WORKFACT WEDNESDAY: Background Checks

{excerpted from CareerBuilder}

Does it seem that your company often takes so long in deciding which candidate to hire for your department’s open position? Consider this: According to a new CareerBuilder survey, 75 percent of employers said they have hired the wrong person for a position, and of those who had a bad hire affect their business in the last year, one bad hire costs them nearly $17,000 on average.

To prevent this, the majority of employers (72 percent) background check every new employee before they’re hired. Following are the aspects those employers are looking at, and the percentage of employers doing so:

Criminal background: 82 percent
Confirm employment: 62 percent
Confirm identity: 60 percent
Confirm education: 50 percent
Check for illegal drug use: 44 percent
Check licensing: 38 percent
Credit check: 29 percent

This means prospective employers have access to a treasure trove of personal information, online and offline, which may factor into their hiring decisions.