The Pro/Cons of Background Checks
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This is a ✨ special edition deep dive ✨ of I Hate it Here.
👏 Every now and then you may get one of these from me!
This special edition deep dive is sponsored by Mitratech.
What's a deep dive?
Deep dives are opportunities for me to collab with specific companies in the HR/People space on topics of joint interest to them, me, and even you! The sponsoring company provides invaluable input on the topic but this edition itself is written, edited, and published by your fave gal, me!
Today, I'm diving into the pros and cons of background checks.
Let's get into it!
DEEP DIVECopy anchor linkCopied
The Pros and Cons of Background Checks:Copy anchor linkCopied
Almost every HR person I know has an opinion on background checks and how they are leveraged in hiring.
✨You love to see it! ✨
The opinions I’ve heard range from absolutely required ➡️ yes, but be careful about how they are leveraged.
And there is another group’s opinion on the topic to consider…
The candidate sentiment.
Some candidates may feel like background checks are excessive, intrusive, and even discriminatory.
Let’s look at the pros and cons of background checks to better understand these opinions.
✍️ And rest assured, I’ll leave you with some hot tips to help you figure out your strategy.
📚 A few resources before we dive in:
- Criminal Background Check FAQs
- How Far Back Does a Background Check Go?
- 7 Background Check Stats You Need to Know
The Pro’s:Copy anchor linkCopied
Okay, the pro’s side of the list for background checks is actually quite long…
Background checks can help with:
✅ Risk mitigation: knowing the red flags early on can help companies minimize and address any potential risks.
✅ Workplace safety: background checks can screen for any violent individuals who could put your employees at risk.
✅ Compliance: certain industries have specific regulations that require background checks like financial services, healthcare, government, etc.
✅ Minimizing liability: due diligence during the hiring process can help prioritize the safety of employees and reduce legal liabilities.
✅ Decision making: hiring teams get a more full picture of a candidate’s history and can confirm things like credentials.
✅ Building trust: when the use of background checks is communicated transparently and used consistently you can actually build trust with your employees.
All those sound great right?? We all want a safe, relatively low risk, and trusting work environment! The dream!!
It’s why I was thrilled to partner with Mitratech on this deep dive because their background check software helps make all those pros an actual reality for organizations. Their process is fast, accurate, compliant and customized to your exact needs!
The bottom line: with great responsibility comes great power.
So, with that I should absolutely cover the con’s of background checks.
The Con’s:Copy anchor linkCopied
Background checks HAVE TO be handled sensitively otherwise it’s easy to introduce inequities, bias and other issues into the hiring process.
Therein lies our con’s!
Background checks have the potential to:
❌ Introduce inequity and bias into the hiring process: Let’s use the example of potential candidates with criminal records. These individuals may face barriers to employment despite serving their time and taking accountability for their actions. It’s also important to note that this situation disproportionately impacts marginalized communities compared to others. Without clear guidelines your hiring process can end up excluding qualified candidates based on outdated or unrelated offenses which perpetuates a cycle of inequality.
❌ Feel intrusive to candidates: Extensive background checks can feel quite invasive to potential candidates. Some candidates may feel like their personal life is unfairly being placed under a microscope. Especially if it’s irrelevant to the role the candidate is applying for! This could impact the candidate experience and your employer brand.
❌ Be inaccurate: I once had a job offer that required government clearance for continued employment and nothing compares to the stress of filling out that background check. I checked every field multiple times to ensure I had remembered everything. Now imagine after all of that something showed up on my background check that was inaccurate and I lost that job. There is a possibility that a background check can be inaccurate.
❌ Over rely on past information: I’m a firm believer that everyone can grow and learn from their past. But some teams may over rely on background checks to determine hiring decisions rather than truly focusing on the candidate’s skills, qualifications and potential. This approach ends up penalizing candidates who may have changed and grown since their past mistakes.
So I've presented you with the pro’s and the con’s to background checks, what now?
Keep in mind that each industry and organization will have their specified needs when it comes to background checks but I have some general suggestions for what to consider.
📚 Additional resources:
What HR team should do:Copy anchor linkCopied
I have THREE things that I think you should consider doing when it comes to background checks!
1) Establish clear & consistent policies. I LOVE a good policy because many issues can be resolved and even avoided by a documented policy. Your policy should have:
- A purpose: In this section include why are the background checks conducted and which roles or situations require them.
- Types of checks conducted: List out the different types of background checks that are being conducted and why it is relevant to the role.
- Resolution of issues: Document the steps for how to address findings and how decisions will be made regarding next steps and final outcomes.
- Candidate communication: Include a section on how the background check process will be communicated to the candidate to ensure their right to consent and their ability to dispute any inaccuracies is clear.
- Compliance with laws: Detail the laws being adhered to like FCRA and other applicable employment laws to showcase legal compliance.
2) Provide candidates with transparency. Creating a template of comms that go to candidates when background checks are involved in your process will be a game changer. You should be openly communicating why a background check is involved, what it entails, how the information will be used and how findings will be surfaced.
I cannot stress enough the importance of working with your legal team and having them review this to ensure compliance with laws!
3) Regularly review your policy. My goal is to review all our policies at least once a year to ensure that they are still relevant and up to date with any new laws. This step is often missed but it can be really impactful to take a magnifying glass to all that you’re doing and making sure it's aligned with best practices and the industry standard. I’d also add here soliciting feedback is crucial! Asking employees and managers if this policy is efficient and effective can help surface any issues you may be unaware of.
📣 Shoutout to my partner on this deep dive Mitratech. Their background check software helps teams hire efficiently, stay compliant with regulations and mitigate any potential risks. Check out their tool and get your team prepared for 2025!
That's all for this week! I hope you enjoyed this, please let me know what you think and what other topics you'd love for me to cover. I'm allll ears.
Reminder: Take care of yourself and know that I support you.
