Hiring employees can be a time consuming and costly process, especially without an experienced HR person at your side. Focusing on applications, interviews, resumes, skills tests or recommendations are not enough to protect your business if an employee doesn't work out. Employers simply cannot risk whom they are hiring anymore without full knowledge of a candidate.

HRFocus can provide background checks to help guide you with the hiring process. Here are several reasons why background investigations should be added to an organization's hiring practices:

• Exaggerated credentials
  Ivy League schools and impressive former employment looks stellar on a resume. How do you know if your candidate is providing the truth? A person who comes into a job under false pretenses is wrong for the job, and could prove disastrous for your business. Background checks ensure the truth about education, past employment experiences and other concrete credentials.
• Input
  Simply interviewing potential employees has its limitations. It's impossible to know from one meeting how a person will handle workload stress, employee relations, confidentiality or other factors specific for your business. Background checks allow for a deeper understand of whom you're interviewing, in a secure and legal manner.
• Negligent hiring
  What happens if an employee commits a crime under your employment? If a foreseeable injury to a third party occurs, a court may determine that if an employer's failure to detect or heed warning signs was unreasonable, the company may well be held liable for damages. If you do investigate a candidate's background before employment, the legal doctrine of "negligent hiring" can affect your business.
• Employment "at-will"
  The ability for employers to hire and fire "at-will" is no longer acceptable. Many states require businesses to display a clear and just cause when firing an employee, or risk legal ramifications. Pre-employment screening can reduce the risk of wrongful discharge problems later.
• Technology
  In this wired era, technological advances in the workplace increase the dangers of unqualified or unethical workers. The need for computer savvy employees also opens the door for a company's information and intellectual property to be at risk more than ever. Sound background investigations will ferre out many high-risk candidates.