For most organizations, background checks are conducted when an employee is hired and never thought about again. Cross it off your to-do list and move on.
Some exceptions, such as regulated industries and contractual obligations, require the employer to conduct background checks beyond the initial one. But even when not required, over the past few years, we’ve seen an uptick in companies inquiring about—and performing—ongoing checks of their employees.
There are good reasons to consider that strategy for your organization.
Why are companies requesting additional background checks?
First, employees are facing more social pressures, such as increases in insider threats, workplace violence and other events, that can have profound negative effects on employees and organizations.
Second, the pandemic has forced many businesses to allow their employees to work from home, which has created a whole new set of vulnerabilities.
Finally, many people are facing financial hardships. The need to be able to trust your employees has become more important than ever.
What background checks are being conducted?
Most organizations conducting rechecks are reviewing criminal records at a minimum. For employees in positions of trust, organizations are conducting more extensive investigations, including credit checks. Some are also reviewing driving records, professional licenses, derogatory media/internet, and social media.
Should we be conducting ongoing background checks?
This is a complicated question. As with most things, each organization is going to differ. You will have to understand the potential risks and liabilities. Some questions to ask yourself are:
- What are similar organizations in your industry doing?
- Have you or any of your competitors had issues that could have been prevented by conducting ongoing checks?
- What are the risks of not conducting ongoing checks? Is your organization comfortable with these risks?
What needs to be considered?
Keep in mind the following if you elect to conduct recurring checks:
- The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and pre-adverse/adverse action process still apply. The rules don’t change when you do a second background check on an employee.
- Consider using initial release and disclosure forms with evergreen clauses; this may eliminate the need to obtain these forms each time a check is done.
- Provide updated information about salary and employment state to your investigative partner, as this may impact reporting.
- Stay consistent with your policy, and be sure to have standards about terminating employment based on what the background check reveals.
- Make sure you understand the fees and budget properly; fees will vary, based on your requirements, but can be as little as $20 or as much as several hundred dollars.
Keep in mind that, while more organizations are doing more background checks, many organizations are not. The ones that are have seen many benefits, including identifying potential issues with employees and/or having the peace of mind that there are no issues.
Regardless of what your company’s stance is on recurring background checks, it is definitely something that should be considered as part of your overall risk mitigation program. To discuss your current background screening program, please contact us at (212) 871-1274 or info@integrasintel.com.
