Employees and volunteers deserve to work in an environment where they feel safe, supported, and included. People want to know that regardless of their culture or background, they’ll be treated fairly and given an equal opportunity to thrive. A workplace culture is only as positive and inclusive as the people in it.
Every time you conduct a background check, you ensure the person you hire will not add to your liability risk. More importantly, you want to ensure that the potential hire will contribute to positive interactions and conduct themselves professionally toward people of all backgrounds, abilities, and cultures. Here’s how a background check contributes to safety and inclusion.
Identifying Intolerant Behaviors
Criminal background screening is more than just looking for blemishes on a person’s record. In promoting an inclusive work culture, a background check assures you that the people you bring in won’t threaten others’ safety and cause damage. Furthermore, searching court records can help you spot patterns that signal intolerance, harassment, and discriminatory behaviors.
Fair Chance Hiring
Fair chance hiring allows individuals with conviction or arrest records to seek gainful employment and re-integrate into the working world. The federal government, 35 states, and several municipalities have enacted fair chance hiring laws, giving people a chance to improve themselves and accumulate valuable work experience.
Arrest and incarceration rates disproportionately affect people from marginalized groups. An implication of this reality is that criminal background search results could eliminate otherwise-qualified individuals as job candidates. Thanks to fair chance hiring, deserving individuals who once made a mistake can contribute their talents and diverse perspectives to their workplaces.
Raising the Standards
Each time you do a background check, you communicate to staff, applicants, and customers that you hold the highest standards in maintaining a positive environment where everyone trusts each other. It also conveys your commitment to maintaining consistency in hiring and reducing the influence of biases. You’re also showing that you recruit people based on merit and qualifications.
Potential Risks and Considerations
People in protected classes like gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and disability are subjected to hiring bias, even from employers with the best intentions. Doing a background check will often expose you to an applicant’s demographic information that Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws might otherwise keep you from obtaining.
Once you see this information on a report, you can’t unsee it, but you can keep it from unfairly influencing your hiring decisions. Realize that we all have biases, but the key is to keep them in check and do your best to treat everyone fairly. A qualified background screening provider can help you comply with the law and avoid using unfair practices.
BIB’s Commitment to Safety and Inclusivity
At BIB, we’re committed to helping customers use effective and efficient screening tools. Background checks are essential to keeping your workplace safe. They also help you recruit people who appreciate diversity and act in ways that foster inclusivity.
To learn more about our flexible technologies and user-friendly portal, call us at (704) 439-3900 or visit our website today.
