Employers: Save Time By Hiring A Private Investigator To Conduct An Employee Background Check

If you are in business, you know that it's important to have a variety of information about those individuals who are working with you. This is true whether the position involves a security detail, handling large amounts of cash or working with a great deal of information such as the social security numbers and credit information for your company's clients.

Therefore, conducting an employee background check is essential in many businesses. However, not every manager or owner will have the time to thoroughly check out everyone who has applied for and who is being considered for filling a position. That's where a private investigator comes in.

It's possible to hire a private investigator to conduct an employee background check for you.

With an employee background check, a private investigator can determine whether the prospective employee:

has a car or truck registered in his or her name;
has a clean driving record;
has indeed attended the college or university listed on his or her application;
has been sued or has a criminal record;
has ever filed for bankruptcy protection;
has sued a previous employer for worker's compensation;
has passed state licensing exams such as those for teachers, doctors, nurses or lawyers;
has ever failed a drug test; or
has been listed on the sex offenders registry.

With this information, you can verify the information that is on the applicant's resume and determine whether or not they meet the criteria that your company sets for its employees.

Much of the information that is included in an employee background check is information that is on public record. Therefore, some businesses may wonder why they should hire a private investigator when it is possible to get the information on their own.

There are a number of reasons why it makes sense to hire a private investigator to conduct an employee background check. Time is one reason: while as an employer may have to place a number of phone calls or conduct a number of searches just to determine who should be contacted to find the information, a private investigator is experienced at conducting employee background checks.

In addition to saving time by having someone else conduct an employee background check, your business will be able to continue to focus on your clients and customers. As a result, your day to day business will not slip through the cracks and you can be sure that the employee background check is conducted without bias.

When the same individuals who conduct interviews also conduct employee background checks, it's possible that a detail would be weighted based on the interview with or personality of the applicant. Because a private investigator is a neutral party, all that will be considered during the employee background check is the information that the search yields.

With that information, you will be better able to determine whether or not the applicant is someone who fits in with your company, your mission statement and the specifics of the position. And, thanks to an employee background check, you can be sure that the person who you hire is a reputable, reliable candidate who will help your business to grow.

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About David Almeida

David Almeida is a licensed private investigator with a degree in criminal justice. He is affiliated with the National Association of Investigative Specialists and the Licensed Private Detective's Association of Massachusetts. For more information visit http://www.baystatedetective.com


And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Two Important Keys to a Successful Business-Integrity and Reputation

As a business owner and coach, I come across the issue of building integrity and reputation on a daily basis. It is something I feel strongly about, as who can build a business without integrity and a good reputation. As business owners, we know that if we want repeat business and referrals (both of which are the foundation of growing our business) then we need to include integrity and reputation in everything we do. Now, this may sound like common sense, but sometimes business owners forget these 2 important key concepts and make a mistake. That one mistake, let's call it a step forward, can take their business back 20 steps. From time to time, it may take them so far back that they won't be able to recover and their business will fold. So how can we, as business owners ensure that we are continually moving forward in building our integrity and reputation in a positive light? Actually, if we remember a few simple "rules," then we can continue to build and grow.

Rule 1- Always be timely.

I know, this sounds like common sense, but how many times have you been told something, and it has not been carried through. For example, you ordered a birthday present and it was promised you would receive it in 2 days (1 day before the birthday), and then not received it for 4 days. Now you don't have the gift to give because someone was not timely. This is a simple example but I as a business owner live by this rule. In fact, if I tell someone I will have their project to them by a certain time, I shoot for 24 hours before. Why do I do this? What happens if I plan to send it to them when it is due, but oops, my hard drive crashes? They don't get the project on time-even though it was finished in advance, and it puts them behind. This does not help my integrity or reputation, and it will probably affect if the client will do business with me again, or not.

Now, all of us understand that acts of God can interfere with our work or we can make a mistake (after all, we are all human). It's bound to happen sometime. So what do we do?

Rule 2- Always be honest.

This is a hard rule to live by, because sometimes you are so ashamed of your mistake, you don't want to admit your foolishness. Let me share a horrifying mistake I made that could have destroyed my business. I was creating an e-book for a client. I found beautiful pictures which I designed the cover with and added throughout the book. I sent the book to her and she was delighted. The day before she was to send it to her webmaster to get it added to her site, I happened to realize that the pictures were not royalty free, which means we did not have permission to use them. I could have pretended I didn't know and let the book go on the market and hoped that no one said anything about the pictures and my client didn't get in trouble. I didn't do this. I embarrassingly relayed my mistake to my client as soon as I discovered it (who is by the way, still my client). Because I was honest, she was understanding. Now, do you think I charged her to fix this mistake? See the next rule.

Rule 3- Always fix your mistakes immediately.

Do you charge for your mistakes to be fixed? Absolutely not! It is not your client/customers fault that there was a mistake! How did I fix my big mistake? I went and bought royalty free pictures (with my money). I then redid the whole book (on my own time). I stayed up late that night and got the book fixed and ready to go. My client did not have to pay out a dime for my mistake. I took full blame and then went the extra step to fix the mistake. This client has been with me for a year now, and continues to refer me to everyone she comes across. We have a wonderful relationship, that could have been ruined had I not followed Rule #2 and #3.

Now these are just 3 rules to help you along the way in your business. There are many more things we must do to build our integrity and reputation, but if you follow these 3 rules, you will not take those 20 steps backwards, but go 20 steps forward.

If you would like to see the book I did for my client, Kimberly Chastain, you may visit her at http://www.kimberlychastain.com and check out her newest book "Help, My Preteen/Teenager is Driving Me Nuts!" If you have preteens/teenagers or children who will eventually hit these stages, this is a fabulous book!

In the meantime, take the extra steps to grow your business by being an honest, timely, and committed business owner!

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About Patty M. Benton

Patty Benton is the owner of JERPAT Virtual Assistants and JERPAT Web Design, http://www.moretime4u.org, which provides affordable administrative and web design support to coaches, small businesses, religious organizations, and realtors. Additionally, Patty is a coach for new entrepreneurs interested in venturing into the virtual assistance industry that is affordable to all, and she has also written an e-book that takes virtual assistants through the process of setting up their business. Visit her coaching site at http://www.virtualvacoach.com for program details and great business resources. She has also partnered to establish the ministry Acknowledging Christ Together at Work http://www.actatwork.com. If you would like to receive Patty's articles and other tips in your mailbox every month, you can sign up at http://www.mortime4u.org/home.html.