Episode #: 97
Show: National 9
Airdates: Mar - Aug '01 (see Programming Schedule for specific airtimes)


Educated Hiring Decisions - What you don't know can hurt you!

 

  • Violence is listed as the number one cause of death in the workplace. In-house theft by employees is the number one loss of income for many companies today, regardless of size or product. Infocheck was created to fill the growing need for simple and thorough access to background information on prospective employees. BWN shows how Infocheck has become a leading national provider of a host of Pre-Employment Screening Services.

 
Broadcast Excerpts

BUSINESS WORLD NEWS
SEGMENT: INFOCHECK
News Desk:
Mark:
Oakland, California, November 24: Thomas Wheelock, 20 of San Ramon was arrested for fatally wounding co-worker Rodrigo Cortez on their first day working together for Armored Transport of California. Immediately after, Wheelock fled the scene in the company armored car.
In Sacramento, California, Pamela Montoya-Schleetzer is suing Rio Linda High School for the wrongful death of her teenage daughter Michelle at the hands of substitute janitor Alex Dale Thomas. Thomas, who was on parole for manslaughter at the time, had been allowed to work for the school district for almost a month, even though his fingerprints and criminal background check had yet to be completed.
Cases like these are becoming an all too frequent part of news headlines these days. When an employee is threatened, attacked or killed on the job, it is not only emotionally devastating to all involved, but can also be expensive to the employer. An employer's actions before a violent act can determine the severity of legal action, which may result in multimillion-dollar legal settlements. Some employers are taking steps in preventing violence from erupting in the workplace. Employers are now seeking ways to protect themselves as well as their employees and customers.
Penny:
And how are they doing this? By utilizing prevention strategies that include pre-employment screening. And just who are they turning to? Well, when this story broke in our newsroom, one company emerged as the clear choice of many employers. It’s called InfoCheck, Inc., a pre-employment screening service that has been working with employers to create a better workplace for over a decade.
On Camera:
Founded in 1991, Infocheck was established to fill the growing need for simple and thorough access to background information on potential employees. Since its inception, Infocheck has developed an impressive battery of Pre-employment screening services. The company has also made extensive use of the internet in order to provide access to a complete line of services via its website, www.infocheck.com

Narration:
With the job market showing low unemployment, the demand for qualified help has increased. Be sure your candidate is who and what they say they are. Verifying your candidate's references and criminal activity on your own can be time consuming, leaving you with the tendency of bypassing these important steps in the hiring process.
On Camera:
The need to check references and criminal records is something you may have considered in the past but felt might be too costly or just unnecessary. Today it should be an integrated part of your hiring process as companies are ultimately responsible for the actions of their employees.
Narration:
Outsourcing screening to a pre-employment background information service can help your company build a solid due diligence program that can lower your liability. A reputable pre-employment screening firm will provide you with one simple report containing criminal, employment, and academic background verification results in an easy to read format. The ideal form should also have national access to records, carry Errors and Omissions insurance, and provide you with current references and information regarding the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
On Camera:
Our investigation of InfoCheck has uncovered a range of capabilities not found with other background screening firms.
Q. 1. What separates you from the competition?
Customer awareness. Even though we are located on the west coast, our hours are from 6AM to 5PM Pacific Time to accommodate our east coast customers. We also offer live operators and an after hours message center. We also have available 24 hour 7 day availability via a secure website for order entry, retrieval and status review for our clients.
Q. 2.. Does InfoCheck require startup or maintenance fees? Monthly minimums?
There are no setup or monthly fees. On the contrary; There are a variety of discounts available, from group and volume discounts to web entry and early pay discounts. Infocheck. Inc. does not require a term contract or exclusive use. Some companies use several screening firms simultaneously to balance their workload. If you are nervous about switching screening services, I suggest you try our services and compare with your current vendor. To open an account or apply for a job visit www.infocheck.com

Q 3. What types of services are available from InfoCheck?
Criminal record searches, Social Security Track, credit reports, DMV records, verification of employment references, academic degrees and professional licenses. Please visit www.infocheck.com for a full list of all the services available. We have created some fixed price packages such as the Unlimited Felony Package which includes felony records from all locations generated by an included “Social Security Track”, and we have a “Key Personnel Package” which includes unlimited felony, misdemeanor and federal searches as well as employment, academic verification, a credit report and driving analysis. One of the most popular packages is the Employment & Academic priced at $89, which includes unlimited felony & misdemeanor and federal criminal record searches as well as 3 employment verifications.Q 4. So you can check employment and all criminal records for only $89? That seems reasonable. Are there any types of discounts available?
That $89 is before any discounts and the volume discount alone could be up to 40%! This brings that package down to less than $55 an applicant! There are also web transmission and early pay discounts.
Q 5. What is the average turnaround time for a background check?
The average turnaround time is 2-3 business days. You’ll be assigned an Infocheck service rep, and you’ll be able to review the status of your requests live on our website. You may even input new names to be researched. We utilize the Internet heavily with remote home verifications and criminal researchers able to begin their work the second your request is made. This helps speed up our turnaround time so our clients can make a quick hiring decision.

Q 6. What if an employer has multiple locations and not all locations have Internet access?
We have created a phone response system that allows multiple locations to request searches and receive results. Our client defines their own guidelines determining the applicant’s eligibility. To receive results, your managers simply dial into our system and are prompted with either “available”, or “not available for hire.”
Narration:
It has become obvious that you can't judge a candidate solely by their interview.
So that old saying "you can't judge a book by its cover" never rang more true than when dealing with a professional interviewer. With over 13,000 courts in the United States it is a grueling process to determine where to check for criminal activity. So the advent of pre-employment screening services has become an integral part of Corporate America’s hiring process. Some of these services now offer secure Internet access, making the process to request and receive reports even more simple and cost effective.
Narration:
Employee fraud can occur at any level within an organization, and the motivations can be as wide ranging as the methods used. Fraud investigators don’t take anything for granted. Neither should companies that want to protect their assets, employees and customers.
To defeat fraudsters, companies must establish strict policies and procedures, supplement them with employee awareness programs, and enforce them consistently.
One of the best defenses a company can have is a strong pre-employment screening policy that weeds out candidates with a criminal history, falsified degrees or employment history, or other past clues to future trouble. Poor hiring policies, conversely, increase the likelihood of insider fraud.
Q 7. How do you gather criminal records?
Criminal investigations are conducted through a combination of direct court access and our nationwide network of court researchers, who visit the courts on a daily basis. InfoCheck’s direct court record retrieval provides accurate up-to-date court findings in a timely and cost effective manner. Third party databases are not used since they may not be updated regularly and may not reflect the court’s current information.
Q 8. What size and type of company could use InfoCheck's services
For any company, performing a thorough background check on each prospective employee is very important. We would suggest you interview the candidate personally. If the candidate is satisfactory to that point InfoCheck can provide you with an extensive background check. This helps companies protect themselves by providing a uniform background screening process that is the same for all applicants.

On Camera: (Close)
It doesn't matter what kind of business you own, you can be a victim of employee wrongdoing. Protecting yourself is not only a matter of legal precedence, but also one of civic duty. From Pleasant Hill, California, I’m ……… for Business World News.



  

  

 
#top


 
HomeSearchNewsContact Us
 

©1987-2001 TVA Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
"Business World News" and the "Business World News" Logo
are Registered trademarks of TVA Productions, Inc.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.