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What Background Checks Should Australian Employers Run?

by Olufisayo
Employee Background Check

It is the duty of every Human Resources manager to select the best candidate to fill a position, but this is easier said than done. How can you be sure a certain individual will prove to be a valuable addition to your organization and not become a liability instead?

The best HR employees can do is to run thorough background checks before hiring someone. Let’s have a look at the best screening tools an employer can use to make the best choice.

1. Educational credentials check

When you look at a candidate’s CV the first thing to grab your eye will be the educational background. A degree from a good university is a big plus. Job seekers know this, too, and the HR personnel should always check if a degree is real.

People do lie on their CVs and an employer needs to know if the candidate did attend a prestigious university. Could be that you’re dealing with a dropout who only went there for one year and never got a degree. It’s not such a big deal to run the candidate’s name to the said university’s database or send them an email.

2. Employment history check

A candidate’s employment history can tell an experienced HR manager a lot of things. For instance, someone who changes jobs often might do it because they cannot adapt well to a work environment? Or maybe they got fired? HR managers should make a point of asking for references or talk to the last employer to see what they can find out about the candidate.



3. Criminal background check

No matter the position available, the HR department should routinely use national police checks to make sure the person they’re about to hire is not dangerous.

This is obvious when we’re talking about a position implying certain responsibilities, like handling confidential information, the development of new products, or direct access to company funds. You need to make sure the new employee doesn’t have any convictions for fraud or embezzlement.

At the same time, you don’t want to hire someone with a history of violent behavior, drug use, or sexual harassment, all of which could be very dangerous for the other employees or the customers.

To avoid an embarrassing situation, nationally coordinated criminal history checks (NCCHC) should be made part of the standard pre-employment screening, so the candidate doesn’t feel singled out. The HR manager can put it something like this ‘It doesn’t have anything to do with you, it’s company policy’.

To make it easier, a company can use online character check agencies that can provide national police checks in a couple of days and there’s no inconvenience whatsoever to the job applicant. All they have to do is provide their identification details and a photo, and they’re done with it.



4. Social media check

 The Internet can provide a lot of valuable information on a person. Employers can run a quick check on anyone by running a candidate’s name through a search engine like Google or by checking their social media profiles.

HR personnel can go over the Facebook or Twitter profiles of any prospective employee and see what they post about, what are their hobbies and favorite pastimes, as well as the kind of friends they have. This is important if you want to make sure the future employee will fit in nicely in the organization.

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