To individuals and businesses alike, background checks can be a mystery. Where are consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) or background screening companies getting their information? How accurate is the data? Is there a reason to update a background check on an employee? Just how well do you know your employees? At VeriFirst, our mission is to be a trusted and transparent screening provider so let's dive into these questions.

How often are background checks updated and where is the information coming from?

According to a 2018 study by the Society for Human Resource Management, 73% of human resources professionals say their organizations run background checks. While this is good news for mitigating risk to businesses,  that means that 27% of companies aren't screening before hiring.

While some employers may tout cost as a reason for skipping background checks, the cost of a bad hire can be even more expensive. Other organizations may hesitate due to the challenge and effort involved in finding a quality screening partner that can also help with compliance. VeriFirst can help offer easy background checks for employers, while being cost effective and compliant.

Employers have discovered that it's more important than ever to run background checks. Unfortunately, businesses of all sizes are still foregoing employment screening due to cost. Considering the cost of non-compliance lawsuits or negligent hiring claims, employers would be wise to investigate why their background screening costs are so expensive. Working with a trusted, professional background check partner can be helpful to saving time and money.

Here's how background check packages help reduce costs and increase compliance for HR.

So what do you do when your new hire fails their background check? Do you retract the job offer?

We do get asked this question occasionally (and probably should more often). Recruiters and hiring managers may naturally peruse an applicant's social posts - especially if they've applied via a social network such as LinkedIn. Is it a good idea?

Let's take a closer look at why an employer would want to check out a potential employee's use of social media. Can you include social media in background checks?

When hiring for small businesses, terms like "flexible" and "wear many hats" are usually in the job description. After all, a small business is a growing business and employees must be willing to do their share, and probably even more, to ensure success and hiring of more employees. Hiring at the right time is challenging enough without considering if the person has unsettling marks on their history. Many small businesses find that background screening is too cost-prohibitive or complex. This doesn't have to be the case.

Here is a helpful guide to background checks for small businesses.

Many employers will require a new hire to take a pre-employment drug test. Some employers may also require random drug testing during the employee's tenure with the company, especially if there is some suspicion of drug usage or the usage can affect the employee's ability to perform their job. What happens when an employee or new hire fails a drug test? It really depends on the situation.

Here are some examples of what could happen next.

Non-profits, youth sports, religious educators and other charity organizations that recruit volunteers are being held to a higher standard than in previous years.  Simply put, the safety of children and elderly and the security of non-profit finances require handling by those who can be absolutely trusted. Unfortunately, non-profit and charity organizations often skip volunteer screening due to time constraints and cost. 

To save time and money on volunteer background checks, here are the most popular and necessary screens to run.

Technology is changing how we do most things, business or otherwise. Sales and marketing have new tools at the ready to help increase efficiency and attract a wider audience. Hiring and recruiting, however, still involve the use of traditional HR processes and is often inefficient. Venture capitalists are investing in HR tech and predict more emerging developments in the space in the coming years. If HR tech can streamline hiring and recruiting, employee retention may follow. 

What should employers expect in HR Tech and how will it change hiring and recruiting?

Employers rely on E-Verify to verify employment eligibility of new hires. Employment eligibility is important to confirm that those being hired are legally allowed to work within the United States and reduces the number of undocumented immigrants employed in states that use it.  With the recent government shutdown, access to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) database via E-Verify is also unavailable.

If employers are unable to verify new hire employment eligibility via E-Verify, what should they do?