The measurable benefits of performing background checks include the following:

• Fewer bad hires – Saves money, minimizes management headaches and saves training resources.
• Significant reduction in costs associated with employee theft – Saves Money and Security Resources.
• Reduction in employee turnover and related costs – Saves HR, Recruitment, and training resources.
• Safer workplace – Minimizes work disruption, and improves morale when employees know that the next person hired is safe to work with and has a good track record.

Outsourcing your pre-employment screening will facilitate:

• Remove interview bias – Universal has never met your candidates, so our only motivation is to help you know whom you’re hiring!
• Selection of a more honest, productive, and efficient team – We ensure accurate and high high-quality, detailed information for every applicant.
• Protection from negligent hiring litigation – Be sure that you bring on safe people every time.
• Assurance that thorough details are assembled prior to every hire – References, schools, and employers call back on their own time – we’re available to answer every call and we update you in real-time, as results are available.
• Faster recruiting times – Our business is background checking and we guarantee industry-best turnaround times!

Job candidates may look to gain an advantage through dishonest means, usually in the form of exaggerations on their resumé. Although only 12% of workers admit to embellishing, it is currently estimated that as many as one in three job seekers have included some form of lie on their resumé. Universal’s internal statistics and Red Flag rates support this figure. Common misrepresentations include candidates lying about their reasons for leaving a job, possibly in an attempt to cover up a dismissal, as well as the candidate lying about the position in which they were employed, in order to appear more experienced. Universal has uncovered scenarios where candidates have gone as far as to completely fabricate a period of employment at an organization that has no record of them ever being employed.

Other serious offenses include candidates lying about the level of education that they have achieved. Many job seekers exaggerate the level of degree they have obtained, and some lie about having completed a degree at all! The existence of diploma mills and fake education institutions that exchange cash for counterfeit degrees means that checking that an individual actually graduated, and confirming the exact level of award claimed, is essential.

The average cost of turnover ranges from $16,573 for a $15/hour unionized employee and $56,844 for a store manager in a retail grocery setting. An effectively implemented pre-employment screening program can help reduce turnover and the associated costs by ensuring that only the most suitable candidates are being hired for your positions. As more than one in five employees leaves within the first 6 months of joining a company, screening your candidates can help identify those individuals who will fit best within your organization and be more likely to stay for the long term.

Screening will also help filter out candidates who may not possess the necessary skills to succeed with your company, which otherwise might result in the employee voluntarily leaving the organization or being terminated for poor performance, both of which can be costly for the company.

Organizations have a duty to provide a safe place of business for their employees and their customers, and to ensure that their customers’ interests are protected.

As businesses attempt to navigate safely through the depths of the current recession, it is expected that workplace crime and fraud will continue to rise.

Screening candidates before they enter the workplace is the best way to evaluate the threat that they may pose. If the old adage ‘desperate times call for desperate measures’ holds true, the current economic conditions create a climate where statistics show that people are more likely to commit criminal acts for profit.