Getting Criminal Background Checks

If you are planning to hire a new employee, then you should realize that you are putting so much more than salary on the line. Hiring a new employee requires you to make sure that the employee can be rusted with your company's future. As such, you have to know if there is anything in the past of that potential employee which could taint your company's image. Getting a criminal background check done on ever potential employee is something that every company should never hesitate to do. However, not many people really know just how in-depth their criminal background checks should be. Here are a few tips on what you should do:

1) Require more than just a clearance – Some people only require applicants to submit documentation from the local police office saying that there are no current criminal cases against that person. However, you should realize that criminal background checks go much further than that. The reason so many companies require criminal background checks to be done on people they hire is the fact that criminal background checks actually delve into the past of a person. This allows the potential employer to make sure that every bit of information relevant to the employment process is at hand. The past, after all, affects our future more than we are willing to admit.

2) Be prepared to spend – Although you can get a criminal background check done on a person by yourself, this could take you a lot of time and effort. Because of this, some companies have other people who do the background checks for them. However, having someone investigate a potential employee requires a bit of spending. You just need to remember that it is your company's future on the line here.

3) Get permission – Before you conduct a criminal background check, you have to make sure that you get permission to do so from the potential employee. Sure, criminal records may be public, but the fact is that letting the potential employee know that you are conducting a background check will be beneficial to you in so many ways.

For one thing, it reveals whether or not the employee actually has something to hide. The potential employee's reaction to your wanting a criminal background check will reveal a lot about the character of that person. You also create a bond of trust with that potential employee. If you ever end up hiring that employee the knowledge that you would not do anything behind his or her back can surely help foster the bond that brings so many companies to the top.

4) Give people a chance to explain – The justice system is not perfect. A lot of people know that. Because of this, you can't just judge a person based on what you see on his or her criminal record. You need to talk to the person about the circumstances of each case and give him or her chance to explain exactly what happened from his or her point of view. You should also talk with people who actually know the person in order to see if his or her efforts to rehabilitate are successful. Each person deserves another chance. It may be that your company serves as a stepping stone for the person to assimilate him or herself into society anew.