Hiring managers know the usefulness of performing background checks on new candidates. They help prevent undesirable candidates from entering your work force. However, are they worth it for small business owners? Especially for a new company or a company in a rural area, they may be hiring people they already know. Is it worth taking the time and the money to do it? The answer is yes.

Unfortunately, worker fraud is on the rise. Falsifications on resumes and applications continue to climb, making the job of the hiring manager very difficult. It is their job to make sure that whoever they bring in has the necessary qualifications. If all they have to go on is what is on the resume and what is said in the interview, it may not be enough to confirm that what is being given is true. This is a big problem in some fields, where the hiring manager may not know everything they need to ask the right questions, such as a highly technical position.

You need to make sure that your candidates are trustworthy, and this is what a background check gives you. A solid background check establishes a basic level of trust between a new candidate and an employer. It also can establish trust between your business and your clients. Your clients may need reassurance that their goods and services will be handled by reputable people. You could even be held liable if one of your employees did something illegal and you didn’t perform a background check to catch it. For this reason alone, many employers bite the bullet and get them anyway.

Another big reason is the cost of hiring a new worker. By the time you find out that a worker isn’t going to work out, you may already be out a lot of money because of wages, taxes, and possibly even unemployment payments. The higher the position, the more this becomes a problem. That’s why most companies perform some sort of general background check on top of the legal ones, and why many large companies have such complex interview practices.

Fortunately, you don’t need to get everything about a person checked out. Reputable background check companies will help you choose just the types of checks you need for your business. Not everyone needs to have a credit check or a driver’s check. Most small businesses can get away with just having a criminal background check and a drug screening to cover their legal liabilities. A standard background check done by a reputable company will find any inconsistencies in a person’s resume.

Of course, no background check can replace the interview process. Having a solid interview process that covers everything you need to know about a candidate will go a long way to getting you the information you need to make a choice. Background checks provide a way to cross-reference what you were told in the interview. Don’t let this valuable resource remain unused by your business. If you need employees, you need background checks.

Author: Jim Addison has been in the ever-changing  background check industry more years than he cares to count.  Currently, he lives in Denver with his wife Catherine and three boys.  He adores hiking in the Rockies, letterboxing, and craft beer.