Hiring a new employee represents a potentially substantial investment on the part of the employer. After going through the rigorous process of advertising and posting new positions, previewing applications and resumes, arranging for interviews with prospective candidates, interviewing the potential new employees, making the final selection, formally rejecting those candidates not selected, and putting the new employee through an extensive orientation program and training, the last thing an employer wants is to find out is they have hired a thief!
A personal investigation of prospective new employees is an ideal way for employers to minimize the risk of loss.
Not Just Cash: Intellectual Property Theft
Employee theft is not limited to a retail environment where employees can steal merchandise from the store shelves or dip into the cash register. Some of the most blatant and catastrophic thefts today involve theft of company intellectual property, such as unfilled patent applications, potential trademarks, new product information, sales and price statistics, and other guarded trade secrets. This information can be extremely valuable in the hands of a competitor, and its theft can considerably reduce the value of the employer's intellectual property portfolio.
Personal Investigation
A personal investigation on a prospective employee is typically conducted after the employee has been interviewed and when the employer has narrowed the choices of desirable candidates for a new position. A prospective employee must consent to having a personal investigation done, but the consent process will often weed out individuals who realize their reputations will not stand up to the kind of scrutiny involved with a personal investigation. The potential employee will simply refuse the consent and voluntarily leave the interview and hiring process.
The Process of the Investigation
At a bare minimum, a personal investigation should be inclusive of the following:
Criminal background check: The investigator will conduct a criminal background check to see what crimes the individual has either been charged with or convicted of. Typically, having a criminal conviction will not preclude employment as long as the prospective employee has disclosed the conviction and provided a valid explanation, particularly if the conviction was some time ago and does not involve a charge of dishonesty, like theft or fraud.
Credit check: A credit check is a valuable personal investigation tool because it reveals a person's tendency for taking responsibility for their own obligations. Furthermore, it will reveal if a prospective employee is in financial trouble or has debts so large that he or she is likely to do anything to generate the money to pay the debts. Additionally, debt that is not in line with an employee's income could indicate a potential gambling or drug problem.
Verification: Finally, a personal investigation will verify the employment, educational, references and background information provided by the employee, thus eliminating the possibility of hiring someone who has committed resume fraud by lying about their qualifications for the job.
