• When you hire a new employee, how do you know that his/her experience is what they say it is? Studies show that applicants tend to omit, inflate and outright deceive employers with information provided on employment applications and resumes. 20-25% of all resumes and applications contain at least one fabrication.

• More and more employers are being sued for "negligent hiring" for not checking carefully enough into the background of a potential employee. If an employee's action hurts someone, the employer may be liable. The average out-of-court settlement is $500,000 and the average jury award is $3 million in civil suits filed on the behalf of those injured by an incident of workplace violence.

• The average organization loses more than $9 per day, per employee and 6% of its annual revenue to fraud and abuse.

Without independent confirmation of an applicant’s information, you risk hiring incompetent and unqualified employees. "It's the mood out there," said Gary Kirksey, the president of SureStaff's Personnel, an employment agency in Dallas, TX. "The risk-management departments are requiring it . . .. I don't know if a background check could have stopped any of those terrorists (on September 11th, 2001), but now people want to do their due diligence before they hire people."

*The statistics for this Hiring Index are based on the 1,856,723 background verifications performed by Avert in 2000.

Criminal Records

• 6% had a criminal record in the last seven years

Employment Records

• 24% misrepresented their employment and/or education records
• 13% of employers referenced reported applicants ineligible for rehire

Driving Records

• 35% had one or more moving violations, a DUI or DWI, or had a suspended driver’s license
• 10% had four or more accidents or moving violations, a DUI or DWI, or had a suspended driver’s license

Credit Reports

• 26% had credit records showing a judgement, lien or bankruptcy, or had been turned over to a collection agency

Workers Compensation Claims

• 10% had a previous workers’ compensation claim

More than two-thirds of companies conduct some kind of background searches on prospective hires, according to the Society for Human Resource Management, including more than 80 percent of Fortune 1000 companies.

The growth is coming from large companies seeking more-complete checks, and small and medium-size companies that are using them for the first time. The "information age" also helps account for the increase in background checks--the availability of computer databases containing millions of records of personal data is more prevalent in today’s society. As the cost of searching these sources drops, employers are finding it more feasible to conduct background checks.

The Internet provides a fast, safe and reliable method of sharing background reports 24 hours a day. There are several different companies providing assessment testing, background checking, and human resource solutions to help you develop an effective, legal and productive hiring process – all through the Internet. Avert, mentioned earlier in this article, is one such company.

The http://www.brooksinsurance.com Web site offers more information on Hiring and Background Checks through the HR Solutions Center. By going to the Web and selecting Hiring from the HR Solutions Center you have access to the following resources:

If you are interested in learning more about these pre-employment screening services, please contact us directly at 800-678-1191 or check our Web site!