How to Conduct Effective National Criminal Background Checks for Employees and Volunteers

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national criminal background check for employees or volunteers

Whether you are a Fortune 500 business owner or lead a nationally recognized charitable organization, conducting national criminal background checks for employees and volunteers is critical to protecting your brand’s reputation. Opting to prioritize the safety of your workplace will also give candidates a sense of care and concern on your part, which leads to easier applicant conversion when an offer is made.

The main reason for conducting employee and volunteer national background checks is its fundamental purpose of minimizing risk to your company and everyone involved with it. Proper screening can offer effective protection against liability lawsuits because you can demonstrate that your business or organization is diligent in verifying who works for it.

The Importance of a Consistent Risk Management Approach

Screening and employing candidates requires a demonstrated responsibility of providing a standard of care in your management process. These practices should reinforce your organization’s overarching standards that include important screening and job role matching practices that are appropriate for your company and its risk level.

Another aspect of creating a risk management approach that is consistent involves utilizing national criminal background checks for employees and volunteers that are inclusive and avoid discriminatory hiring practices. Take time to learn what type of impact your pre-employment screening services will have on the candidate types who want to join your organization and the potential talent excluded by the criteria you are assessing their qualifications upon. Using a third-party background check service can help you determine what trade-offs will work best for your company and if your practices align with local, state, and federal employment law.

At the same time, companies also experience productivity increases because all of the related HR operations are now streamlined and centralized. This frees up valuable work time for managers to work on more urgent core business objectives and allow automated technology to handle menial administrative tasks.

How to Make Your National Criminal Background Checks for Volunteers and Employees Effective

Like any product on the market, there are typically many providers offering the same, but not all are created equal. Organizations looking to expand their current national criminal background checks for volunteers and employees need to choose a service that brings more than just data to the table. Quality, support, and advanced integration features are key factors you need to conduct pre-employment screenings that are effective and value-added.

Time Your Background Check Strategically

Make sure your applicant has already passed initial qualifications through your preliminary screening processes before conducting a pre-employment criminal background check. This allows you to invest in a thorough screening of candidates who would more than likely be a good fit for the job roles you need to fill.

Focus on Data You Need

When conducting national criminal background checks for employees and volunteers, ensure the information you request is relevant to the position you are hiring. Not only does it save on additional cost, but it will keep your talent pool full of options. It makes little sense to conduct a credit check on a volunteer if they wouldn’t be in charge of money or account decisions.

Create a Transparent Experience for Your Employees and Volunteers

Another important aspect of criminal background checking is creating an experience that shows respect to your prospect. Transparency is crucial in accomplishing this, as well as user-friendly language when explaining why you need to conduct a screening.

Keep Your National Criminal Background Checks Compliant

The United States has many laws on local, state, and federal levels that protect individuals from discriminatory hiring practices based on information found on some types of background checks. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau agency that enforces laws like the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) so that employees and volunteers are not discriminated against because of their credit history and other types of records.

Remember Why You Are Conducting a National Criminal Background Check for Employees and Volunteers

It’s vital when conducting national criminal background checks for employees and volunteers that you always keep perspective about the data you receive. One way to do this is to focus on why you conducted the screening and base your analysis on that need. 

Other reminders should include:

  • Pre-employment background checking is for deciding whether your organizational needs can be met by the candidate.
  • Safety should be the number one goal, and record history searches help you mitigate potential harm that a bad hire could bring your organization and team members.
  • Don’t have a candidate start training until any issues on their criminal background check are cleared.
  • Utilize several different areas of focus when conducting a national criminal background check for employees and volunteers. You may need to conduct additional search types since a criminal history screening won’t necessarily reveal everything.
  • Passing a criminal background check doesn’t mean you have to hire a candidate, nor does it mean they are a good fit for the role you have available.
  • Be aware of any hidden biases you or your company may have issues with and take steps to root them out. This will make your pre-employment screening process more fair and inclusive.

How Pre-Employ is the Most Effective National Criminal Background Check for Employees and Volunteers

As a premium pre-employment criminal background checking service, Pre-employ screenings show our dedication to making this process simple and straightforward without sacrificing reliability or talent. Companies that use our technologically advanced software suite enjoy the seamless merging of their current technology with our proprietary automation and intuitive design. From criminal record reporting to identity verification checks, our company streamlines the national criminal background check process, which helps to eliminate bottlenecks in your workflows.

Pre-employ supports national criminal background checks for employees and volunteers all over the globe daily. Our employee background check services provide employers access to the vital information they need to make timely and informed hiring decisions. While there are numerous alternatives for obtaining access to such data, only Pre-employ offers an unwavering focus on superior customer support and excellent applicant experiences backed by a 100% US-based service and support team.

Request a quote today to learn more about our employment screening solutions.

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