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Negligent Hiring

3 Critical Reasons To Screen Health Care Employees

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Hospitals and health care facilities are in a uniquely vulnerable position. The problems that are associated with making a bad hiring decision are made worse by the fact that lives are at risk every moment. Not only is a hospital’s staff exposed, but patients can literally be defenseless. It’s important that any health care employee undergoes a criminal background check. Pre-employment screening should be done for doctors, nurses, other care providers, and even a hospital’s maintenance team. Plus, the screening should be ongoing for existing staff.

Today, I’ll explain the 3 most important reasons why hospitals and health care facilities must screen candidates before hiring them.

#1 – Danger To Staff

A hospital’s staff is often busy taking care of patients. Time is limited and it’s seldom spent wondering if a co-worker can be trusted or is going to cause physical harm. If an employee is hired with a violent criminal past, the staff is extremely vulnerable. Instruments can be used violently and medications can be used to poison others.

These things have happened in the past. They’ll happen again in the future. Health care employers must minimize the risk by performing comprehensive background checks on all applicants.

#2 – Danger To Patients

A prospective employee who has been convicted of a violent or drug-related crime is particularly unsuitable for a job that places him in close proximity to patients. Their immediate access to those who are helpless exposes both the patients and the hospital to enormous risk. Hospitals and other health care providers must screen both prospective hires and existing employees to manage this risk.

#3 – Potential Lawsuits

A negligent hiring lawsuit can be expensive. If a patient or staff member suffers physically as a result of insufficient pre-employment screening, they can sue the hospital for negligent hiring. It’s not uncommon for the courts to award compensation in the millions of dollars to victims of workplace violence.

Background Checks To Minimize Hiring Risk

Every business should screen applicants and conduct background checks. Health care employers, in particular, must be diligent with the screening process in order to protect their staff and patients from harm. By searching for past criminal records, verifying past employment and licenses, and clarifying any gaps in work history, they can avoid making a disastrous hiring decision. The alternative is exposing the staff, patients, and the hospital to a hiring catastrophe.

Photo Credit: José Goulão

Why You Need To Screen Your Vendors

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A lot of businesses rely on vendors to supply labor, parts, or services on an ongoing basis. But, depending upon third parties can be risky, even if necessary. If, for some reason, one of your main vendors goes out of business or conducts business in an unprofessional manner, it can expose your own company to unnecessary risk. That’s why it is imperative that you thoroughly screen each of your vendors and perform background checks on them. Today, I’ll highlight the problems that can occur if you don’t.

Vendor Screening Ensures Consistency

When your company hires vendors to supply parts or labor, you have an expectation that they will deliver consistently. If they fail, it can place your company in an awkward position. After all, any interruption in your daily operations can have a severe impact on your business. Your customers may lose faith in your ability to deliver.

By doing background checks on your vendors, you can determine how dependable they’ll be. Have they employed people who have a criminal record? Do your vendors have employees with a substance abuse problem? Have other companies filed complaints or lawsuits against your vendors? If so, why? Are any of your vendors on the brink of insolvency?

Any of these issues can have devastating results for your company. For example, a vendor who supplies important materials to your business, and files for bankruptcy, can bring your operations to a grinding halt. Or, a vendor to whom you’ve subcontracted for labor may place ex-convicts on site and expose your business to liability.

Background Checks On Vendors

Your company needs to screen vendors and conduct background checks to ensure that they are reliable, consistent, and won’t expose your company to costly lawsuits. This due diligence should include criminal checks, credit checks, a review of DMV records (if you’re hiring drivers), and verification of licenses, permits, and certifications. It is the only way to avoid hiring a vendor who may potentially lead your company toward disaster.

Establish vendor screening protocols as soon as possible. If you don’t have the hiring staff available to conduct extensive background checks on your vendors, consider partnering with an experienced screening service.

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Photo Credit: ralphbijker

Diploma Mills – The New Resume Lie?

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Diploma Mills

Screening potential employees and conducting background checks is already a challenging task for many employers. Diploma mills are making that challenge even more daunting. These “mills” sell diplomas and degrees to any person who is willing to part with enough money. A bachelor’s degree in computer science may cost as little as a few hundred dollars. A PhD in criminal justice may cost $2,000. These “mill” degrees are worthless.

If you’re an employer, this should worry you. Below, I’ll explain 2 ways in which diploma mills impact employers. Then, I’ll describe how to avoid being duped.

2 Costly Impacts For Employers

Job candidates blatantly lie on resumes. And they do it more often you might think (some estimates put the number at over 40%). Add fake degrees into the hiring equation and the problem grows even larger. This has 2 major impacts on employers:

1 – Misrepresented Education

Hiring any employee can be a costly process. But, hiring a candidate who has a fake degree can be even more expensive. After all, not only has your hiring staff wasted valuable time, but candidates who are actually qualified may no longer be available.

2 – Fraudulent Reimbursement

If a current employee gets a fake degree, he may be tempted to seek reimbursement from your company. Again, the degree itself is worthless. Reimbursing an employee for the degree is akin to throwing money down the drain.

Background Checks And Employee Screening

The first step to dealing with this problem is to broadly and openly communicate your screening policy to job candidates. Mention that your hiring staff follows a strict screening process that includes verifying education. Often, this alone is enough to discourage would-be frauds from applying. Then, of course, you need to follow through with your policy.

The second step is to conduct ongoing background checks and screening on your current staff. Not only should you do so regularly; you should do so whenever there’s a need. For example, if an employee earns a degree while in your company’s employ, and seeks reimbursement, verify the authenticity of the university.

If you lack the staff or resources to do these things, partner with an experienced employee screening service that can help insulate your company from costly mistakes.

Further Reading

Photo Credit: gadgetdude

Is Background Screening Worth It?

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Yesterday I wrote 4 Ways That Employee Screening Boosts Employers’ ROI.  Today I want to share an article I found on the HR Management website.  It’s called “The ROI of Background Screening: Making Financial Sense of “Best Practices.”

Here’s a snippet:

“At the heart of every good Human Resources or Risk Management hiring strategy is employment background screening. Employment background screening is widely recognized as a necessary process that is designed to keep out undesirable candidates, but it also represents a significant expense. The question then is this: How much actual dollar value does a background screening program deliver?”

The Answer

Photo Credit: David Paul Ohmer

4 Ways That Employee Screening Boosts Employers’ ROI

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In this tough economy hiring good employees who are both efficient and well-qualified can play a significant role in boosting an employer’s ROI. On the other hand, a bad hire can have a major impact on a company’s bottom line. It’s not uncommon for one poor hiring decision to result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. Today, you’ll discover 4 ways in which employee screening and background checks can translate into a higher ROI.

#1 – Avoids Negligent Hiring Lawsuits

If one or more of your staff is injured at the hands of another employee, there may be grounds for a negligent hiring lawsuit. If an employer failed to properly screen the offending employee, that employer can be sued. Keep in mind that the average settlement for this type of lawsuit is over $1 million.

#2 – Minimizes Employee Turnover

Hiring and training a new employee is expensive. If an employer discovers that the employee has a substance abuse problem, criminal record, or history of violence, there may be a need to replace that person. By conducting pre-employment background checks, employers can avoid bad hires, reducing employee turnover costs in the process.

#3 – Increases Staff Productivity

Along with reducing staff turnover, hiring competent employees increases your staff’s overall productivity. There’s less likelihood of a disruption in the workplace caused by a bad hire. Plus, by limiting turnover, an employer can allocate fewer resources to redundant training.

#4 – Reduces Employee Theft

A bad hire is more likely to commit theft in the workplace. Even small, seemingly benign incidents (for example, stealing a box of pens) can signal the beginning of a habit. Eventually, the employee may begin pilfering valuable assets. Employers can limit employee theft by thoroughly screening applicants before hiring them.

Protecting The Bottom Line

A company’s bottom line involves more than merely revenues and the costs of doing business. Hiring a bad employee can have a devastating effect on an employer’s profitability. Negligent hiring lawsuits, employee turnover, low staff productivity, and employee theft can each have a significant impact. By performing comprehensive background checks and conducting pre-employment screening, employers can protect their staff while boosting their ROI.

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Photo Credit: AMagill