How to do a background check on new hires

You’re almost ready to extend a job offer. But before making things official, it’s time to do your due diligence and run an employee background check. 

Essential to the recruitment process, an employee background check helps ensure your company hires the most qualified people. With the right strategy, your business can make background checks an indispensable part of the hiring process — minimizing your time to hire without compromising quality of hire.

Read on to learn how to do a background check, how long background checks take, red flags to look out for, and more.

An employee background check is used to uncover and confirm important information about an applicant who’s being considered for a role at your company. This information can include the applicant’s criminal history — including details on felonies and misdemeanors — as well as job and education history, driving records, and credit checks. Confirming this information should usually take between two and five business days. 

Background checks for employment help you develop an objective understanding of your applicant’s overall history — and can reveal how consistent and reliable the applicant is. These background checks also help you understand how trustworthy your applicant is. If information you uncover as part of the background check doesn’t match with information the applicant shares in the interview process, that person may not be a strong fit for your organization.

Now that you know more about what employee background checks are and how to run them, you might be wondering why background checks are so important.

Running a thorough employee background check helps you showcase your commitment to making the most informed and responsible hiring decisions. This promotes a company culture of transparency, which can help employees and prospects place more trust in your hiring process — so you can build a positive employer brand and attract qualified candidates to your organization.

Background checks confirm employee claims.

During the early stages of the application and interview processes, candidates are asked to provide information on employment and education history, criminal background, professional relationships, and more. But some applicants may inaccurately portray this information if they think the correct information could be negatively perceived by employers. This can lead your company to hire a prospect based on an incorrect picture of their knowledge and experience.

Because of this, thorough employee background checks are needed to help you confirm candidates’ claims — including employment and education history, certifications and licenses, and drug use history — so you can make more informed decisions. For example, if an applicant said they graduated with a master’s degree in a field that matches your open role, but they didn’t complete the program or never actually pursued it in the first place, they may lack the expertise needed for the job.

Background checks identify employee red flags.

When evaluating prospective employees, it’s important to keep an eye out for red flags. An applicant’s red flags — their character flaws or negative parts of their history — can come in many forms, and each one reveals something you should know before offering them a role at your company.

With a thorough employee background check, you can uncover any potential red flags and get a clearer and more comprehensive picture of your candidate. If all the information you’ve found is positive and matches what the applicant shared with you, it can show that they’re trustworthy — a strong character trait for any employee to have.

However, if the information they provided doesn’t match what you’ve found through your background check, that in itself is a red flag. For example, if an applicant lied on their application in an attempt to get ahead, they may be willing to do the same on the job — a trait that can lead to poor work quality and liability concerns for your company, among other troubling issues.

Employee background checks help you exercise due diligence and ensure there aren’t any negligent hiring claims and potential legal issues.

Of course, knowing where to start and how to do a background check can be challenging. Continue reading to learn important steps in the background check process.

Collect data and get consent for employee background checks.

Before running a background check, have your job applicant fill out a form giving their explicit consent for you to evaluate and collect data on them. This shows your organization’s commitment to HR transparency and open communication throughout the hiring process as well as their potential employment.

Once you have your applicant’s consent, you can collect their data, including:

• Criminal history
• Job history
• Education history
• Driving records
• Vehicle registration
• Military history
• Medical records
• Sex offender information
• Court records
• Credit checks
• Social Security data

The more applicant data you have, the more you’ll be able to run a comprehensive, efficient employee background check.

Know the local background check laws.

Your company’s background check process should strictly comply with all federal, local, and state data privacy and information protection laws that apply. For example, before performing an employee background check, US companies should review background check laws by state and communicate compliance processes to applicants. That way, applicants will feel reassured about their privacy and hold your company to a higher standard, which can benefit your employer brand.

US companies can learn about their state’s background check laws by visiting their state government’s website (official websites typically end with a “.gov” or “.us” domain) or by calling an official state government representative. Phone numbers and other contact information can typically be found on your state government’s website.

Find your next employee.

Now that you have a better understanding of the importance of background checks and how to conduct them, take advantage of LinkedIn Talent Solutions to start sourcing qualified candidates for your open roles. LinkedIn Talent Solutions can help you find and hire qualified candidates from the world’s largest professional network. Use LinkedIn Recruiter to fill your talent pipeline, collaboratively manage candidate profiles from one central portal, and engage prospects by sending personalized InMail messages in bulk.

Ready to attract your ideal candidates with LinkedIn Talent Solutions? Get in touch today to learn more.