The Importance of Hiring Right

July 1, 2007

With increased violence, fraud, and other criminal activities occurring in the workplace, organizations of all sizes need to have an effective pre-employment screening process in place. Just one bad hire can significantly impact a company's image, employee morale, and the bottom line.

Resumes and interviews alone can't always uncover a candidate's past violent, abusive, or disruptive behavior in the workplace. Although a criminal check--combined with Social Security Number verification--will identify criminal convictions, additional background checks can be extremely valuable in uncovering patterns of behavior relating to a person's reliability and stability. Additionally, background checks can help to identify nonexistent degrees, embellished credentials, and gaps of employment not stated on the application.

The Sobering Statistics
Bad hiring can have tremendous financial implications. In fact, most companies can't afford to not perform background checks given the following statistics:

• Industry experts estimate that 33-40 percent of all resumes contain serious falsehoods or omissions.
• A Harvard University study reported that 80 percent of turnover can be blamed on mistakes made during the employee selection and hiring process.
• The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners found that one-third of employees in the U.S. have stolen on the job.
• According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 30 percent of business failures result from poor hiring decisions.
• The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners estimates that fraud costs U.S. organizations $400 billion annually.
• Industry studies demonstrate a bad hiring decision costs companies between 30-300 percent of that position's annual salary.

Benefits of Background Checking
Comprehensive background screening allows companies to:

• Make Timely and Informed Decisions
• Get Accurate and Complete Facts
• Protect the Company and its Employees
• Eliminate Costly Hiring Mistakes
• Minimize the Risk of Negligent Hiring

About Runzheimer International
Founded in 1933, Runzheimer International serves 60 percent of the Fortune 500. Runzheimer International provides a full suite of employee mobility services in the areas of background screening, business travel, business vehicle reimbursement programs, corporate aircraft, relocation, international assignment, and virtual office programs.

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For more information on the benefits of pre-employment background screening, please contact Luella Dooley at 1-800-558-1702, ext. 2277, ljd@runzheimer.com, www.runzheimer.com.