Getting the right candidate for a job opening is very important for employers. While an efficient employee with a clean record can improve the reputation of an organization, an employee with past criminal offences can easily sink it. It is therefore essential to do a thorough background screening before hiring an employee. Here are the things that must be checked before hiring an employee:

Criminal records: An employee may get a speeding ticket on a day he’s late for office. This can happen to anyone and most companies will not ask about these minor offences. But when there are cases of drunken driving, street assault, or felonies booked against a person, the HR department would often put his/her resume into the shredder without even blinking. Having a clean criminal record is even more important than having a clean career record. Even any criminal offence the employee might have been wrongly accused of must be cleared up before he is given the appointment letter.
Financial background: If a person has a habit of running into repeated cases of debt, or has multiple cases of debt evasion against his name, it is bad news for an employer. An employee with such a record may not be trustworthy enough to be allowed to handle cash or sensitive information. After all, with cases like these in the background, embezzlement might just be one step away.
Sex offender registry check: Nothing can ruin an organization’s reputation more than a lawsuit for sexual offence. This is one thing that must be thoroughly checked by an organization before hiring an employee. Exchange of lewd jokes among consenting employees is often ignored by most organizations, but anything more serious than that must be taken into account and dealt with accordingly. Additionally, if there are any charges of sexual assault or harassment against a prospective employee, it is better to scrap the resume before it is too late.
Property information: It is always a good idea to send someone over to the prospective employee’s locality and do a screening there. That would give a clear picture about his/her attitude towards others. An abusive husband with a habit of beating his wife might not be a good option for representing the company.

These are some of the checks that must be performed before a prospective employee’s career record is even considered. Having an employee with a clean character record is a must for any organization. Failing to do so might result in ruining the reputation of the organization forever.

Image taken on 2009-09-28 14:14:58. Image Source. (Used with permission)