We all understand the importance of pre-employment screenings. It’s the only way to rest assured that your new hire didn’t lie his way into the job by claiming a masters degree he doesn’t actually have. But background checks can do more than merely give you a window into someone’s education.
Depending on the industry, some employers (e.g. governments) require something more thorough than your average employment check. That’s where probity checks have a significant role to play. In this post I describe four specialist checks that, when used properly, will give you the utmost confidence that your new employee truly is the best person for the job.
Financial probity check
Probity checks can take several different forms. One of the most common is a financial probity check which looks at a job candidate’s past financial conduct. As you can imagine, this type of check is extremely important for jobs that deal in money, from accounting and bookkeeping all the way down to running a cash register.
A good financial probity check will inform you about any relevant improprieties committed by an applicant—theft, fraud, etc.—which may or may not disqualify them as a prospective employee.
Regulatory check
A financial probity check may also be known as a regulatory check. In regulated industries such as investment banking, there are policies in place to guarantee a certain level of government oversight. This oversight involves checking to see that businesses and individuals are operating within the bounds of the law. Compulsory regulatory checks are designed to prevent fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and other illicit schemes.
It can also reveal whether a candidate represents a potential conflict of interest, for instance if he or she owns—or owned—shares in a company that operates in the same industry as yours.
Identity verification
Dishonest individuals use false identities for all kinds of reasons, including to secure employment. And because it almost never occurs to us that the person sitting across the table isn’t really who they claim to be, employers don’t use identity verification checks nearly as much as they should. As a result, a lot of people get away with applying for a job under a fake identity.
You can avoid falling victim to this by utilising a identity verification check, which are simple and inexpensive.
Credit check
Similar to a financial probity check, a credit check is used to help employers determine whether a job candidate is financially responsible. Admittedly, a credit report is limited in how much it can reveal about an applicant; nonetheless, it’s a helpful screening tool that can make the job of narrowing down a large pool of candidates a lot easier. This is especially true when the job involves handling or managing money.
