How Private Investigators are used to Complete Background Checks

04 May How Private Investigators are used to Complete Background Checks

There are many ways that private detectives check on employees and potential employees for companies, as these people will represent an organization and often will hold responsibilities to protect company property, funds or assets. Here is a list of some of the ways that private investigators can help with due diligence on employee candidates:

• Verify employee claims – Sometimes, when choosing a potential employee from a group of good candidates in a tight race, something a potential employee claims to have done, such as spending a summer abroad helping charities, is the thing that convinces a company to hire one person over another. But what if this is a lie? A PI can find the truth of any claim.
• Verify employee work history – Past work history is a main factor when it comes to hiring, so it is important to make sure that a candidate actually has the experience and work history that they claim to have.
• Verify educational history – Like work history, educational history is a big hiring factor. If someone needs a degree to attain a position and they didn’t really get the degree, then they are not suited for the position. A private detective can verify all educational records.
• Verify identity – Believe it or not, some people are not even who they claim to be. Perhaps they are criminals or illegal aliens, but it is imperative to make certain that the person you are hiring is who they claim to be.
• Check for a hidden criminal background – Just because a person doesn’t have an apparent criminal background, it doesn’t mean an incident wasn’t buried or dismissed. A PI can find any criminal issues.
• Check for past drug or alcohol issues – While someone may be clean now, they may have past addiction issues, and in some jobs, that may be a problem. If someone has to work with drugs, for example, and they have dealt with drug addictions in the past, these are simply things that need to be discovered.
• Check for credit history – Some employees must be bonded or must have good credit, and a credit history must be thoroughly vetted.
• Check for past insurance claims – Unfortunately some people have one or two or more past claims with insurance companies, and while these could be for completely legitimate reasons, they may cause companies problems with current insurance carriers.
• Check out references – Again, like verifying experiences, checking with the people a candidate claims to be a reference is a good practice. If a reference has bad things to say, a candidate can be eliminated right away.
• Search public records – Even if a candidate doesn’t have a criminal record, there may be public records that a private investigator can dig up that show a history of issues with a potential employee.
• Search social media and Internet footprint – In today’s world the digital footprint is a big deal, and some employees have been FIRED for things they have said and done on social media or online. It is best to check these things before the person becomes your employee, and your responsibility.

The Private Investigators at Fast Investigators (fastinvestigators.com) run excellent, cost effective background checks, and can help your company today!