10 Scary Reasons Why You Need Background Checks

Posted: October 26, 2021

According to a survey conducted by the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA), the vast majority (96%) of companies conduct at least some type of background checks. Seventy-three percent of these employers have a documented policy for background screening procedures. What are the main reasons that companies conduct background checks? To protect the safety of their employees and customers (83%), improve the quality of hires (51%), or they are mandated by laws or regulations (40%). Survey respondents cited the other reasons for conducting background checks as protecting a company’s reputation and preventing or reducing theft and embezzlement.

We don’t mean to scare you during this already spooky Halloween season, but we wanted to share the ten reasons why you need background checks to protect your company.

1. Workplace Violence: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2018, 453 U.S. workers were victims of workplace homicide victims. In 2019, 20,870 workers in the private industry experienced trauma from nonfatal workplace violence. As an employer, you are responsible for protecting everyone involved with your business from your employees to your business partners to your customers. Running a criminal background check on potential hires will help keep your workplace safe.
2. High Costs of Making a Bad Hire: The cost of making bad hires can drag a company down. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, if a company makes a bad hiring decision, the cost can exceed 30% of the employee’s first-year compensation. Do the math, an employee earning $60,000 per year could cost an extra $18,000 per year! The costs of making a bad hire add up, including the time spent onboarding a new employee, advertising fees, impact on team morale, and the list goes on. You can avoid making a bad hire by doing your due diligence and vetting a potential employee by criminal background checks, verifying employment history, checking references, etc.
3. Negligent Hiring: A negligent hiring accusation can be as scary as a ghost in your closet. With negligent hiring, an employer may be held liable for its employees’ actions that result in injuries to others. The negligence only occurs if the employer knew or should have known through a reasonable investigation that the employee posed a threat to others. To avoid negligent hiring, an employer can conduct background checks, run drug tests, perform educational and employment verifications and order credit checks on potential candidates.
4. Dishonest Job Applicants: Many job applicants have skeletons in their closet. In fact, it is quite common for job seekers to provide false information on their resumes and cover letters, be dishonest in job interviews, offer fake references, and the list goes on. As a result, it is critical that companies protect themselves from these falsifications, including running background checks on potential hires.
5. Bad Publicity – It’s a scary thought that making a bad hire could potentially have a damaging impact on your company’s brand or reputation but if you have an employee who partakes in violence or unlawful behavior while at work, it’s likely to have a damaging effect on your reputation. This can be prevented by making sure you are hiring ethical people and running background checks on potential hires.
6. Cybersecurity Threats: When it comes to cybersecurity, it may send a shiver down your spine to learn that insiders, including employees and contractors, pose a bigger threat to an organization than outsiders do. In fact, according to a study by TechJury, more than 34% of businesses around the world are affected by internal cybersecurity threats. Cybersecurity insider threats have increased by a whopping 47 percent in the last two years, so it looks like this trend is here to stay. To protect your company’s cybersecurity and data, it is necessary to run thorough background checks on anyone with access to your company’s network, data, passwords, etc.
7. Crime Among Your Workforce: According to a report by Appriss Safety, 12% of the overall workforce is likely to be incarcerated in the next five years. To protect your company from this spooky statistic, consider adding post-employment screening to your background check program, which alerts a company if an employee is involved in reportable post-hire criminal activity. This allows an employer to be proactive instead of reactive in monitoring their employees’ potentially illegal activities, ultimately protecting the company from threats, including fraud, workplace violence, litigation, and theft.
8. Drugs in the Workplace:  According to the National Safety Council, approximately 16% of employees have a substance abuse problem, which leads to problems with increased absenteeism, a heightened risk for accidents, and decreased productivity. To prevent problems with drug use, it is necessary to implement a thorough pre-employment drug screening program.
9. Compliance Issues:The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which regulates employment screening and privacy considerations, outlines scary penalties for non-compliance. The FCRA’s standards dictate specific disclosures throughout the background screening process, along with mandates things like an applicant’s consent must be given prior to a background check and needing to follow adverse action requirements. By partnering with a CRA like Info Cubic, you are in good hands since we are experts on the FCRA and will keep you compliant every step of the way.
10. Employee Fraud and Theft: Employees who commit fraud and theft impose can impose a huge cost and risk to their employers. The U.S. Department of Commerce reports that employee theft is responsible for one-third of all business bankruptcies. While we cannot prevent employee theft all together, running a criminal search on potential employees is crucial.

We did not mean to scare you with this frightening list, but these are all great reasons to implement a comprehensive background screening program. We promise that you will sleep better at night knowing that the proper precautions are in place to protect your company.

For more information on any of Info Cubic’s background check solutions, please contact us at (888) 925-0922. We would love to discuss how we can support your organization’s background screening needs.