By
in
Ideally, hiring employees and choosing commercial partners would be a swift process whereby we would do a 20-minute interview with three potentials, review their history on paper, and within 2 days, feel confident to go with the best candidate. We gauge professionalism, productivity, and personality in the interview process, weighing financial factors on the one hand, and our gut instinct on the other. But what if gut instinct is wrong?
That’s where background checks come in. To begin with, it is standard procedure for human resources to do some sort of background check, which usually means verifying references. In addition, HR might also call previous employers or work partners.
At ISSM those processes are a given, but they are just the basics. A true background check is not just getting someone on the phone to verify information by rote. It’s not just reviewing the candidates’ interview answers for potential inaccuracies. Instead, a worthwhile background check usually involves the following as a basis:
1. Acquiring and assessing criminal records – charges, convictions, and jail time.
2. Attaining commercial records – i.e. purchases and sales of business ventures and/or associated real estate – and cross-referencing information from the live interview with the candidate.
3. Amassing all financial records – of the individual or associated organizations where s/he was in a leadership role.
The above processes take ingenuity. ISSM has access to the data records via specialized online accounts – however, the data gathering is just the first step for the background check. We move beyond the more readily accessible information and delve deeper, using the data as a springboard for asking the poignant questions. In addition to using data for gaining insights on candidates, we then incorporate this information when communicating with their references in order to formulate the key questions for them. We then combine the data with the conversations, and put it all together in order have the full picture about the people with whom you might work. Employees and partners largely influence your bread and butter, therefore, a background check helps ensure you feel secure in your working relationships.
Background checks are useful for many fields. Since your time is precious, arranging for a background check for your potential employees or business partners can ensure that you’ll have facts on the ground to make your decision. Your gut will likely prove you right, and this way you find out way more information than your gut may have even hinted at.
