Why Screening?

Why is Employee Screening Important?

What you don't know can hurt you - especially if what you don't know is that your new hire is a sex offender, swindler or poorer!

Negligent Hiring, Negligent Retention, and lately Negligent Referral, lawsuits have become a favorite of plaintiff attorneys. For example if an employee assaults another employee, customer, or anyone else in the course and scope of his employer's business, chances are that the liability sits fair and square with the employer. The situation is exacerbated if the aggressor has a history of like behavior. The assumption will be that the employer should have known about the previous behavior. In the absence of some very compelling evidence to the contrary, there is very little chance of convincing a judge and jury otherwise.

Time and time again employers hire bookkeepers and others with access to corporate assets without carrying out comprehensive background checks. They obtain temporary and "temp to perm" personnel from staffing agencies without making sure that the scope of the background screening meets their criteria. This often results in embezzlement and theft.

In any of these circumstances the results can be catastrophic, resulting in the closure of the business, or in the extreme the death of a fellow employee.

For a very small fee relative to the potential losses, companies can make sure that they are hiring people who can not only do the job required, but are of the character desired of employees in the organization culture.

Remember: Good Character makes for Good Employees.

Objectives of Background Screening

Background Screening is more than criminal record checks. The objective in carrying out

comprehensive background screening is to ensure that the applicant is who he/she says they are, that they have done what they say they have done, have attained the level of education stated, are licensed to do what they do, and that they are of good character. An additional tool of great value is an Attitude and Behavioral Assessment that establishes cultural fit within an organization.

Screening Programs

Not all jobs are the same; therefore background screening criteria should vary to match the job requirements. The makeup of the screening criteria for a given job should be the same for all

applicants for that job and have a relevance to that job.-more© 2006 SINGLESOURCE SERVICES CORPORATION 3 For example, the fact that an applicant has a conviction for driving under the influence (DUI) should not generally preclude him/her from a clerical job, but the presence of a conviction for assault may well do so.

Most screening programs will consist of a basic mix for all applicants, plus other inquiries for specialist job positions. The following are the main workings of background screening programs. Other inquiries may be made and information is available from your Information manager or from info@safehirings.com

Or additional plane

Carefully screening people before allowing them to work in your ministry is an important investment in your ministry's future. Here are a few reasons why:

1. It's one of the best ways of protecting your church from incidents of child sexual assault.
2. It helps you avoid appointing staff or volunteers who might skim money from church accounts.
3. It allows you to select drivers for church vehicles who have safe driving records.
4. It's a prudent step to take before allowing someone to become a leader in your ministry. Without it, you run the risk of having someone misrepresent his or her background.
5. If you communicate that your ministry is committed to making itself a safe haven for children, screening could become a tool that attracts volunteers and new members.
6. It also reduces your liability in court if you should accidentally hire someone who commits a crime; because it demonstrates that your ministry has taken reasonable care to safeguard its members.

That's why Brotherhood Mutual has partnered with ADP Screening and Selection Services to offer you options for protecting your ministry through screening your employees and volunteers.