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