Due Diligence

What is Due Diligence & why do I care?

The reasons for screening applicants are many. Sometimes a screening company's desire to convince an employer that "due diligence" is a necessity, not a luxury, comes off sounding like little more than a sales pitch. The information below is accurate and valid as examples of why background screening should be a part of every hire. Background Profiles helps you avoid the workplace risks that can be inherent in making a bad hire.

False Information is more common than you think:

  1. 9% of job applicants falsely claimed they had a college degree, listed false employers, or identified jobs that didn’t exist.
  2. Source: Resume Inflation: Two Wrongs May Mean No Rights, by Barbara Kat Repa, Nolo .com, 8/801
  3. 34% of all application forms contain outright lies about experience, education, and ability to perform essential functions on the job. *Source: Wall Street Journal
  4. 11% of job applicants misrepresented why they left a former employer. *Source: Resume Inflation: Two Wrongs May Mean No Rights, by Barbara Kat Repa, Nolo .com, 8/801
  5. Nearly one-third of job applicants listed dates of employment that were inaccurate by more than three months. *Source: Resume Inflation: Two Wrongs May Mean No Rights, by Barbara Kat Repa, Nolo .com, 8/801
  6. As many as 30% of jobseekers exaggerate their accomplishments, and about 10% “seriously misrepresent” their background. *Source: The Complete Reference Checking Book, by Edward C. Adler

On-The-Job Violence can cause major financial hardship for a company:

  1. On-the-job violence costs employers $36 billion each year. Source: Workplace Violence Research Institute
  2. The average award in a workplace violence lawsuit exceeds $1 million per case.Source: Workplace Violence Research Institute
  3. Workplace violence is the foremost concern of corporate security directors at Fortune 1000 companies. Other top concerns include employee selection and screening concerns, fraud and white-collar crime, theft, drugs and alcohol in the workplace, and unethical business practices. Source: Pinkerton, Top Security Threats, Year 2000 Survey
  4. In May of 1999, an estimated 16,400 threats were made, 723 workers were attacked and 43,800 were harassed every work day. Source: The Workplace Violence Research Institute
  5. 57% of respondents reported that a violent incident occurred in their workplace between 1/95 and 7/99. *Source: Society of Human Resource Management, Workplace Violence Study, 1999

Drug Screening can help improve overall productivity:

  1. One in six workers has a drug problem. Source: Don’t Hire A Crook, Dennis DeMay and James R. Flowers Jr., 1999 Facts on Demand Press, pg. 90
  2. 87% of major US firms now test employees, job applicants, or both, for drug use. Source: Don’t Hire A Crook, Dennis DeMay and James R. Flowers Jr., 1999 Facts on Demand Press, pg. 90

Employee Theft can be minimized through background screening:

  1. 30% of all business failures are caused by employee theft. Source: American Management Association and US Chamber of Commerce
  2. 14.7% of all applicants admit to theft of merchandise from an employer. Source: Reid Psychological Systems (Don’t Hire a Crook, Dennis DeMay; James R. Flowers, Jr., 1999 Facts on Demand Press, pg. 88)
  3. 4.4% of all applicants admit to theft of cash from an employer. Source: Reid Psychological Systems (Don’t Hire a Crook, Dennis DeMay; James R. Flowers, Jr., 1999 Facts on Demand Press, pg. 88)
  4. 33% of all applicants admit to being tempted to steal from an employer. Source: Security Magazine, 3/97

Bad Hires cost far more than a simple, cost effective background check:

  1. It costs $7,000 to replace a salaried employee, $10,000 to replace a mid-level employee, and $40,000 to replace a senior executive. Source: Recruiting Times
  2. In 1999, employers lost 60% of negligent hiring/supervision jury trials. Source: The Reish & Luftman Practical Guide to Employment Law
  3. On average, in U.S. businesses, at least half of all new hires “don’t work out.” Source: Fortune, 2/00

Some additional statistics:

  1. Approximately 8% of applicants have criminal history records
  2. Hiring illegal aliens can result in fines ranging from $250 to $10,000 from the INS