With a population of over 5.3 million and a flourishing economy, the city of Sydney in the state of New South Wales (NSW) pretty much sets the tone for the rest of Australia. One of the most noticeable trends over the past few years is the rising number of Sydney businesses that are introducing comprehensive pre-employment screening, not only for men, but for women in the workplace too.
With the rest of the country bound to follow the example set by Australia’s economic capital it is essential to understand what fuels the shift towards strict pre-employment screening to have capable workers in the organisation.
Reduced employee turnover equals profit
Not surprisingly, the most important reason is money, or profit. Having a good look at the people you hire pays off.
Human resources managers are very much aware of the high cost of hiring people only to fire them a few months later when it is discovered that they are not fit for the job or have a criminal history no one knew about.
Everyone understands the need to check a job applicant’s educational background and work history, but it is only recently that employers have added criminal history checks in their employment strategy.
Why is that? A few examples can easily explain the practical uses of police checks.
Let’s say you want to hire a new shop assistant or an accountant. Both of them will have access to your money or at least to your financial details. What happens if your new accountant has been recently released from jail where he served time for fraud or embezzlement? Chances are they will use their new position to steal from you. If you don’t ask them to submit a national police check in NSW you won’t know about their conviction (if any) for within the city of Sydney (NSW) and also nationally within the country.
As a result, you’ll have a hard time recuperating the stolen funds and you’ll have to look for another accountant. The costs of hiring someone new and training them for a couple of months amount to their salary for at least five months. That’s the money you lose when replacing an employee in a mid-range position. The costs go even higher when you need to replace someone in a top management position.
Background checks are easily available in NSW
Another important reason employers in Sydney, NSW favor background checks is that it’s never been easier to get one and the benefits are obvious.
Over the past decades, background checks have moved online following the apparition of private agencies accredited with the Australian government. These online agencies do it faster and without any form of bureaucracy. All you have to do is look up online character check agencies, pick the one that seems more convenient and order a criminal history check on a new employee. It’s incredibly easy.
You only need a few minutes to fill in the online form and upload a picture. The result is delivered straight to your email. And you learn all you need to know about your new employee.
Background checks help prevent problems in the workplace
Once you do a background check on someone you have the certainty the new guy is not someone prone to violence or antisocial behavior. This will save you a lot of trouble. At the same time, mandatory national police checks help you screen for sexual predators. This way you avoid having to deal with sexual harassment accusations and all the disturbances such a scandal entails. When everybody is happy and feels safe in the workplace, business runs smoothly. And you make more money. It’s as simple as that!