As a small business employer it can be very difficult in finding the safe and productive employee that your business needs to thrive in today’s market. One of the most successful ways to make the hiring process safer is by using a background check. A background check is the process in which the employer collects information of the potential employee’s history. The history includes criminal records, education, driving records, credit history, past employment, financial records, and many others. The following is the information you need to know for the basic background checking process.

When hiring new employees every business owner, large or small, should use background checks, although it is more vital for small business owners than large. This is because of the budget a large business has that a small one does not. A poor decision in the hiring process could lead to more significant issues than that of a large company, who can absorb a loss more easily than the small business could. Therefore the money invested into this process is of great value that cannot be denied.

As stated above background checks will provide information about the employee that can only be obtained in this way. Even though government laws restrict certain documents to be known to the employer, there are still great amounts that would be revealed which are listed here:

• Criminal records – Employers will be allowed to see arrests in the last seven years, a criminal conviction, as well as other public sites of highly sought after criminals.

• Education – You will be able to find out what schools they attended as well as GPA and degrees they may have obtained (with student’s written permission).

• Financial records – Documents such as financial checks (with employee permission, as well as a few other complications), Worker’s Comp, Bankruptcies, as well as a few others

As we have now just finished the basics of this complex though beneficial process, there is another option to doing this. A PEO, or Professional Employer Organization, can assist you during this process. They can deliver basic (which in most cases is all you need to make a hiring decision) background screening and may also provide access to discounts because of their volume based pricing. As a small business employer the last thing you would need to do is make a mistake in the hiring process, and leaving background screening to PEOs would be an undoubtedly wise decision. As a small business employer focusing your time to areas in which you are most strong will help you grow more drastically in today’s economy. This process could take up valuable time which you cannot afford as you go through the many complications of this process, so I strongly suggest leaving this to an employee leasing company.