10 Essential Facts To Know About Background Screening

10 Essential Facts To Know About Background Screening

If you don’t know too much about background screening because you’ve never explored them too deeply, then this blog is for you. Background checking is important; though it can’t ensure that you are hiring the right person for the job, it can ensure that the person is at least a safe and verified option with the lowest level of risk.

Background checking might seem like a complicated concept, but it’s not. And to explain it, we have compiled a list of 10 important facts that you should know about so that you can make the best decision for your business or organisation when it comes to hiring a background checker service.

1. What is a DBS Check?

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is used to analyse a person’s past. Their legal record, such as convictions, cautions or reprimands, are brought to light in a DBS check. There are three different levels of a DBS check; basic, standard and enhanced. The analysis depth of a DBS check is decided by the level of the DBS check ordered. In some circumstances, a DBS check is also run against adults barred or children’s barred list.

2. What’s the difference between a CRB and a DBS Check?

There is none. A CRB and DBS check is the same thing. The CRB term is considered outdated, and the DBS check is considered the updated term.

3. What are the different levels of DBS checks?

As mentioned, there are three levels of DBS checks. And the level of check ordered depends on the job and responsibilities in question. Here are the three levels of disclosure:

  1. Basic Level: This is a non-specific check available to anyone. A basic level check is usually used for couriers, license holders and others.
  2. Standard Level: Though subject to eligibility, this check is more in-depth, and it is used for people applying in the financial or legislative sector or similar.
  3. Enhanced Level: Also subject to eligibility, this is the highest level DBS check and is used to vet people who are applying to work in the security sector or with vulnerable people/children.

4. How long does it take to run a DBS check?

Though it depends on the level of check that you have requested, there is a certain timeframe for every level that you can expect your check to return in:

  • Five working days is the expected return date of 85% of all enhanced level disclosures submitted.
  • Five working days is the expected return date of 95% of all standard level disclosures submitted.
  • Ten working days is the expected return date of 80% of all basic level disclosures submitted.

5. Should my organisation consider screening its employees?

Though it used to depend on the kind of industry your business deals with, these days, it is recommended that all applications that you receive are put through at least a basic level of screening. As it can prove vital to securing the integrity of your business. Background checks allow you to clear out all the people from the candidate list that might have a negative impact on your business due to their legal, personal, or professional history.

6. Which jobs require a background check?

  • Educational sector jobs
  • Healthcare sector jobs
  • Government sector jobs
  • Financial service sector jobs
  • IT sector jobs
  • Child-care jobs

And more.

Though you can order a background check for just about any position in any industry, there are certain jobs or industries where at least a basic level of verification is required regarding the candidate’s past. Often this will be a contractual agreement for the specific position or specific to the companies hiring process for compliance purposes.

7. How long does a DBS check certificate last?

A DBS check isn’t permanent. And it is just an image of the person’ history up until the point when the check was requested. It is subject to change. Therefore, it can become outdated over time. As such, re-using or discarding a DBS check certificate is up to the employer. It is recommended to always request an up-to-date check.

8. Can I request a DBS check for myself?

Yes you can for a basic level check, however currently for the standard and enhanced check no, you cannot request a personal DBS check. They are designed to be requested by organisations and businesses for their hiring processes so that they can make the appropriate hiring decisions. As such, only the appropriate bodies can request suck checks.

9. Is social media searched in a DBS check?

No, not usually. These types of check would be a further in depth level of background screening process followed out to provide a higher level of information.

10. What happens if we find something that may be damaging to our company?

That is the time that you thank yourself for proceeding with a comprehensive background screening process. This information caught at the right time will not hold a level of risk to your organisation. The team here are on hand to offer first hand experience on how to proceed with certain information sourced in line with current laws and legislations.

Conclusion

Background checkers in the UK have become essential, and if you want to ensure that the candidates you are considering for a job are all safe options, then it is recommended you avail this option. So, contact us at Background Checker today, and let us handle the whole process for you.

4 reasons why small businesses should run background checks before hiring employees

There are many important aspects that make a business successful—pricing, marketing, location, and fulfilling legal obligations. However, what you should hear is having the right employees is probably the most significant aspect of running a successful business.

Hiring the right employees serves as a solid base for any business. Employers must never neglect the importance of running background checks. By doing so, they are exposed to certain risks that can

really harm them and the business.

People are masters at creating a façade around their personality. After all, nobody portrays themselves themselves to be frauds or criminals. Hiring the wrong employees can even put you and the business into some legal complications. All these things are unnecessary troubles and can be avoided by running a thorough background check before hiring.

Here are 4 reasons why background checks are extremely important, especially for small businesses:

Reduces Risk:

Small businesses are at great risk when they just hire someone without conducting background checks. While there’s no way how a person would behave in the future, knowing their past can give you a fair idea of their future behaviours.

If you have a potential employee with a pristine record, the chances are that they’ll like to maintain the same when employed under you. If someone is involved in fraudulent activities, chances are they might do the same to you.

Knowing who you hire largely keeps you and the business on the safe side. You don’t know what risks come attached to a person who has a tainted background. It is always better to know who you hire.

Protects your clients

Privacy is a myth in this digital age. Bad hiring can cost you your clients. If you have a business that requires you to ensure that the privacy of your clients isn’t invaded, you must particulary be careful while hiring.

Hiring deceitful employees can put your clients’ information and privacy at risk. Therefore, running smooth operations is only possible when you can fully trust your employees.

With thorough background checks, you can know who you’re hiring. With the right employees at your side, there is little that’ll stop you from flourishing!

Your reputation is at stake

Malicious employees can bring long-term harm to a business. Remember, your employees are ambassadors to your businesses as well. What would you prefer? Good ambassadors who are responsible, or bad ones who’ll risk the company’s reputation for personal gains?

Running a background check will help you mitigate this risk. After all, you wouldn’t want people to speak poorly of your company just because an employee got involved in corrupt activities.

You can get exceptional employees

There’s only so much you can know about someone in a couple of interviews. Many people are, in fact, very shy at expressing their talents through words.

You shouldn’t let risk letting go of outstanding talents just because they were inexpressive in the interviews. With background checks, you can easily know the merits of a person. Knowing that a person was a high-performer at their previous job is a significant factor in deciding to hire them or not.

Running background checks will help you distinguish between talkers and doers. After all, a charmer who’s good with words will always find ways to avoid tasks. Make sure you make the right decisions and avoid bad hiring. After all, incompetent talent is always a liability for a company, not an asset.

Final Thoughts

Background checking is a smart way to hire employees. Small businesses in particular should never overlook this. Large companies may have their background checking processes in place, however this may be costing them crucial time by not using an expert company.

If you are running a business, then hire the best background check service to ensure you get the best pool of workers. Reduce risks wherever you can.

Minimize your risks by making every attempt to hire the best talent.

Common Hiring Mistakes: How Can Employers Hire Better Staff?

Hiring the right talent has always been a struggle for companies. After all, there’s only so much that you can make out of a person’s CV and interviews. Many people know how to deceive employers and make them believe they are the right candidate.

A couple of months down the road, employers find out that they made poor hiring decisions. To assist employers within the hiring process, it is recommended that they run background checks and ensure that they are investing in the right person.

This might even be a manageable situation; however, if businesses hire people with criminal backgrounds, they are at serious risk specifically if they relate to the prospective role. Many companies don’t have the necessary policies in place to ensure they don’t hire candidates with specific offensises relating to their role.

It is still a common practice to hire people based on CVs and a couple of interviews. The world has become an uncertain place. You never know who’s sitting in front of you.

While many would like to believe that people are nice and that no one can have an poor intention, optimism is good, but being ignorant to realities can be detrimental to your company.

To ensure you don’t put your company and other employees at risk, you must conduct a criminal background check before hiring someone. Down below are few hiring mistakes that companies make and how can they rectify their errors to get the best employee pool:

Social Media Checks

Companies believe that running through a potential employee’s social media is enough of a background check. What they don’t realise is that it’s a really superficial way to judge someone. Most people consciously create their online presence and choose not to post anything that can harm their image.

For example, many people wouldn’t openly post that they consume unlawful drugs. That’s why it’s important to run your potential workers through solid background checks. A professional background check will easily assist you in the task.

Professionals understand that there’s a lot of ways to obtain actual information. Sure, social media can be helpful at times, but it doesn’t display true characters most of the time unless you have a professional with the experience and training to help you find the truth behind the profile.

Never check criminal backgrounds

Your employees, your business, your assets, and above all, your reputation. That’s one reason where companies should maintain extreme caution. Sadly they don’t do so and end up paying the price.

To ensure that you don’t hire criminals, it is essential to pass your candidates through a thorough criminal background check. Professional background checks will find out if a candidate has a criminal history or was ever involved in malicious activity that could later come back to harm your company.

Breach of Privacy

Many companies that run background checks by themselves are at risk of breaching the candidates’ privacy. If mistakes are made either through lack of knowledge or error this can lead to the company being  held accountable for their actions, and may even have to pay fines.

Primarily because they don’t know the right ways to conduct the checks while remaining ethical, to ensure that companies aren’t at the risk of breaching laws, the best approach is to outsource background checking to professional agencies.

They know the right ways to gather information without breaching laws and privacy.

Final Thoughts

Hiring the right talent is a struggle for most sectors. It is especially important for businesses to hire the right people and to invest in professional background screening service to allow for a more informed decision.

With the help of a professional background screening company, they can have the necessary information that’ll ease their decision-making process. That too without breaching regulations and official boundaries.

To know more about background checking, feel free to book an appointment with The Background Checker. We are happy to help and guide you in any way possible.