Background Screening: HR Article Review

The article Background screening goes with the Workflow is written and published by Roy Maurer, an online editor, and manager for SHRM. Background checks are crucial for not only the employer but also for the company as a whole. The job market is becoming competitive day by day, and the individual may opt to hide aspects of their life or history, for them to appear more qualified and attractive to the employer. It is the responsibility of the employer to exercise due diligence by revealing any possible problem a person might have if they were hired by a particular company. The article reviews some aspects of great importance in background screening of applicants and the modes used in the process. The article is meant to educate all employers why they should thoroughly conduct reference checks.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Candidates screening has become faster and easier due to the new technology. This process is important as it mitigates future risk such as criminal activities by verifying candidates information. In the past years, verifying candidates past information was time- consuming as the employer could fax the information to screening vendor and wait for weeks to get the reply. Companies nowadays are using an applicant tracking system (ATS), which is integrated into the HR system. The ATS makes the process much easier and convenient. Employers are finding it necessary to not only conduct a pre-hire background screening, but also a post-hire background screening. The post-hire screening is to ensure that nothing was initially missed. It is also vital to ensure that there are no new threats due to an employees change in circumstances. Due to the size of the workforce, some companies also screen contract or temporary and volunteer candidates to ensure they pose no risk.

Self-service applicant portal is a regular mode used by companies. It is the candidate who inputs their data in the system, streamlining the process and eliminating any duplicate data entry. The process in initiated by the HR after candidates invitation to the structure. The ATS detects the applicants location and it ensures that they can upload documents. Most candidates prefer self-service applicant mode which guarantees legal compliance in the process. The process can be customized to confirm that different aspirants get different checks depending on the field they are in. For example, finance positions can have credit checks. Recent studies from Justice Department Bureau of Justice Statistic Workplace Violence showed that non-fatal crimes of 572000 occurred in American workplace from 1993 to 2009. Such incidences are meant to be stopped or reduced through the use of the background screening.

One of the most expensive costs to a company is hiring the wrong person. Hiring the wrong person means that the employee has to undergo training or there has to be another recruitment which is expensive and time wasting. People misrepresent themselves on their resumes every day. They lie about their previous responsibilities and dates of employment. It is a big problem to recruiters as they get wrong information. Automated reference checks one of the ways to curb such ailments in the job market. There is use of the IP address where each reference address is screened to see whether it comes from the same computer. Such measures are taken to ensure that employers get the right people and qualified ones in the industry.

Work Cited

Maurer, Roy. "Background Screening Goes with the Workflow." SHRM. N.p., 01 Oct. 2016. Web. 19 Nov. 2016.