Volume X
Second Quarter 2006

From the Desk of Jason B. Morris

I spent some time recently going through emails and letters that I have sent and received over the last several years. Looking at these documents I was amazed at how both BIS and the screening industry has evolved. For years we spent so much time educating businesses and organizations on the virtues of pre-employment screening; for some the challenge was simply convincing them that screening was important. I can’t tell you how many of my presentations began with "Why screen?" and our website had several pages dedicated to it. I still have my basic sales pitch memorized about how to protect your workplace and the importance of managing risk by more carefully considering the strangers you put in front of your customers and employees.

Today, I am thrilled to report that we are no longer having the "Why screen?" conversation anymore. In fact, I don’t remember the last time I even had such a discussion with a prospective customer. I was recently speaking with a friend who is a high level decision maker for a rather large company. When he told me that his company doesn’t conduct background checks on their job applicants I didn’t even attempt to utilize my old "Why Screen?" spiel. My response was simple: YOU'RE CRAZY, pass the nuts! Any HR consultant will tell you the same thing; the importance of managing risk through an effective employment screening strategy is more crucial than ever. There are more than enough horror stories out there to convince a second grader that not screening your employees is as foolish as not locking your doors, not using passwords, or loaning your car or wallet to a complete stranger at the grocery store. I find it inconceivable that any business would fail to properly vet its employees.

Now that we have established what this letter is about, what am I getting at? The rapid growth in the industry is responsible for this evolutionary shift in thinking, and a greater understanding of what I have been teaching for years. I don’t spend time anymore talking about the importance of screening. My time is spent discussing the importance of doing it properly. Even these conversations are getting easier. I think people are finally getting this whole "Pre-employment screening" concept. Best practices, Next practices, Gold standard, High Level etc..., it all means the same thing. Just do it right! Don’t cut corners to save a buck; it can cost you many times over in the long run.

There are two types of customers in our industry: First is the customer that screens its employees simply because someone (boss, supervisor, legal mandate, etc) has directed them to do so, so they go find the quickest and cheapest method. The second is the client who sees the value in what is being done and uses it as a risk management tool in the hiring process. It happens much more than you would think that we gain clients who we had originally spoken with a month or a year earlier after they experienced problems using a cheap instant background check.

I recently had a conversation with an HR Manager at a multi-national corporation; she said they do screen their employees, and they "try" to do the best job they can under a limited budget. In the faithful words of an old jedi master, "do or do not, there is no try" (Yoda). It’s very easy, even on a limited budget to screen properly; you must have the desire and willingness to do so.

"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail" (John Wooden, Legendary Basketball Coach of the UCLA Bruins). Setting up a solid pre-employment screening program takes time. It’s very important to look at the responsibilities your employees have and what your risks are. It’s even more important to know what your budget is and concentrate on where your organization has the greatest risk.

I couldn’t be more proud of the fact that we have reached the point we no longer have to convince people WHY they should screen employees, but we have an equally daunting task ahead of educating people HOW they should screen employees. To get a return on your screening investment, you need to feel confident about two things: 1) that the information you’re getting is allowing you to hire better people; and 2) that your strategy is truly managing risk, that is to say, in the event of negligent hiring litigation, your screening strategy must be sufficiently in-depth and applied consistently.

Contact employeescreenIQ to help your company create a screening program that will manage risk while meeting your budget, and improve the quality of your hiring decisions.