Hi all,

I have a curious question. If a manager applicant has had a "colorful" background, do you let that swing your decision without question? Or, do
you look at him/her comprehensively? I was talking with another manager about this yesterday and my feeling is that if it wasn't fraud or theft, and the person has references, fits the bill and I get a good feeling from them as a person, I don't think I would let it affect my decision. What do you all think?

StorGal

We always do a back ground check when we are hiring.

I hate to tell you this but twice we gave some one a so called second chance after reading that one was a former drug addict and the other had a record for theft.

Both did not make it and fell back in there habits.

I can not effort doing this a third time (and I wont) but my bad experiences in this may not count for all and I hope others will keep doing this.

In times we all may need second chances but be careful a RED flag is a RED flag.

I ended up hiring someone who's negative background was 20+ years prior. He did his time, learned his lesson and stayed clean from there on out.......No Problem. Very reliable - and Very surprised to have the charges appear from that far back.

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Tall Terri

Integrity - it's what you do when no one is looking!

We do background checks and have set parameters in place. That way it's fair for everyone. For instance, if some has been convicted for a felon in the last 5 years they are not hirable and will get a letter from the background check company where the applicant can dispute any mis-information.

My suggestion is to set up parameters with your HR person or owner/operator and stick to those parameters so their can't be a question about discrimination.

when in doubt, go with your gut, especially if the 'color' has nothing to do with fraud. One word of caution with background checking services - they are not foolproof. Someone very close to me had to spend some money to clear up a discrepancy between herself and another lady who shared the same name and birthday. The other woman has a long history with multiple convictions; it took getting a lawyer to call a courthouse where at least one of the offenses occured to get a mug shot of the criminal so my friend had proof of NOT being that person.

--what was the issue?
--how long ago was it?
--is there someone beyond the references who can speak to the individual's character?

You can always hire on a probationary period, too.

The background check company we are using has changed and is not as good as it use to be. We get our drug tests back faster now than we can get a background check. We are using LexisNexis, but are looking to make a switch. Does anyone have any reccomendations? Thanks!

I think background checks and drug/alcohol screening have there place in the hiring process, but you must also have some guidelines established on what constitutes a no hire red flag. My eldest daughter was convicted of a drug related felony twenty years ago and has been clean and sober after serving her time. She proved herself worthy of the companies trust that she worked for after being hired on the gut feelings of a friend of mine. He and I share a common belief that what you see in a persons eyes and hear in their voice overrides a mistake made as a youth. I served in the armed forces for over twenty years and some of the things I had to do for my country would probably exclude me from employment in most sectors of business but luckily I have never had this occur.

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The mountains are calling, so I must go.

Kroll Background Screening has worked well for me.

www.kroll.com

Thank you Ricky this is the information I was looking for.
We are currently using Lexis Nexis and it can take several days for a turn around, yet with our drug tests we can get the results same day. So, how long does it usually take to get results from Kroll? And are they real expensive?

Drug tests cost about $35 and you get the results in a few days. The background checks vary in cost depending on how thorough a check you want to do. There is a $100 account set up fee.