Organizations need to ensure staffing companies are properly screening contingent workers.
By Marta Chmielowicz
Screening new employees is not only a smart business move -it is a necessity. Regardless of whether a job candidate is applying for a full-time, temporary, or contract role, business owners need to implement a robust and efficient background screening process that protects the company and its employees. After all, temporary workers often receive the same access to company resources, customers, and sensitive information as permanent employees, so gaps in the background check process could pose serious risks to company reputation, culture, and even safety.
Mike Chalenski, president, CEO, and founder of CSS Inc., suggests that companies avoid these risks by carrying out a consistent screening process that applies to everyone. “The employer should work with the staffing company to ensure that they’re doing the same type of background check that they would on their own internal employees -not leaving it up solely to the staffing company to determine what searches should be required for that background check. It’s important for the employer to work with the staffing company to mimic what they would do for their own internal employees and keep consistency in the hiring and onboarding process.”
According to Chalenski, a background screening company can serve as a mediator between employers and staffing agencies to ensure consistency. A third-party provider can handle the pre-employment screening process for workers of all types, creating a fair and consistent company-wide policy and avoiding compliance concerns. Rather than assuming that staffing firms will conduct the correct types of background checks on contingent workers, organizations should take the safety of their company into their own hands and work with a reputable partner who can deliver results.