How a Criminal Background Check Can Boost Your Organisation’s Reputation
With running a business comes multiple challenges, regardless of what the organisation offers. There are many aspects to keeping an organisation running smoothly and to function successfully for its purpose. The success or downfall of an organisation can come down to reputation. Reputation is vital, particularly in the current landscape.
Criminal background checks can boost an organisation’s reputation for a range of reasons, from elevating security, heightening team performance and protecting company assets. A police check is not only required for high positions of trust. It can be used to find sensible hires within any organisation, and can prove to be essential to growing the business.
How a Criminal Background Check Can Boost Your Organisation’s Reputation
Here is an outline of ways in which a criminal background check can encourage a solid reputation for organisations.
Shows Due Diligence
A company that shows due diligence during the recruitment stages is highly attractive from a public perspective. Taking the time to vet individuals shows care and passion for the team and its services. Customers can sit comfortably knowing they’re using an organisation that has strong moral values and takes a personal responsibility toward its staff and the public using the services.
Finds The Best Hires
Finding the best hires for the organisation is the building grounds for a successful business. A criminal background check will not only find criminal history, but confirm credentials. It brings concrete evidence that a candidate is qualified for the role and/or has experience in similar roles.
The hiring process is challenging, but background checks can help to make informed decisions about who will fit best into the team, and bring the best performance to the organisation.
Performance is also impacted from good hires. Hiring people who have the right credentials means organisations can save on costs and time training people without the right experience. The team will function better overall with members who are well equipped for the job.
Creates a Safe Workplace
Finding the right people to join a workforce can be challenging. A criminal history check allows employers to screen individuals to get a sense of their character and gather information about their history to ensure previous convictions are a low risk to the organisation.
It helps to confirm credentials, and confirm the information they have provided you, such as educational history and employment history. It’s fairly common for people to tell white lies in their resume, or elaborate on certain aspects, but a personal history check will confirm if the information has been fabricated.
Screening each team member promotes a safe working environment where colleagues can work alongside each other in a peaceful and positive way. Violent individuals or people who have shown a lack of care and respect to others in their past may not fit well in the work space.
Employees will begin work knowing they are working with an organisation that cares and values the safety of its staff – an attractive quality for many jobseekers and existing employees.
Lowers Likelihood of Conflict
You want people who work for your organisation to be loyal to the company, and to you. Screening individuals early on can help to prevent conflicts down the line. If an employee was not screened, and found later to have a record that deems them ineligible for the job, it can be challenging to handle this situation.
The organisation runs the risk of discrimination cases if an employee is left disheartened after the result of conflict at work. An unhappy employee can put the reputation of the organisation at risk if they go on to make accusations or seek court action.
As an organisation, you want to avoid conflict or negative behaviour between team members. The criminal background check is the organisation’s way of taking reasonable action to avoid this happening and to protect the work environment.
The less conflict, the better reputation established for your organisation. You want employees to leave the organisation, for whatever reason, feeling content with their time spent there.
Promotes Transparency
Being honest about background screening from the beginning promotes an honest work culture where employees and employers can discuss openly about background screening as a system in place.
Making it clear from the start is a fair way to operate for new candidates who want to work with the organisation. Each employee can rest assured that they are in the presence of fully screened individuals who are suitable to fill the roles.
An honest approach means no potential employee is met with the unexpected requirement of a background check, and long term employees will not lose confidence if they are asked to obtain a repeated check.
Transparency is a valuable policy to have with staff. Your team will appreciate the efforts made to build a culture of honesty and trust in the workplace.
Builds Strong Relationships With Customers
A key element of growing business reputation is through customer satisfaction. With a strong team running the show, customers will gladly return time and time again for that all-important service. An invaluable way to build reputation is through word of mouth, and happy customers are very likely to pass on their thoughts about a company to others. The word spreads, your customer base grows, and your profits increase.
Customers want to feel safe in the knowledge that vetted individuals are operating behind an organisation. This is especially important where customers are required to provide personal information. All information should be securely handled with certainty at all times.
Keeps High Standards
Employees who are vetted are more likely to be well suited to the work. With the right hires, standards are kept high and a professional work environment is more likely. Whatever your organisation does, products and services should be of the best quality, and background checks help to assert this from good hires.
Attracts More Work
If your organisation is running as smoothly as possible with a great team, customer satisfaction will continue to grow. Once the word is out, you may find that you are becoming recognised by other organisations and businesses that might require your services.
Organisations need to trust who they are working with to ensure quality delivery of products and services, as well as associating their name with your organisation. They want to know that they are partnering with people of good character, and an open background checking system can give them the assurance they need.
Networking is great for getting your organisation’s name out there. Other companies are far more likely to work with you if you have a solid reputation.
Protects and Maintains Reputation
It can take a long time to build the reputation you desire. But once you get there, the most important thing is to keep it intact. Developing a reputation from the ground up is hard, but for it to remain there requires maintenance.
A successful organisation can come crashing down if the wrong person gets involved in the company. Treat your organisation with care by vetting individuals who you invite into the business. Don’t put your reputation at risk by skipping a good vetting system.
For some organisations, repeated police checks are used to monitor employees and ensure that people remain of good character and their records crime-free.
What Does Reputation Mean To An Organisation?
For most businesses, reputation is everything. A good reputation can help an organisation go from strength to strength, and reap the benefits in the long term. Reputation essentially comes down to opinions. Negative opinions about an organisation can be seriously damaging, while positive opinions can catapult a business to success as support grows and trust in the company remains.
Ultimately, reputation is the be all and end all for lots of organisations.
What Are The Risks of New Employees?
Anybody from anywhere can apply for a job through a job application, and many people are hired following the interview stage where an employer has met with them face to face and felt satisfied with what they’ve seen. While meeting candidates in person is a good way to get a sense of their personality and to hear about their experience, there is always a risk that people may lie or withhold information.
A criminal record check helps to confirm whether information provided in the job application is false. It will also determine if a person has committed major crimes which could put an organisation at risk.
Many minor offences can be overlooked, but more serious crimes can be damaging. For instance, an individual with a long police history of violence toward others could put the other team members at risk of assault. Similarly, an individual with a history of fraudulent offences could leave the company’s assets and sensitive data compromised. There is no guarantee that an individual with a history will reoffend, but the employer is able to make an objective decision by gaining knowledge of this history.
How Does a Criminal Background Check Keep an Organisation Safe?
An Australian police check lets employers follow a sensible risk assessment from attaining background information about employees. It is more crucial in certain industries than others, but a police check can be beneficial to most types of job.
Organisations which work with vulnerable persons that include children, the elderly and disabled individuals must perform a greater risk assessment when hiring candidates. Some convictions immediately disqualify a person from working with these groups. It is vital that organisations check each new hire for serious criminal convictions, regardless of how long ago they took place.
A safe space for vulnerable groups is essential. Family members do not want to have doubts about an organisation taking care of their loved ones. A good reputation can help to put minds at ease.
How Do I Add police checks to my Organisation’s Hiring Stage?
The best way to incorporate national police checks to company policy is to ask for them early on. The requirement should be clearly stated within company policy, and within job advertisements so readers are made aware immediately.
Most people will appreciate a pre-employment screening programme. However, some may find it a sensitive matter and not wish to continue their pursuit to work with the organisation.
It is well known that certain criminal records are not tolerated in some professions. It can be useful for organisations to state the extent to which a criminal record will impact job opportunites. Assuring potential applicants that a police record does not automatically exclude them from applying is a good way to build openness, and operate a fair hiring process.
Summary
In summary, a criminal background check is a no-brainer for many organisations which have security at the heart. National police checks are easily accessible in Australia and the majority of citizens are able to obtain one for various purposes. Managing a secure organisation is one of the best ways to gain a good reputation. Conflict and damages are mitigated, staff can work in harmony with one another, and customers and clients alike will speak highly of your business and keep it running.
If you’re reviewing your current system and wish to boost your reputation, profits and safety measures, consider an Australian police check. They are not suitable for every job, and an employer should only request one where it is appropriate.
Crime Check Australia offers a police check online for a fast and efficient service to obtain a police certified document.