<p>Your employees are more than simply the individuals who work for you. They represent your company in terms of its mission, values and brand ethos towards your clients and the public at large. There are <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertamatuson/2016/03/30/how-one-employee-can-permanently-damage-your-brand/#7376cfb65bd2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">countless instances</a> where poor conduct from individual employees has devastated brand perception single-handedly as well as <a href="https://businessblog.trueprofile.io/cost-of-making-a-bad-hire/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">negatively impacting revenue</a>.</p>
<p>Essentially, a company gives a share of its brand reputation away with every new hire it makes. Your employees may interact with customers, clients and other stakeholders on a daily basis where your brand is clearly visible on uniforms, business cards and marketing materials.</p>
<p>The risks posed by hiring the wrong employees is only amplified by the ability to share information so easily (particularly on social media) and in real-time nowadays. When the stakes are so high, screening potential employees should be of the highest importance within your hiring processes.</p>
<p>Effective screening strategies are now a key component for protecting a company’s brand reputation and also highlights the continual crossover between HR and marketing departments. If you think that your hiring strategies are lacking in terms of pre-employment screening, here are three ways background screening can protect your company:</p>
<h2>1. Build a Culture of Trust</h2>
<p>The concept of trust is often cited within company values. However, if trust is an integral part of your business and you promote this to clients, then it’s essential that you can place the same trust in your employees. To do this, you need to know that the information they’ve provided during the employment process can be trusted. Verifying qualifications, employment history, employment references and even running criminal background checks is key in order to be assured that you know exactly who you’re hiring.</p>
<p>Plus, if every employee goes through the same rigorous screening process, they are more likely to have trust in the skills and abilities of their colleagues and will work in a collaborative, productive manner</p>
<h2>2. Create a Safer Workplace </h2>
<p>Particularly in high-risk industries, such as healthcare, construction, oil and gas and engineering to name a few, due diligence is paramount to employee safety. Aside from criminal checks, background checks can unearth whether or not a particular employee has the necessary skills and qualifications for the role they are carrying out.</p>
<p>Creating a safe working environment safeguards your reputation as an employer and will assist you in securing stellar employees in the future who trust that you take their safety seriously.</p>
<h2>3. Adhere to Compliance Requirements</h2>
<p>Depending on the country and the industry that you work in, some roles may have specific regulations which mean that employees must be subject to background checks and employment screening. Using a trusted supplier of background checks can alleviate the strain on HR departments and ensure you’re on the right side of the law.</p>
<p>By implementing background screening as an integral part of the hiring process, companies can be assured by the knowledge that their internal working environment is protected while their positive brand reputation is also looked after remains intact.</p>
<p>To discuss primary source verification (PSV) which involves authenticating and verifying professional documents ahead of hiring, then please register your interest via <a href="mailto:businesspartner@trueprofile.io" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">businesspartner@trueprofile.io</a></p>