The Importance of Background Screening for Staffing Firms

Mary Lorenz

According to a 2017 CareerBuilder study, 74 percent of employers have hired the wrong person, and 33 percent blame the fact that the employee lied about his or her qualifications. For staffing firms, these findings underscore the need to dig deeper when vetting candidates for placement and conduct thorough background checks before sending them out on assignments.

If you’re familiar with background check services, you know that conducting them can help minimize hiring mistakes, keep the workplace safe and keep employers compliant. While background checks can be extensive -- employment verification, criminal background checks, drug screenings, credit reports, Form I-9 and E-Verify are just a few of the services that may be involved -- they are a worthwhile service to provide.

As a staffing firm, you have an obligation to the clients who trust you with their recruiting needs. Conducting comprehensive employment background checks helps ensure your staffing firm is sending qualified, reliable and trustworthy candidates to clients, which will have major payoffs for your firm.

Below are five big reasons to conduct thorough background checks for your clients.

It keeps you out of legal trouble. If your firm places a worker who turns out to be unfit for employment, your firm could be liable for breach of contract. Should you place an employee who turns out to be a threat to the client or its employees, you could find your firm facing a negligent hiring lawsuit. Conducting criminal and drug background screening to unearth any previous criminal behavior or substance abuse helps mitigate such risks.
It builds your business. Not only will you build trust and loyalty among clients, but the more your reputation as a quality staffing firm spreads, the more likely you are to attract new clients. According to the 2017 Staffing Advantage Report by CareerBuilder and Inavero, staffing firm clients are more than twice as likely to pick a staffing firm based on reputation than on low price.
It protects your brand. The workers you place on-site for clients are a direct representative of your firm’s brand. Imagine sending a candidate out on a job only to find out later that they misrepresented their skills, experience or professional history. Worse, what if they turn out to be a liability? This not only puts your client at risk, it reflects poorly on your entire organization and can do irreparable damage to your brand.
It gives you a competitive edge. Not only does it help you protect your clients’ best interests, offering this service can differentiate you from staffing firms that do not offer it. Use the fact that you do background checks as a selling point to stand apart from other staffing firms.
It instills trust and deepens loyalty. When you conduct thorough background checks on employees, your clients know they can trust these employees and your firm by proxy. Your agency could be liable for a breach of contract if an employee is discovered to be unfit for employment. Even worse, you could find yourself in the middle of an expensive negligent hiring suit if an employee you supplied causes injury or harm while on the job. When your clients know they can trust you to send qualified, credible workers their way, they will use your staffing firm again and again.