Every day your business faces threats that could increase your liability, such as cybercriminals, third-party fraudsters, and other bad actors. Unfortunately, employees and volunteers can also create liability concerns for your organization, either intentionally or by mistake.
Million-dollar lawsuits can arise from the actions of employees or volunteers that harm others. Not only can these lawsuits be financially costly, but they can also damage your organization’s reputation. While you can’t control every action individuals take, you can work to prevent these occurrences with quality background check and drug screening activities.
Background check and drug screening activities provide the information you need to limit your organization’s financial and legal liability. They can help you create an overall safer workplace that protects vulnerable populations, customers, and employees.
Here are five benefits of background screening and drug tests that help you manage risk and limit harm in your workplace:
You may only be getting part of the story when you bring employees and volunteers into your organization based on information you obtain from their resumes and a handful of interviews. But conducting a background check and drug screening can give you a more complete picture of who you’re hiring. In addition to informing you of past criminal charges, background checks can also let you know if applicants have anything of concern in their professional past that could pose a risk to your organization.
In any organization, mistakes happen. But mistakes and accidents that could harm others are even more likely when an employee or volunteer is under the influence of banned substances. Studies have found that employees under the influence of drugs and alcohol have higher accident and injury rates than other employees. By conducting thorough drug screening, you can identify individuals with banned substances in their system and make a more informed hiring decision before you allow them to interact with your employees, customers, work systems, and—in the case of healthcare—medicine inventory.
Not everyone with a criminal record is necessarily unfit to work or volunteer. However, individuals who have repeatedly committed crimes may do it again in your workplace. Because legally there is no difference between a volunteer and a paid employee regarding negligent hiring claims, an employee or volunteer who commits a crime while in service to your organization can pose a serious liability. Conducting background checks helps to identify those individuals.
Background screening offers an effective way of verifying the education, experience, and professional certifications applicants hold. As a result, you increase the chances of hiring only those individuals who are qualified to perform the work. Having this ability isn’t just critical to ensuring a high quality of work; it can also protect your organization from liabilities that arise from mistakes caused by unqualified employees or volunteers.
Employee fraud poses a significant liability for organizations. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, occupational fraud results in organizations losing an estimated 5 percent of their revenue each year. But you can limit the chances of hiring someone who has committed fraud in the past by conducting thorough background checks. Additionally, when hiring individuals who will work in areas with financial access, you can add a credit check to the background screening process. While criminal background and credit checks can’t detect individuals who may commit fraud in the future, they can certainly help you identify individuals who have committed fraud and related crimes in the past.
Interested in learning about other ways to manage hiring risk in your organization? Contact us to see how our background check and drug screening services can help!