When most employers consider background checks, their first thoughts are generally criminal and credit checks. However, there is another piece of the puzzle that you need to include, and that is employment verification.
What Is Employment Verification?
Employment verification is much as it sounds; it is a thorough investigation of a potential hire’s employment history, licensing and certifications, reference checks, and even driving records if required. During this verification process, the previous employers are contacted and the information provided on the resume is verified to determine accuracy.
Why Is It Needed?
Employment verification is a very important step in the pre-employment background screening. Studies have shown that as many as 58% of all resumes that are submitted contain lies, or at least stretch the truth as far as experience, education, job duties, and periods of employment. As an employer, any of these can be a potential problem for you and your company.
Hazards of Hiring from Falsified Resumes
Any time you hire an employee, it can seem as if it is a 50/50 chance as to whether you hired the correct person for the job. However, if employment verification is included in your background check, your odds are actually quite good. Falsified resumes can lead to considerable issues for your business, including:
- Hiring a person who is actually unable to do the job without extensive and expensive training
- Potential issues with clients or vendors due to incompetence
- Leaking of business-related information to competing organizations
- Problems with existing employees who have to pick up the slack
- Loss of customers and clients due to failing to meet their needs
- Liability issues if the new hire harms another employee or one of your customers
These are just a few of the issues that can arise without employment verification, and all of them can have serious consequences for your business.
While you may feel as if you can trust the information on resumes, today’s stiff competition in the job market has led many people to pad their information to land the job. If you want to increase your chances of hiring the right person for your open position, you need to include a full employment verification in your background check tools.
