Reasons Why You Should use a Background Check Service

Few things are more tedious and drawn-out than the hiring process. It can happen that the company is ready to pull their job ad by the time they find a suitable candidate. Running a background check on a potential employee is worth the extra effort. This goes for checking future tenants as well. Thankfully, this is easy to do using a resource like UnMask. Here are some reasons why you should take the time to run a background check.

Find Criminal Convictions

It’s important to know if an applicant has a criminal history that could have an effect on how they fulfill their job responsibilities. You don’t want someone who’s been convicted of assault to live in your home or work for you. This is especially true for jobs that involve contacts with vulnerable individuals, like children or disabled persons. Likewise, you’d want to avoid someone who’s been charged with theft if the job involves handling cash.

Save Money

The more you know about someone, the easier it is to decide if they’re the right fit. You want to make sure you’re not missing important information because it’s hard to acquire talent in almost every industry. Better hiring translates to lower turnover, which is usually the biggest expense employers bear.

What’s more, a background check will help reduce tenant turnover. When you tell a prospective tenant that you require a background check, you are sending the message that your screening process is rigorous. People who are worthwhile will make an effort to fulfill your requirements. They will also be more likely to renew their lease or stay for a longer period, saving you money and time due to not needing to look for new tenants.

Reduce Liability

A reliable background check can help protect you from liability for negligence. There’s a risk involved in hiring someone you know nothing about – nothing apart from what they tell you, that is. The same goes for renters. By learning something about their history, you’re reducing the risk.

If your employee inflicts damage, you might get sued for negligent hiring. This is where the party that sustained damages claims you, as an employer, should have been aware of the person’s history.

Likewise, you could be held liable if you skip a tenant check and something goes wrong. Let’s say your tenant commits or facilitates a crime in your building. The other occupants might sue you for negligence.

Keep Others Safe

Keep in mind you cannot reject applicants for a job or housing based on factors like marital status, race, sex, religion, disability, color, ethnicity, or others implicated in discriminatory decisions. You can reject them for having a criminal record. You must be able to prove there exists a reasonable, presumed risk to the safety of the company and other employees or your property and your neighbors.

Think of renting your property as letting someone into your community. Likewise, giving someone a job means you’re letting them into your organization. They are becoming part of it. You’re responsible to your community. It would be best if you made sure the people you’re introducing into it will not threaten its members in any way.

If your search yields a criminal record, assess it on a case-by-case basis. Try to determine whether the individual will create problems for your clients or other people. You need a justifiable reason to reject them because they might come at you for discrimination.

Types of Background Checks

The reason employers and property managers choose to run background checks is to protect their companies and communities properly. For example, application fees and tenant screenings are two ways to limit the number of prospective occupants. They help ensure you get only serious applicants.

There are different types of checks. Some property managers or landlords opt to check only for a criminal record or do a simple pass/fail credit report. Others will not use a background check service, limiting their efforts to a Google search or a social media search of the candidate’s name.

To complicate matters further, laws vary by state. While screenings and background checks are allowed for rentals, some states have rules about how much you can charge an applicant.

You could also run a check on a new boyfriend or girlfriend. Even though you don’t want to seem paranoid to yourself, it can reveal things you should be aware of before making a commitment. It probably won’t reveal anything major or anything at all for that matter. All it will do is put your mind at ease.

Conclusion

Background check services are becoming more and more popular. According to a PBSA survey, almost 96% of all employers conduct one or another form of background screening. Still, that leaves 4% who don’t. Whatever their reason to deprive themselves of the valuable information they stand to get, we hope they make the safest and the best possible hiring decisions anyway. Every employer, landlord, and property manager is encouraged to make the most of what background screening services have to offer in today’s day and age.