Most people are familiar with the standard pre-employment screening, but a new trend is growing in the business world. Companies throughout different industries are investing the time and energy into rolling background checks for their employees.
Even with the best intentions, these ongoing checks don’t always turn out as planned. Solid workforce management is crucial to keeping your workplace safe and dignified when using a rolling background screening process.
Checks Don’t End with a Pre-employment Screening Anymore
According to a survey from the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), a staggering 96 percent of companies conduct a background screening on at least some employees. In fact, 86 percent carry out a pre-employment screening on all full-time hires.
It isn’t just private companies jumping on the trend. The state of Pennsylvania has specific regulations requiring rolling background checks for all jobs that involve routine interaction with children. Anyone who works with children under 18 on a regular basis must obtain a new background screening for child abuse and criminal activity every 60 months (Keep Kids Safe, n.d.).
The Importance of Workforce Management Screenings
You might think that huge companies have it all figured out. How could they skirt laws and regulations while operating under a microscope? Well, somehow, J.P. Morgan Chase managed to slip through the cracks.
In 2017, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) slapped the multinational investment bank with a $1.25 million fine for failing to fingerprint and conduct adequate background checks on nearly all of its employees.
For almost eight years, J.P. Morgan Chase did not utilize any background screening process to ensure that their employees did not have criminal convictions relating to financial laws – and it cost them big.
Even smaller companies and schools run into trouble with temporary or contracted employees. In fact, recent audits of two Pennsylvania school districts found that contracted bus drivers did not obtain sufficient background checks for child abuse and criminal convictions. Some of the bus drivers even had convictions that should have prohibited them from working in the position (DePasquale 2016, 2018).
The Dark Side of Rolling Employment Screening
It might be tempting to simply pick the first name on a list of background check companies and throw caution to the wind, but this can have disastrous consequences.
Take the case of Uber’s rolling background checks, for instance. The rideshare company began conducting rolling checks as well as the standard pre-employment screening. It seemed like a great idea until something went wrong: the screening process flagged and terminated an innocent employee (Sasso and Green, 2018).
It took Uber six weeks to sort the mess out leading to yet another PR disaster as well.
How Background Check Companies Can Help
Selecting a name from a list of background check companies simply isn’t enough. Although the benefits of rolling background checks might seem like they outweigh the risks, there is certainly some risk.
The key is solid workforce management to interpret the results and monitor behavior. Otherwise, you might turn away potentially amazing employees or face a PR nightmare from a technical glitch.
ProVerify™ powered by Application Verification Workforce Solution is a one-stop-shop for all of your contingent, temporary, and contracted background check services.
References:
Keep Kids Safe, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS), n.d. Get a Clearance. Retrieved from
http://www.keepkidssafe.pa.gov/resources/clearances/index.htm
Keep Kids Safe, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS), n.d. Child protective services laws. Retrieved from
http://keepkidssafe.pa.gov/about/cpsl/index.htm
National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), 2017 National survey: employers universally using background screenings to protect employees, customers and the public. Retrieved from
https://www.hr.com/en/resources/free_research_white_papers/napbs-background-screening_j58sfwoj.html
Michael Sasso and Jeff Green, Bloomberg, 2018 Get ready for rolling background checks at work. Retrieved from
Eugene A. DePasquale (2016), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General, Penn Hills School District Audit Report, retrieved from
file:///home/chronos/u-9a111da0e8533df2b442e9d0c6f95a95dde24229/Downloads/Penn-Hills-Perf-audit.pdf
Eugene A. DePasquale (2018), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General, School District of Lancaster Audit Report, retrieved from
file:///home/chronos/u-9a111da0e8533df2b442e9d0c6f95a95dde24229/Downloads/Lancaster-Perf-Audit.pdf
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