With companies outsourcing HR functions, the responsibility of running background checks on job applicants has fallen upon staffing agencies.
Dealing with all sorts of applicants is cumbersome and painstaking. However, with companies expressing faith in staffing agencies, their responsibility in the recruitment process increases manifolds.
This article covers the necessity of staffing background checks. But, before recommending them to clients, why do staffing agencies go the extra mile when conducting background checks on applicants?
What role do staffing companies play?
Not all companies have a full-fledged HR department to have specific recruiting professionals and conduct staffing background checks. Hence, many start-ups and cash-crunched companies often outsource the recruitment process to staffing agencies, owing to the various benefits they offer.
Staffing agencies have a good network
Staffing agencies stay in direct contact with candidates and often maintain an extensive live database. Companies may sometimes need to hire temporary employees.
This can be due to a permanent employee’s sickness or the temporary nature of the job. Engaging a staffing agency eliminates the lengthy recruitment process and quickly finds the right fit for the job.
Staffing agencies are experts in their field
The sole task of staffing agencies is recruitment for various companies. Often, as compared to the human resources department of a particular company, they are experts in their area of activity. Companies prefer staffing agencies over temp agencies without background checks, as it saves time, effort, and margin for error.
Staffing agencies are cost-effective
Companies have to pay a fixed outsourcing fee to these staffing agencies. The agencies then take care of the steps involved in the entire recruitment cycle and recommend the best fit as per the requirement. This way, companies can curtail their expenses.
But why are background checks for temporary employees necessary?
Hiring a temporary employee without the help of background-checking staffing agencies can prove to be disastrous. You cannot be too sure if a candidate’s resume information is authentic without background checks. You never know whether the applicant has a background of misconduct or antisocial activities.
Employing someone without a staffing firm’s background checks can have serious legal repercussions as well. For example, if an employee hired without proper background checks is involved in gross misconduct, a company could face legal action. It may have to pay millions of dollars in punitive action. This can also seriously damage the company’s reputation.
As a company, one cannot undervalue background checking services here. A staffing agency’s employee background check is vital for guaranteeing the accuracy of information provided on a resume. Candidates often include or omit certain information in their CVs. For example, residency: they may have a criminal record in a region other than the one mentioned in the resume.
Likewise, an employment background-checking staffing agency must verify the details of prior employment. For instance, if a candidate mentions that they have served in company X for X years in X position but left Y company after Y years due to Y reasons, checking with the concerned company is the only way to authenticate such claims.
There have been several instances of forged educational qualifications being submitted by job applicants. A survey by a reference-checking company estimates that almost 78 percent of candidates misrepresent facts related to skills, academic qualifications, salary, and titles held in previous companies.
Staffing agencies do background checks with the concerned institutions to verify the applicant’s claims. Any error on this part may lead to hiring an unqualified candidate.
Yet another reason why staffing agencies need to do background checks is for safeguarding customer information and cybersecurity. Today, cybersecurity is a huge threat. Companies store sensitive data on their servers, and only designated employees are allowed to handle this information.
Background checks by staffing agencies of temporary employees accessing these spaces are necessary for preventing data security breaches and protecting customers’ privacy.
Finally, background checks for companies by staffing agencies ensure legal compliance with the authorities. Staffing agencies need to ensure that the candidates have the legal right to work in the country and have the necessary paperwork.
Conclusion
Companies need to protect their employees, customers, and the company. It needs to maintain a peaceful environment for productivity and growth.
Background checks by reputed staffing agencies are the only means to know whether or not an applicant – regardless of whether they are a permanent hire or a temp – has a good moral character. In the long run, it ensures a company’s stellar reputation and preserves its workforce’s integrity.
