A company’s reputation matters more than anything – it’s tied to how others view your business, purchasing decisions, revenue, and more. And in today’s digital era, the public can instantaneously know your reputation with just a quick Google search. If companies want to succeed in today’s digital-first world and avoid tarnishing their image, it’s essential to invest in reputation management.
Reputation management starts with your employees. Your employees act as the face of your company, and in doing so, play a large role in impacting your company’s reputation. Their actions, words, and behavior ultimately affect your company’s overall image.
With the right background screening tool, you can ensure that your new hires align with your organizational values and help maintain a positive brand reputation.
Here are a few ways employment background screening can help protect your company’s reputation:
Hire Credible Candidates
46% of reference and credential verifications revealed a discrepancy between the information provided by candidates and what the screening revealed. Your applicants may choose to leave out information in the interview process, embellish their resume, or provide false information. This can ultimately lead to headaches down the road, such as employee termination due to the employee not meeting work expectations. Background checks help eliminate any of these risks and help you choose trustworthy candidates that complement your organization.
Create a Safer Work Environment
Workplace violence is when any form of physical violence, assaults, and other harassment occurs in a company’s work environment. An estimated two million US workers experience workplace violence each year. Workplace violence isn’t just a threat to the safety of your employees and customers – it’s a detriment to your overall image.
As a business, the last thing you want to be known for is a toxic culture that promotes violence. Background screening can prevent this issue. Criminal background checks and social media screening services give you the larger scope of a candidate’s overall character and whether they may endanger other employees in the workplace. As an employer, being proactive about the safety of your employees will go a long way in protecting your company’s reputation as well.
Reveal Problematic Behavior on Social Media
Employee usage of social media typically isn’t a problem. However, if a candidate is posting illegal, violent, discriminatory, or other explicit content, this is a serious threat to your company’s reputation.
Social media can also reveal other problematic behaviors that can negatively impact the workplace. If you’re an employer in the transportation or healthcare industry, you may not feel comfortable with an employee whose social media posts promote excessive drug or alcohol use. A social media background check gives you a holistic view of whether a potential candidate is truly the right fit for your organization.
Prevent Lawsuits & Other Negative Consequences
As an employer, background checks can be leveraged to minimize risks such as negligent hiring claims and other sources of liability. The average cost of one bad hire is nearly $15,000. But the negative consequences don’t just stop there.
A bad hire can cost your organization potential lawsuits, a massive loss in revenue, and negative information spread online in places such as Google, Indeed and Glassdoor. With a thorough background screen process in place, you can mitigate these risks and keep your reputation clean.
Build a Stronger Company Culture
The foundation for a strong company culture relies on trust, community, and a team that feels comfortable around each other. When you’ve hired a team that passed through the same background screening process, this builds a sense of community throughout the organization. It also shows your commitment to hiring trustworthy people, improving your organization’s overall public and internal image.
Your company’s reputation is a determining factor in the overall health and long-term success of your business. Your employees are oftentimes the first point of interaction customers have with your business, which is why a reputable background screening program is necessary for bringing on trusted employees.
Interesting in learning how the Accurate team can help optimize your organization’s screening process? Contact us today.
