Due Diligence
The reasons for screening applicants are many. Sometimes a screening company’s desire to convince an employer that “due diligence” is a necessity, not a luxury, comes off sounding like little more than a sales pitch. The information below is accurate and valid as examples of why background screening should be a part of every hire. Background Profiles® helps you avoid the workplace risks that can be inherent in making a bad hire.
False Information is more common than you think:
- 9% of job applicants falsely claimed they had a college degree, listed false employers, or identified jobs that didn’t exist.
*Source: Resume Inflation: Two Wrongs May Mean No Rights, by Barbara Kat Repa, Nolo .com, 8/801 - 34% of all application forms contain outright lies about experience, education, and ability to perform essential functions on the job.
*Source: Wall Street Journal - 11% of job applicants misrepresented why they left a former employer.
*Source: Resume Inflation: Two Wrongs May Mean No Rights, by Barbara Kat Repa, Nolo .com, 8/801 - Nearly one-third of job applicants listed dates of employment that were inaccurate by more than three months.
*Source: Resume Inflation: Two Wrongs May Mean No Rights, by Barbara Kat Repa, Nolo .com, 8/801 - As many as 30% of jobseekers exaggerate their accomplishments, and about 10% “seriously misrepresent” their background.
*Source: The Complete Reference Checking Book, by Edward C. Adler
On-The-Job Violence can cause major financial hardship for a company:
- On-the-job violence costs employers $36 billion each year.
*Source: Workplace Violence Research Institute - The average award in a workplace violence lawsuit exceeds $1 million per case.
*Source: Workplace Violence Research Institute - Workplace violence is the foremost concern of corporate security directors at Fortune 1000 companies. Other top concerns include employee selection and screening concerns, fraud and white-collar crime, theft, drugs and alcohol in the workplace, and unethical business practices.
*Source: Pinkerton, Top Security Threats, Year 2000 Survey - In May of 1999, an estimated 16,400 threats were made, 723 workers were attacked and 43,800 were harassed every work day.
*Source: The Workplace Violence Research Institute - 57% of respondents reported that a violent incident occurred in their workplace between 1/95 and 7/99.
*Source: Society of Human Resource Management, Workplace Violence Study, 1999
Drug Screening can help improve overall productivity:
- One in six workers has a drug problem.
*Source: Don’t Hire A Crook, Dennis DeMay and James R. Flowers Jr., 1999 Facts on Demand Press, pg. 90 - 87% of major US firms now test employees, job applicants, or both, for drug use.
*Source: Don’t Hire A Crook, Dennis DeMay and James R. Flowers Jr., 1999 Facts on Demand Press, pg. 90
Employee Theft can be minimized through background screening:
- 30% of all business failures are caused by employee theft.
*Source: American Management Association and US Chamber of Commerce - 14.7% of all applicants admit to theft of merchandise from an employer.
*Source: Reid Psychological Systems (Don’t Hire a Crook, Dennis DeMay; James R. Flowers, Jr., 1999 Facts on Demand Press, pg. 88) - 4.4% of all applicants admit to theft of cash from an employer.
*Source: Reid Psychological Systems (Don’t Hire a Crook, Dennis DeMay; James R. Flowers, Jr., 1999 Facts on Demand Press, pg. 88) - 33% of all applicants admit to being tempted to steal from an employer.
*Source: Security Magazine, 3/97
Bad Hires cost far more than a simple, cost effective background check:
- It costs $7,000 to replace a salaried employee, $10,000 to replace a mid-level employee, and $40,000 to replace a senior executive.
*Source: Recruiting Times - In 1999, employers lost 60% of negligent hiring/supervision jury trials.
*Source: The Reish & Luftman Practical Guide to Employment Law - On average, in U.S. businesses, at least half of all new hires “don’t work out.”
*Source: Fortune, 2/00
Some additional statistics:
- Approximately 8% of applicants have criminal history records
- Hiring illegal aliens can result in fines ranging from $250 to $10,000 from the INS