Employee Screenings Save Your Business … and May Save a Life

Staffing vendors who refer candidates on theinstitutions, we need to know who we're
strength of a resume and a phonesubmitting," says Tony Williamson, president of
interview-foregoing thorough backgroundGolden Valley, Minnesota-based vendor Ajasa
checks-are asking for trouble.Case in point fromTechnologies, Otherwise you risk losing the
the CEO of Palmiter Recruiting of Plymouth,business on one bad apple. "An employer doesn't
Minnesota: 15 years ago, before she founded herwant to run the risk that an employee over his
staffing company, Elizabeth Palmiter was onhead in financial debt will be tempted to steal
assignment as a contractor herself when thefrom a banking customer.Perfecting the personal
nightmare of nightmares occurred at a client'sreference checkYou should always check
worksite.During a routine reference check, areferences to support a hiring decision.
contractor marched into his supervisor's officeUnfortunately, this is made harder by the litigious
and killed him with an automatic rifle.nature of the corporate world. Many companies
The scary thing is that because it was anare reluctant to do much more than verify a
automatic rifle, he could have killed other people,former employee's job title and dates of
too," says Palmiter.Today, Palmiter works on theemployment, for fear that a candidate will sue
other side of the desk-as a staffing vendor forthem for providing a poor reference.You should
tier-one companies in Minneapolis-St. Paul.be prepared to be creative when calling
Impossible to forget, experiencing workplacereferences. Here are a couple of suggestions that
violence first-hand has made Palmiter diligenthave worked for others.1. Work through your
about checking the backgrounds of allnetwork -In the course of the conversation about
candidates-whether the hiring company requires itthe candidate's background, try to identify
or not.references that you and the candidate have in
The same isn't true at all staffingcommon. This is easier for the seasoned recruiter
companies.According to a recent report fromwho personally knows hundreds of people in
Taleo Research, only 33 percent of companiescompanies across a market or sector and a
conduct background checks on employees. Thevalue-add that can help sell your worth to client
loss of human life is a rare and extremecompanies.2. Broaden your search - You can also
consequence of not vetting prospectivecontact the given references and ask them to
employees and contractors. More commonly,suggest others who might have experience with
staffing vendors may face legal action, damage tothe candidate, offers Joseph Golemo, a branch
business reputation, loss of clients and revenuemanager with Minneapolis-based ENRGi Consulting.
and negative media coverage if they fail toEveryone knows the people on the first list will
thoroughly screen prospective candidates.Criminalgive a good reference to the candidate, so you
background checks are insufficientcall them and ask some cursory questions," says
Even when you do perform a criminal recordsGolemo. "Then get to the real purpose of the call,
check, keep in mind that it probably isn't sufficientwhich is to ask: 'Is there anyone else I can speak
protection.National background checks don't revealto that will be able to provide a reference for this
all the offenses on record, according to newscandidate?'."This second-tier reference will not
reports as there is no national database of felonyhave been coached or prepped by the candidate,
convictions. Criminal records are filed in more thanso will probably provide a more balanced view of
3,100 courthouses throughout the United Statesthe candidate's background and capabilities.3.
reporting processes can differ widely, making itVerifying identity - Still, with all the rigors of a
difficult and costly to guarantee that a new hirecriminal history check, personal interviews, drug
isn't a law breaker.27 percent of organizationsscreenings, credit checks and reference checks,
surveyed said they had suffered serious damagessome companies are starting to take their screen
due to a flawed records check, according toprocesses a step further-to verify the identity of
Taleo Research. Some of the consequencesthe candidate.These companies have their
included workplace fraud (10 percent), employeeconsultants and potential hires fingerprinted at a
theft (10 percent), workplace violence (7local bank or police station, according to Golemo.
percent).So while you should always contract aFingerprinting candidates foils the possibility that
reputable credential checking service, such asan individual may attempt to borrow the identity
Verified Credentials, StaffingCheck or ADT, youof another worker in order to get a job they
should complement those reports with additionalwould be otherwise unqualified to perform.It
investigations, including:credit checks drug testsworks like this: The candidate is fingerprinted
in-person interviews informal reference checksduring the screening process. Then on the first
technical interviews Nothing replaces the personalday one the job, the new hire is fingerprinted
interviewA 20-year veteran in the staffingagain to ensure the candidate's fingerprints match
industry, Rick Kuula, president of Stillwater,the prints on file.It may seem extreme and
Minnesota-based staffing vendor Solutia Consulting,time-consuming, but it also ensures you're
Inc. meets with every consultant during the hiringproviding the best, cleanest candidate for a
process.Though a technical screening is part ofproject. In the long run, it protects you from the
Kuula's review process, it's not the main focus.Ifnegative consequences of making a bad referral,
we have a feeling that there's something not rightand can preserve a good client relationship for
with the candidate and we can't put a handle on it,years to come.Being rigorous also sends a clear
we're better not to pursue it after the firstmessage to a hiring company. "It shows that
contact," says Kuula.It's not rocket science. It'swe're not just throwing resumes over the fence,"
spending time with the candidate to get to knowsays Palmiter. "It shows that we're doing our jobs
them," says Kuula. The personal touch helps toand that we're a valuable resource."Doug has a
insure that the candidate is a good fit for thelong history in the recruiting and staffing industry.
hiring company's culture and the staffing vendor'sHe started in IT as the Director of IT for the
talent pool for the long haul.Digging deeper intoMinneapolis Institute of Arts. Doug then started his
credit history is another step you can takeown IT consulting & staffing firm (Quantum
take-especially for candidates assign to financialConsulting) which he grew to over 75 consultants.
industry accounts."If you care about the qualityIn 1995 Doug sold his firm and founded which
that you're presenting, especially to financialreceived over $100 million in venture capital.