR can directly speak with past managers, supervisors of employers of the candidate and form an impression of his/her credibility and competency. The strengths, weaknesses and high points of the candidate’s career would become apparent.
6) Form an Idea about the Social Face of the Candidate
You can also get the social media profile of the candidate checked to ascertain if he nurses any grudge against particular caste, community, creed, race or social group. Being antagonized on social platforms and abusive outburst on social media platforms, or opposite can provide valuable insights into the subliminal aspect of the character. It would be divulged, although not conclusively, if the candidate is a bigot, believes in cronyism, violent or engages in sexually explicit behaviour.
Re-emphasizing the Importance of Background Check Canada
Bradford Smart in its publication ‘Top-grading 201: How to Avoid Costly Mis-Hires’ states that your company stand to monetarily lose value equivalent to 15X of an executive’s annual CTC in the event of injudicious selection. The loss would compound if the candidate engages in fraudulent activities during his/her professional tenure. Employee background check offers decisive and actionable inputs about prospective candidates’ that can prove to be of immense value to your organization in the short and long run.
