One survey of 2,000 hiring managers revealed that more than half (58 percent) found false claims in resumes they reviewed. Similarly, one-third of the reviewers, 33 percent, found resumes that falsely claimed educational credentials. Another large category involves failing to disclose some important requested information. These patterns create risks for the employer, as they cause unwanted terminations and potential legal liability. Following are just a few reasons why it’s important to screen candidates to help identify potentially problematic and costly situations:
To Prevent Negligent Hiring
Unfortunately, negligent hiring lawsuits are on a big upswing. When you don’t conduct background checks, there’s no way to know if a candidate has been arrested for or convicted of assault. If you hire someone who has been and that employee harms someone else, your company can be held responsible for the bad hire.
Trust
When you hire people without checking backgrounds, you’re trusting blindly. Without checking, there’s no way to know whether the experience and credentials they claim are accurate. Hiring someone with false credentials might directly affect your existing employees. In fact, 95% of employers surveyed by Robert Half feel that a poor hiring decision affects the morale of the whole team. The survey also showed that managing a bad hire can take 17% of a supervisor’s time (that’s almost a whole day per week).
Compliance
Most states require a criminal background check for anyone who works with children, the elderly, or the disabled. Failing to conduct a check on these employees could not only result in trouble at your business, but also fines or penalties, and damage to your company brand.
