许多雇主认识到使用背景调查来调查求职者的犯罪历史的潜在价值，并且许多企业有法律义务为公众的安全进行此类调查。但是，拥有背景调查政策并不能保证安全、令人满意的招聘结果。在许多情况下，在整个商业世界及其他领域，这些政策尽管有其预期目的，但已被证明是不够的。
证明不充分的并不是 员工背景调查——而是制度层面的失败。即使是大型跨国公司也可能面临这些陷阱。花旗全球市场是一家年收入达数十亿美元的金融巨头，它因背景调查不足而受到金融业监管局的惩罚性罚款。审查和招聘阶段的不完整工作让三名被定罪的罪犯进入了公司——这些人的定罪本应禁止他们担任这些职位。在数以千计的公司背景调查中，摩根大通因类似的不彻底而受到罚款。
不足可能源于审查过程中缺乏监督。在新泽西州的纽瓦克，当局发现并逮捕了几名经营毒枭的城市雇员，他们从未接受过背景调查，但无论如何都被雇用了。该市要求进行指纹背景调查，但将安排留给申请人。监督不力导致申请人在没有进行背景调查的情况下就职。
缓慢而繁琐的背景调查也可能对该过程不利。在新奥尔良最近一个学年开始时，该市只审查了达到预期人员配备水平所需的巴士司机人数的一半。其旨在消除先前对背景调查不足的担忧的密集程序引入了新的延误，这让地区官员和家长都感到沮丧。
对于几乎每个行业的组织来说，解决这些背景调查的不足都是至关重要的一步。要想取得成功，审查必须彻底、及时，并有适当的监督。
有几种有用的方法可以防止在您自己的审查过程中出现不足之处。首先，考虑为每个新员工创建一个明确定义的清单。有了在每个阶段进行必要考虑的列表勾选框的能力，您的员工会发现更容易减少某些东西从裂缝中溜走的机会。接下来，勤奋跟进审查过程中出现的任何问题，并监控流程的状态。最后，确保您已经配备了执行彻底、可靠且完全合规的犯罪历史检查所需的工具。
It is not employee background checks which prove inadequate—rather, it is a failure at the institutional level. Even major multinational companies can face these pitfalls. Consider Citigroup Global Markets, a giant in finance with billions in annual revenue, which received a punitive fine from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority over inadequate background checks. Incomplete work during the vetting and hiring stage allowed three convicted criminals into the company—individuals whose convictions should have barred them from those positions. JP Morgan received fines for a similar lack of thoroughness during thousands of the company’s background checks.
Inadequacy can stem from a lack of oversight during the vetting process. In Newark, New Jersey, authorities discovered and arrested several city employees for running a drug ring who had never received background checks but were hired, anyway. The city required fingerprint background checks but left scheduling to the applicants. Poor oversight allowed the applicants onto the job with no background checks in place.
Slow and cumbersome background checks can also prove detrimental to the process. At the start of a recent school year in New Orleans, the city had only vetted half the number of bus drivers required to reach expected staffing levels. Its intensive procedures, designed to combat previous concerns about inadequate background checks, introduced new delays that frustrated district officials and parents alike.
For organizations in practically every industry, addressing these background checking inadequacies is a vital step. To be successful, vetting must be thorough, timely, and covered by proper oversight.
There are several useful ways to prevent inadequacies from developing within your own vetting process. First, consider creating a well-defined checklist to follow for each new hire. With the ability to go down the list ticking boxes for necessary considerations at each stage, your staff will find it easier to reduce the chances that something will slip through the cracks. Next, exercise diligence in following up on any concerns that crop up during vetting and monitor the status of the process. Finally, ensure that you've equipped yourself with the tools necessary to execute thorough, reliable, and fully compliant criminal history checks.
