您知道进行就业前背景调查的价值，既可以帮助您做出明智的招聘决定，又可以确保您遵守各种联邦、州和地方法律法规。事实上，94 % 的雇主在做出招聘决定之前至少会进行一种背景调查。

但是，许多雇主可能没有意识到，在雇用员工后进行例行的定期背景调查是一种最佳做法，可以帮助您保持合规并了解员工在贵公司任职期间可能出现的任何新问题。你的背景调查实践不应该停留在工作机会的时候。

在这里，我们将介绍为什么应定期进行雇佣后背景调查，以帮助您随时了解影响员工队伍的任何相关变化，以及如何开始实施雇佣后筛选，也称为就业后筛选，位于您的组织。

雇用后背景调查变得越来越普遍

越来越多的雇主开始意识到雇佣后背景调查的价值，并正在采取措施调整他们的流程，以确保在员工的整个任期内及时更新。2020 年，12% 的受访雇主表示他们每年或更频繁地进行背景调查，而 2018 年这一比例为 6%。

然而，随着人力资源专家继续认识到并讨论定期重新筛选的价值，这些数字可能会增加。在一篇SHRM 文章中，Fishman Group Consultants 总裁 Nick Fishman 说：“持续监控是背景筛查行业的关键演变。它将保护公司免受欺诈、盗窃和声誉损害。”

持续筛选有利于公司、员工和客户

由于员工可能在工作场所之外做的事情，雇主可能会冒着损害其声誉和潜在法律责任的风险。某些行业——例如托儿服务、医疗机构和金融服务——可能特别容易受到基于员工犯罪行为的风险的影响。

雇主还对其员工和客户的安全负责。对于组织而言，重要的是要不断警惕员工可能代表潜在风险的迹象，并采取措施将这种风险降至最低或消除。

Elizabeth McLean 表示：“如果雇主本应知道员工存在不合理的风险，但未能采取行动或解雇员工，他们可能会面临因疏忽而提出保留要求的风险。” 

持续的离职后筛选可帮助您：

• 保持工作场所的安全

• 降低潜在风险

• 保护您的公司免受责任索赔

让我们看一下如何开始以及以一致且合规的方式进行这些检查需要了解什么。

开始聘用后背景调查计划的 5 个步骤

在启动离职后背景调查计划时，将流程纳入公司的就业筛选政策非常重要。请记住，必须平等筛选所有员工，而不仅仅是某些员工。但是，根据不同的员工职位和职责定制您的筛选包是可以接受的，并且是推荐的。重要的是不要歧视员工，并确保流程的一致性以及根据调查结果做出的任何决定。

1. 更新您的背景调查政策

重要的第一步是更新您的背景调查政策，包括招聘后筛选，并确保其准确、最新且合规。您的法律顾问应审查任何新的政策更新。

该政策应包括：

• 具体来说，您将审查什么（例如犯罪记录）。

• 您将多久以及何时进行此筛查。根据您的行业，这可能是每年一次，也可能是每月一次。在时间方面，背景调查可能基于员工的周年纪念日或其他日期（例如每年年初）。

• 声明该政策适用于所有员工。

• 要求员工对背景调查中可能出现的任何事情持开放态度，并主动报告这些事件。

2. 通知当前员工和新员工

您需要通知现有员工并清楚地解释该政策，解释定期筛查对公司和他们的重要性。

• 确保所有员工都知道与谁联系以及如何联系，并要求他们主动提醒您可能发生的任何事件。

• 当您雇用新员工时，请明确说明您的政策是对所有员工进行例行背景调查，以及调查的频率。您的目标是确保员工在进行检查时不会感到惊讶。

• 不要只是让沟通成为一件一次性的事情。它应该是持续的。 

让员工了解和了解您的流程及其对公司、他们和您的客户的好处可以帮助减轻他们可能有的任何焦虑或担忧。

3. 将合规放在首位

与就业前背景审查一样，有适用于进行持续的就业后审查的规则和法规。最重要的是，根据联邦公平信用报告法 (FCRA)，您必须在进行背景调查之前获得员工的同意。对于持续检查，如果您所在的州允许，最佳做法是在您的初始同意书中包含一个常青条款。

您还应该清楚根据筛查结果可能会采取何种行动，以及员工有权对报告提出异议或提供额外信息。

4. 遵守您的政策

根据您所在组织的就业筛选政策实施例行背景调查，如果警报提示决定是否终止晋升，请遵循平等就业机会委员会 (EEOC) 的指导方针和您的就业筛选政策，以确保一致性和公平性。

说你将每六个月进行一次背景调查是一回事，真正贯彻到底是另一回事。政策和行动之间的任何差异都会降低您的筛查政策的影响和价值。

An increasing number of employers are becoming aware of the value of post-hire background checks and are taking steps to adjust their processes to ensure timely updates throughout an employee’s tenure. In 2020, 12 percent of surveyed employers said they were conducting background checks annually or more frequently compared to 6 percent in 2018.

However, as HR experts continue to recognize and discuss the value of regular re-screening, these numbers are likely to grow. In a SHRM article, Nick Fishman, president of Fishman Group Consultants, says: “Continuous monitoring is a critical evolution in the background screening industry. It will keep companies safer from fraud, theft and reputational damage.”

Continuous Screening Benefits the Company, Employees & Customers

Employers may risk damage to their reputations and potential legal liability because of things their employees may be doing outside of the workplace. Certain industries—childcare services, healthcare organizations and financial services, for instance—may be especially susceptible to risk based on employees’ criminal behavior.

Employers also are responsible for the safety of their employees and customers. It’s important for organizations to be continually alert to signs that employees may represent potential risk and to take steps to minimize or remove that risk.

“Employers may be at risk for negligent retention claims if they fail to take action, or terminate, an employee when they should have known that an employee represented an unreasonable risk,” said Elizabeth McLean, General Counsel at GoodHire. 

Continuous post-employment screening helps you to:

• Maintain safety in your workplace

• Mitigate potential risk

• Protect your company from liability claims

Let’s take a look at how to get started and what you need to know to do these checks in a consistent and compliant way.

5 Steps to Get Started with a Post-Hire Background Check Program

When initiating a post-employment background check program, it’s important to incorporate the process into your company’s employment screening policy. Keep in mind that all employees must be screened equally—not just some employees. However, it’s acceptable—and recommended—to customize your screening packages based on different employee positions and responsibilities. It’s important to not discriminate between employees and to ensure consistency in the process and any decisions made based on the findings.

1. UPDATE YOUR BACKGROUND CHECK POLICY

An important first step is to update your background check policy to include post-hire screening, and ensure it is accurate, up-to-date and compliant. Any new policy updates should be reviewed by your legal counsel.

The policy should include:

• What, specifically, you will review (e.g. criminal records).

• How often, and when, you will conduct this screening. Depending on your industry, this could be annually or as frequently as monthly. In terms of timing, the background check might be based on an employee’s anniversary date or some other date (e.g. the beginning of each year).

• A statement that the policy applies to all employees.

• A request for employees to be open about anything that may turn up in their background check and to be proactive about reporting these incidents.

2. INFORM CURRENT EMPLOYEES AND NEW HIRES

You will want to notify and clearly explain the policy to existing employees, explaining the importance of regular screening for the company and for them.

• Make sure that all employees know who to contact, and how, and ask that they be proactive in alerting you to any incidents that may occur.

• When you hire new employees, clearly state that your policy is to conduct routine background checks on all employees, and how often they occur. Your goal is to ensure employees are not surprised when it’s time to run a check.

• Don’t just make communication a one-and-done event. It should be ongoing. 

Keeping employees informed and educated about your process and its benefits to the company, them and your customers can help to alleviate any anxiety or concerns they may have.

3. KEEP COMPLIANCE TOP OF MIND

Just as with pre-employment background screening, there are rules and regulations that apply to conducting ongoing post-employment screening. Most importantly, per the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you are required to obtain your employees’ consent before conducting a background check. For ongoing checking a best practice is to include an evergreen clause in your initial consent form if allowed in your state.

You should also be clear about what type of actions may be taken based on the result of a screening, and the rights employees have to dispute the report or provide additional information. (GoodHire’s system allows employees to easily append this type of information to the record.)

4. FOLLOW YOUR POLICY

Implement routine background checks in accordance with your organization’s employment screening policy and, if an alert prompts a decision about whether to terminate or not promote, follow the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) guidelines and your employment screening policy to ensure consistency and fairness.

It’s one thing to say that you will run a background check every six months, it’s another to actually follow through. Any variance between policy and action will diminish the impact and value of your screening policy.