A Close Look at Background Investigations - Term Paper Example

? Close Look at Background Investigations Mgmt 5309 SA01 This paper examines background checks and investigations in businesses. It looks at the the central role of background research in the recruitment and selection process. It examines the process of background investigations of potential employees and its importance in the hiring process. It goes on to look at the legal position of background information and checks and then examines the limitations and sensitive issues relating to background investigations. Keywords: background, checks, investigations, recruitment, selection, employers, prospective Background The recruitment process seeks to attract the largest pool of potential employees as possible to apply for a given position. Typically, this involves the communication of the job vacancy far and wide to ensure that a lot of people get to know about the vacancy. After recruitment, there is the selection process which entails the choice of the best candidate amongst the group that applied or showed interest in a job that is on offer by an organization. The selection process therefore emphasizes on choosing the best individual(s) to fill a particular vacancy. This is because there is a vast pool of talented individuals who have the propensity so the management can make the choice of the best option available and offer an employment to such a person. Additionally, in the selection stage, a prospective employer has the right to identify the best candidate and take vital human resource management decisions that can be positive for the organization in the future. Prospective employers therefore use the best and most scientifically efficient tools to ensure that the best employees are selected. As a rule of thumb, most organizations therefore seek to acquire sufficient information about the applicants so that they make a decision about the best applicant and employ him/her. Due to the fact that there is no way of predicting what would happen in the future, it is imperative on employers to understand the history of a prospective employee in order to assess the possible behavior of a person when s/he is employed in the future. It can be pointed out that the normal organizational selection process is not rigorous enough for businesses to assess and understand the true nature of their prospective employees. This is because a business cannot really get the true picture of a person's character through the conventional interviewing process. It is therefore necessary for employers to make an extra effort to identify the true nature of a given candidate for a position before offering him or her a job. It must be pointed out that the need to understand the nature and character of a prospective employee varies, depending on the nature of the job at hand. One of the best ways of doing this is to undertake a background investigation of the prospective employee. The need for background information varies with the sensitivity of the role of an organization and it is often varied in respect to the sensitivity of the role a prospective employee is expected to play when employed. Clearly, hiring an operative who plays a minor role in the organization does not require to much background investigations. On the other hand, hiring a person for an important employee like an airport staff or CEO requires a lot of scrutiny to identify the background of the individual. The findings from a background information can aid in the decision making process of whether to hire an applicant or not. This is because it determines the kind of person the individual is and enables employers to identify how such people managed things in their past and how it is likely to benefit the business in the future. Additionally, background investigations of prospective applicants enables an employer to be released from the issue of negligent hiring. This is because most employers are ultimately responsible for the actions of their employees so they have an obligation to check the backgrounds of an applicant before hiring to reduce the risks involved in hiring them. The Process of Background Checks The recruitment process requires the identification of an appropriate person to fit a given job and also into the wider picture of the organization (Bohlander & Snell, 2010, p255). This therefore means that the person must fit into the organization as an individual and also as the member of a larger collective group. Typically, the selection process includes the completion of an application, an initial interview, employment testing, background investigation, preliminary selection, supervisors' selection and medical examinations (Bohlander & Snell, 2010 p256). This means that in taking a decision on an application, an employer will need to get a good idea of an individual by evaluating the application of the individual and conducting aptitude tests. The validity of these processes plays a major role in the decision on whether to hire or not to hire a given individual. Bohlander & Snell defines validity as “degree to which a test or selection procedure measures a person's attributes” (2010 p257). This therefore means that background investigations and checks are important elements in adding up to the interpretation and measures of a prospective applicant's abilities and potentials. Background investigations therefore helps the recruitment process to become more valid. This is because without the background investigations the information gathered from the applicant can be seen as subjective and less reliable. However, the background investigations will enable the information to be seen as more valid. After the interview, recruiters check three main things about a prospective applicant which include identity, professional references and background (Waldrop, 2008 p3). This therefore means that prospective applicants will have to check the identity of an applicant to find out whether they are really who they purport to be. In an era where identity theft is quite common, it might be necessary to check each and every applicant to be sure that he is who he presented himself to be. This is the primary feature of background investigations and checks. Secondly, a recruiter will have to check with the references given by an applicant to ascertain the emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills of the prospective applicant. This is because the previous employers of an individual might have the most current and relevant information about the background of an applicant. This will give a prospective employer a clearer idea of the personality of each applicant. After that, the background of the individual applicant in respect to his relationship with the wider society will have to be identified and checked for a proper judgment to be made about the contribution the applicant will make to the business when s/he is hired. This will give an idea of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are likely to arise as a result of hiring the applicant. Other elements of background tests include medical examinations and drug testing (Bohlander & Snell, 2010 p269). Medical examination is about finding out about the physical health of a prospective applicant. This will ascertain whether the applicant will be able to attain the stress and other requirements of the vacancy available. The Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 makes it imperative for applicants and employees for Federal and quasi-federal applicants to be subjected to drug tests for illegal drug use. This test is increasingly being used by numerous private businesses to check the backgrounds of their applicants prior to hiring. The drug testing will be able to establish the kind of social and mental state a prospective applicant is in. It will add up to the information about a given applicant to enable the recruiters to identify the real nature of a given applicant. Thus, the background investigation process is strongly connected with the ascertaining of facts and information relevant to the decision on whether to hire or not to hire an employee for a given job vacancy. In most places, the normal process is to acquire more information about an applicant. The adverse findings and issues leads to further analysis and re-investigations so that the truth is found and compared with the criteria to identify whether the individual can still be employed with his adversity (Lim, 2009 p52). Most employers outsource the background investigation system to external firms that have the competency of checking the background of prospective applicants. Typically, a firm that handles background investigations collect, verify and summarize information about an applicant (Echaore-McDavid, 2006 p84). This typically involves the search of computer database analysis, collection of information and other industry and public sources. Others interview close associates of an applicant like family members, neighbors and other people who know much about the applicant. Although there are some ideal background investigation systems, the decision on which background investigation systems to use to check applicants for a given job vacancy is dependent on the choice and decisions taken by the employers. Bohlander & Snell (2010 p264) ranked the various background information check types based on popularity as follows: 1. Education verification – 93% 2. Employment information verification – 88% 3. Social Security Number checks and crucial records – 85% 4. Driving Record checks – 68% 5. Drug testing – 67% 6. Credit checks – 36% 7. License verification – 28% 8. Reference checks – 27% 9. Military records checks – 19% 10. Social Network checks – 13% Importance of Background Information Aswathappa & Dash (2007) state that 10 – 30% of applicants falsify their resumes in one way or the other (159). This therefore means that there is an inherent risk in applications presented by prospective employees. It is therefore potentially dangerous for an employer to hire people without checking and verifying the information presented. Background checks enables a business to acquire more information about the people they hire. These checks help an employer to take decisions about the productivity, integrity and risks related to any applicant that they consider hiring. The concept of negligent hiring is “the failure of an organization to discover via due diligence that an employee it hired had the propensity to do harm to others” (Bohlander & Snell p263). This implies that there is the need for managers to do due diligence assessments of the people they hire. It is therefore important for background checks and information to be checked, analyzed and assessed before a decision is made about whether to hire an applicant or not. Legal Position of Background Information “Employers are generally responsible for the actions of their employees taken within employment” (Walsh, 2007 p126). This implies that aside the fact that employers must employ people who are very productive, there is the need for employers to identify people who will not indulge in activities that would bring problems and issues that will be detrimental for the employer. It is therefore clear that the employer is responsible for the harm an employee causes a third party. So there is the need for employers to identify the potential problems related to each applicant and avoid hiring problematic applicants. In Ponticas V KMS Investments 331 NW2 Edn 907 (Minn 1983), the following precedence were laid about negligent hiring (Walsh, 2007 p127). An employer commits negligent hiring when: 1. There is a forseeable harm from hiring an unfit person. 2. Knowledge of unfitness of an employee. 3. There is a public policy to check the background of a prospective applicant. 4. Employers fail to check the background of a high risk prospective applicant. 5. A customer or third party is harmed by an unfit employee. Thus, in the case of an employer identifying a vacancy as sensitive or there is a public policy to check the background of an employee before hiring and an employer fails to do this, the employer will be liable to pay damages to any third party that is harmed by this employee. This places an onus on employers to check and re-check the background of an employee. “Depending on the circumstances, an adequate background check might include contacting references, verifying past employment and military services, verifying possession of degrees, licenses and other credentials, checking diving and criminal records and examining credit reports” (Walsh, 2007 p133) These minimum requirements makes it imperative for employers seeking to hire employees to make the effort to check and re-check these important information about applicants before taking a decision on whether to hire them or not. Issues with Background Checks It is necessary to seek the consent of an applicant before checking his or her background (Aswathappa & Dash, 2007 p159). This is because seeking information without the consent of an applicant can lead to legal charges on the grounds of the evasion of privacy. Bohlander & Snell (2010) state that there are several things that a prospective employer needs to be sensitive of before setting out to seek information about the background of an applicant (p269). They include: 1. Relevant state laws in relation to acquisition of the personal information of an applicant. 2. Seeking the written consent of the applicant before seeking the information of the applicant. 3. Provide written document and consent letter of applicant to places where information is to be acquired. 4. The organization must provide information acquired to the applicant before taking a decision based on it. 5. Provide reasons for adverse decisions if it is based on information acquired from background investigations to the client. Aside these steps, it is worthy to state that there is the possibility of a respondent to such requests for background information transgressing the principles of defamation against the applicant under investigation. Defamation will occur if the respondents of these background information exercises make statements about prospective employees that are: 1. Factual in nature 2. False or substantially false 3. Challenges the integrity or character of the employee under investigation. 4. Is 'published' or communicated orally (slander) or in writing (libel). 5. Harms the reputation of the applicant under investigation (Walsh, 2007 p134). There is therefore the need for prospective employees to get a good understanding of the problems and challenges of their quest for information. Limitation The limitation of background investigations is that it has no way of ascertaining the future behavior of an applicant. This is because the past of an applicant might suggest something about him that might not be relevant for the future of an applicant in the organization. In reality, an ex-convict might come out of jail as a very repentant and productive individual. However, there is no way that the background check would put such attributes to bear. This therefore shows that background investigations only focus on the past and cannot predict the future behavior of an applicant when s/he is taken on as an employee. Conclusion Background investigation is important in the recruitment and selection process. It enables an organization to acquire relevant and adequate information for the hiring of productive as well as risk-free applicants for jobs the put on offer. Background investigation is an important aspect of business hiring processes because it prevents a business from negligent hiring which makes it imperative for them to exercise a duty of care in the selection of employees. However, care must be taken to ensure that background investigations do not lead to legal conflicts between a business and prospective employees. The main limitation of background investigations is that they are limited in that they are too backward looking and cannot be used to accurately predict the future behavior of an applicant when he is hired. References Aswathappa, V & Dash, K (2007) International Human Resource Management New Delhi: Tata Prentice-Hall Bohlander, G & Snell, S. (2010) Managing Human Resources Mason, OH: Cengage Echaore-McDavid S. (2006) Career Opportunities in Law Enforcement, Security & Protective Services New York: Infobase Publishing Lim, N. (2009) To Protect & To Serve: Enhancing the Efficiency of LAPD Recruiting California: RAND Corporation Waldrop S. A. (2008) The Everything Human Resource Management Book Boston, MA: Adams Media Walsh, D. J. (2007) Employment Law for Human Resource Practice Mason, OH: Cengage Read More