One of the most important tasks in any company is to find the right employees. Now, how do you define right people? Are they the ones who have the desired educational qualifications and certifications? Are they the ones who have the practical skills needed to perform the job well?
An employee becomes an asset for an organization when he or she has the technical expertise, soft skill, right attitude and integrity. A background check during recruitment gives you strong insights into a prospective candidate’s personality, character and mindset. This is the reason why it is so extensively used in Dallas County and across the world.
Statistics Speak
According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), organizations lose 5 percent of their revenue on an average due to the frauds done by their employees. Globally, the loss incurred due to employee fraud is nearly $3.7 trillion. In 22 percent fraud cases reported, the average monetary loss suffered by the company was $1 million.
Besides the revenue lost, the organization also suffers intangible losses such as damaged reputation and brand image, negativity in the workplace and low morale. The same report further emphasizes that incidences of fraud by employees are higher in companies that have less than hundred employees.
Alarmingly, 77 percent of fraud is committed by employees in customer service, accounting, executive management, finance, purchasing, sales and operations. The largest number of frauds was reported in public administration, financial services, banking, manufacturing and government sectors. In terms of revenue lost, the biggest losses were reported in mining, real estate and oil and gas.
Another study conducted by an independent body on the same subject concurs with the ACFE report. It says that 75 percent of employees have stolen at least once from their employers and 37.5 percent have stolen at least twice. More alarmingly, the report brings to light that 33 percent of businesses in the United States go bankrupt because of employee theft.
These and many other such reports clearly emphasize the importance of hiring employees who are honest, law abiding and have integrity. A background check is a good way of knowing the person you are hiring in greater detail.
What Does An Employee Background Test Tell You?
Through a background check, you can verify the criminal history, credit history, educational history, employment history and drug history of a prospective candidate. An analysis of all these areas will bring out certain patterns that will in turn help you understand the character of the person better.
A thorough background check becomes all the more important because reports say that nearly 70 percent of frauds are conducted by first time offenders. This means that a clean criminal history does not mean that the candidate is immune to fraud. However, if a candidate does not have integrity, this character trait will be visible in some aspect of background test, perhaps in the form of driving offenses, bad credit record or lying about work experience.
