With the holiday season here, many businesses, especially retailers, are hiring seasonal employees. Business owners and managers sometimes decide to forego the standard background checks they conduct with regular employees when hiring seasonal workers. Some believe background checks are unnecessary since the employees will only be working for a short time and think they can save money by skipping that step. However, that can be a mistake.
Many employers decide to hire seasonal employees for regular full-time positions after the holiday season is over. They should be subject to the same rigorous scrutiny as employees who are hired at other times of the year. Even if you do not plan to keep seasonal employees for more than a short time, skipping a background check carries risks.
According to a survey on retail theft, more than a million shoplifters and dishonest employees were caught last year. One study found that employees stole much more from businesses than shoplifters. Hiring seasonal employees without conducting a background check can put your company’s inventory and bottom line at risk. You should check the background of any employee who will be working with money, credit cards, or other financial transactions or handling inventory.
Fraud can hurt a business at any time of the year. If it occurs during the holiday season, which is typically busier, it might not be detected right away. This could result in significant losses to the business.
Conducting background checks can protect your business from lawsuits. If a customer is harmed financially or physically by an employee and the company did not conduct a pre-employment background check, the business can be held liable for negligent hiring.
A background check can alert you to a potential employee’s past illegal conduct. It can let you know about any criminal convictions for theft, fraud, or violence that could cause you to think twice before hiring someone.
If your company hires seasonal employees, it is critical to perform the same background checks that you would for employees hired at other times of the year. Data Check can help you get all the relevant information you need to make the best hiring decisions possible. Contact us for more information.
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