The need to hire high-quality executives is essential to the growth and expansion of any business entity. Leadership qualities are passed from the top down and businesses will do well to carefully consider the candidates that apply for positions of executive leadership in their company.
A recent study determined that 45 percent of American businesses do not screen potential executives with the same rigor that they do other employees. More surprisingly, an additional 21 percent of the companies examined had no screening process at all for performing background checks on candidates for executive hire.
The experts at Corporate Resolutions feel that these startling statistics can spell big trouble for a lot of businesses.
The Need For Executive Background Checks
According to Corporate Resolutions, many businesses fail to properly screen executive candidates due to the belief that the candidate has obviously already proven himself through education and accumulated work experience. The problem with this thinking is that it ignores the fact that executive candidates are susceptible to the same issues that are often discovered through background checks on other job candidates.
Executive job candidates have been known to present phony college degrees, create alternative job histories, and pad the years of experience they have performed in a particular industry. In fact, candidates for these positions may have an easier time navigating the world of business through dishonest means due to the tendency that business owners and job recruiters possess to put these candidates on a pedestal. This tendency will often not allow for the scrutiny that other applicants receive.
Persons charged with the task of hiring executive candidates should remember that a worthy executive would agree that strict background checks are a sound practice in business.
Performing Executive Background Checks
The screening process for executives can be quite different from performing background checks on regular employees. The power that will be afforded to executive hires mandate that they are subject to a much higher level of scrutiny. The process should include all legal options that are available to the business seeking to make the hire.
Corporate Resolutions suggests that the process begins with a basic verification of identity. Next, each resume entry for past work experience should be first checked for validity, then all dates should be checked for accuracy. Businesses and job recruiters should also make sure that all degrees, certifications, transcriptions, and educational awards are properly verified.
The next step in the process is a criminal background check. Positions of executive leadership demand trustworthiness on the part of the job candidate. The presence of past criminal behavior casts a doubt on the character of the candidate. Careful checks should be made of city and county civil and criminal databases, as well as records for state prosecuted criminal cases. Once these checks are completed the name of the applicant should be run through a search of national criminal record systems.
Credit checks are the next step in the vetting process. Businesses and recruiters should adhere to all FCRA requirements while in search of the most extensive information that can be attained. Things to pay particular attention to is any history of cashing bad checks, fraudulent banking practices, failure to pay taxes, or the presence of liens or judgments against the applicant.
Further Considerations
Social media pages can be screened for any offensive views regarding racism, homophobia, or any problems that could arise as a result of the candidate’s personality. It is important to remember that it is not allowable to disqualify a job candidate because they express unpopular opinions, however, it is within the rights of the company to take any discriminatory views expressed by the candidate into consideration during the evaluation process.
About Corporate Resolutions
Corporate Resolutions provides businesses with comprehensive background examinations of management teams, fund managers, vendors, business partners, and candidates for executive hire. The goal of Corporate Resolutions is to allow its clients to conduct transactions with complete confidence in the process and employs a number of methods to assure this goal is achieved.
Corporate Resolutions has served the needs of clients in 75 countries across the globe and has assembled a skilled team of investigators that include former CIA, FBI, and members of other high-level investigative organizations.
