Why Startups Are Turning to Pre-Employment Screening More Than Ever Before?
If you’re thinking of startups as a bunch of enthusiastic people launching their business in a chaotic atmosphere, this idea probably comes from a movie or a magazine article. In real life, startups tend to be more formal and business-like. This is because many would-be entrepreneurs have come to realize that having a bright idea is not enough in business. If you don’t follow the rules you risk ending up bankrupt. Click here for employment verification services .
One of the main rules in business is to be careful who you hire.
Why pre-employment screening is important for startups?
Launching a startup is a big gamble and you need to evaluate all the risks. It’s not just the business plan or the marketing strategy that can ruin you. You need to be very careful who you surround yourself with.
One significant threat for a startup is trade secrets theft. When you’re building your future on a business idea, you don’t want your business plans stolen and sold to your competitors.
Another problem is simple theft. Say you hire an accountant for your startup and they start stealing your money while you’re working day and night to develop your products or services. Small enterprises are particularly at risk because relationships are tight and there’s a sense you’re one big happy family. Until someone stabs you in the back, that is.
Most startups have a small staff, but that doesn’t mean there’s no risk of violence, discrimination or harassment. You cannot take a chance with such things when you’re an emerging business. If word gets out and there’s a public scandal you’re basically ruined. Even large companies have trouble surviving such scandals, let alone a small one.
What are online background checks ?
Online background checks are the most modern way of making sure the person you hire doesn’t have a criminal record and doesn’t pose a threat to your organisation. In Australia for example, startups tend to prefer this type of checks over traditional police checks as they fit in better with a modern company. An example of a popular service used is the following link: go deal (ANCC) that provides services to individuals and corporate customers. In the digital world, people prefer getting things done over the Internet whenever possible. It’s faster and there’s no paperwork involved.
If you need to do a police check on a new employee, all you need to do is go online and look up online background check services. The candidate just fills in a form with the name and address of the candidate, upload a photo and things get in motion. They will get their full criminal history delivered to their email in a couple of days. If they do not have a criminal record, you have nothing to worry about.
Other pre-employment screening tools startups should use
When you’re eager to start your new business, you might be tempted to rush pre-employment screening. That might prove a costly mistake.
Even if you don’t have a real HR department yet, you still need to check the educational credentials and the employment history of your future employees. For instance, you should check their degrees and make sure they come from a real educational institution, not some Internet degree mill. And, beware of identity theft. With all the technology available, forging documents is easier than ever before.
Regulated Industries
Startups that operate in certain ‘regulated’ industries in Australia, the United States of America, United Kingdom, New Zealand or Canada need to be aware of regulations that may surround their industries in regards to pre-employment background checks.
This is because in countries like these, certain regulations apply to workplaces that operate in sensitive roles and have access to vulnerable populations. For example, in Australia, if a workplace has access to children as part of their standard work tasks, they will be required to make sure that all workers hold a valid working with children check permit. The same applies to regulated industries in other countries where the legislation may mandate certain employers to conduct employment checks.
Start-ups have no excuse to not be aware of rules and regulations in their industries and small business owners must keep up to date with the laws and regulations for their workers.
References
Sexual harassment – Advice for employers –
Violence in the Workplace –
https://www.aic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-05/rpp022.pdf
