Can this happen to your recruiting company?

By Dan Stevens

A male applicant is recommended to a large client by your recruiting company to fill a much needed position. After you interviewed him, you felt confident that he will satisfy their needs. You forwarded a copy of his resume to HR and set up the interview.

He performs well throughout the first and second interviews and his answers to questions seem to be honest and straight forward. He is intelligent and personable. Based on these perceptions, the decision is made to hire him.

One month later, the Police respond to a 911 call from your client. There is a female employee who claims she was sexually attacked by this new employee.

The new employee is apprehended, arrested, tried and convicted for sexual assault.

You are shocked and canít believe this could have happened! ìHe seemed like such a nice guy!î His resume was very impressive and so was he during the interview process.

Once this man was arrested, his prior background was run by the Police. It turns out that he had prior convictions for the same type of crime, as well as drug related crimes and served two years in jail. The same two years that his resume indicated he worked for his last employer, who was never contacted. He was also listed on the Sex Offender Registry, and had illegal drugs in his system at the time of the incident.

There are certain questions that should come to mind immediately regarding this scenario.

1. Would you have recommended the applicant to your client if you knew his background?

2. Could you have done something to avoid this incident from happening?

3. What could the repercussions be for you and your business due to this incident?

The answer to the first question is normally determined by company policy, which includes the hiring parameters based on the verification of the applicantís background.

The answer to the second question is an absolute ìYES.î There are comprehensive programs available to businesses of all sizes that help avoid similar incidents from happening everyday. These are employment due diligence policy and program initiations that are developed by firms who have an expertise in the field and can give you the facts that you need to make a more informed hiring decision; not to mention negligent hiring liability protection.

As far as what the possible repercussions affecting your business could be; the possibilities are endless. However, the most probable and immediate impact will be the loss of your affected client, and negative press that you will undoubtedly receive. Of course that translates into loss of revenue, as well as a decline in reputation and public trust.

Remember, in many publicized cases, it is not the actual facts and truth that count in the publicís eye. It is the perception of the facts and truth that count. Unfortunately in this case, both the facts and perception of the facts equate to your client and very possibly your company being negligent and liable. This negligence will also be the catalyst for the victim of this crime to become a litigant against your company. She and her attorney are now determined to get justice and admitted accountability (not to mention a large monetary award), through a public trial or settlement.

Any way you look at it, your business will suffer significantly in many respect.

Although this scenario sounds like it canít happen to you, the fact is that if you do not have a comprehensive pre-employment screening program in place, there is a good chance that you have already recommended a predator who now works for a client.

If this gets you a little nervous, you may want to investigate options that will benefit you and your business. Implementing a comprehensive pre-employment screening program can be the difference between assuming liability and a tarnished reputation, and being able to prove that you were diligent prior to recommending a candidate to your client. This type of program can help strengthen your relationship with your clients and give them more confidence in you and peace of mind concerning your candidate selections. Although they will pay for the service youíve provided once the candidate is hired, they wonít mind. You have protected them and saved them time if they were going to conduct the backgrounds themselves.

The optimum solution to begin this process is to employ a proven resource for the services that are needed. As in choosing an expert in any field, you want to make sure that your choice satisfies the needs and goals of your company. There should be certain requirements and questions asked of these firms as you research to determine the best choice for your business.

1. Ask what experience and expertise they have in the industry.

2. Ask if they are compliant with FCRA.

3. Ask what procedures they use to develop and implement a comprehensive program specifically for your company (and industry).

4. Ask what secure technology they use to transfer and store proprietary and personal information contained in the requests and reports?

5. Ask what type of Adverse Action process is available?

6. Ask what type of and how quickly live client support is available?

7. Ask how current and accurate their information is.

8. Ask what their turnaround is from time of request to finished report.

9. Ask what safeguards are available if there is a dispute regarding any adverse information provided.

About the Author:
Dan Stevens has been an employment due diligence consultant to companies across the US for over twenty-five years. He continues to help clients develop, implement and management policies and procedures relating to due diligence in the hiring process.

His industry leadership and expertise were key factors in the initiation and development of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), where he sits on the Ethics and Accreditation committee. NAPBS now has over 570 employee screening company members nationwide.

For more information, you can contact Mr. Stevens at (800) 647-7999.