One aspect recruiters often overlook is performing background checks on their candidates. As a recruiter, you may perform a basic right to work check (as required by law), but what about your candidates’ criminal record? Or credit rating? And how about references and qualifications?
Scenario: Let’s say you put a candidate forwards to one of your clients. On the surface, yourself and your client feel the candidate is perfect for the job. They are hired…
Then a few months down the line, the candidate engages in malicious activity (theft, violence, etc)…
Your client is unhappy and lets the candidate go. Unhappy with the legal, reputational, and/or financial damage caused, they decide to cut ties with you.
You could argue that your client should perform background checks on new hires. However…
Considering the cost of background checks is lower than losing a client, it should be common practice for recruiters to perform background checks on their candidates.
Here are five reasons why:
1 – Show your clients that your candidates are ready to work (and qualified for the job)
One concern many organisations have is that their recruiter’s candidates are not ready to work. This goes beyond a simple right to work check.
All organisations are interested to see a CV and cover letter, but more importantly, their educational credentials, industry-relevant qualifications, to name a few.
With the candidate’s consent, you should obtain as much information (data and documents) about the candidate as possible, which you can pass onto your client. This reassures your clients that your candidates are ready and qualified to work.
An important aspect to consider is how you obtain the information efficiently and compliantly (see point 1 of this article).
2 – Save your clients the costs of a bad hire
We all know the cost of a bad hire can be detrimental. Whether a candidate has an adverse criminal record or has lied about their qualifications, the cost to a company can be hefty.
And if your client identifies your candidate as a bad hire, they could decide not to do business with you anymore.
By performing background checks on your candidates, you will prevent these bad hire costs; saving you and your client a lot of money (and time).
3 – Differentiate from the competition
As a recruitment company, you may have excellent client testimonials, years in the industry, and a pool of exceptional talent. But here is the problem; so do most recruitment companies.
Surprisingly, many recruiters only perform basic background checks. By implementing a comprehensive and compliant background check process on your candidates, this will help you stand out from the competition. This is because organisations want to work with recruiters who have a trustworthy pool of candidates. Thus, saving them resources for their own business objectives.
4 – Protect your reputation
The most powerful form of marketing is word of mouth. And its also the deadliest.
If your client hires one of your candidates, and they cause legal or reputational damage, then word will spread that your candidates are unsuitable for hire; leading to a loss of business and a damaged reputation.
Considering the low cost of background checks, it makes sense to vet your candidates to protect you and your client’s reputation.
5 – Take the weight of compliance off your client’s shoulders
Whether your client’s business is an SME or large corporate, all companies look to prevent compliance failures. This is especially important in the GDPR age, where a misuse of data can lead to large fines and irreparable legal ramifications.
Organisations want to streamline human resource processes, and performing compliant background checks on their behalf could, not only save them valuable resources, but also make you their preferred recruiter.
Of course, maintaining compliance for your clients and their background check process can be challenging, particularly if you work across multiple industries.
This is where software can help. Our own software, Employment Check Pro, is a robust, efficient, and innovative solution that helps recruiters perform background checks for their clients compliantly.
Not only is it suited to all sectors, but it also allows you to:
- Collect your candidate’s data and documents with ease
- Automate the vetting process
- Perform instant background checks
- Generate bespoke, and automated reports
- Manage data effectively
It should be noted that Employment Check Pro is suitable for all sectors, requirements, and checks. And as an ISO27001-accredited organisation, we perform regular internal audits to ensure our information security framework (and software) is robust.
If you are interested in how Employment Check Pro can benefit your organisation, please complete the form below or visit /pro/ to learn more.
Further Reading
5 Common Problems with the Background Check Process