Kroll on Background Checks
A growing number of pre-employment background checks are yielding results that show applicants have criminal records, according to a report recently released by the Background Screening division of Kroll. The company, which is considered one of the world’s top risk consulting firms, monitors the percentage of background checks that have been flagged due to illicit behavior and release the results in their annual Hit Ratio Report.
In 2007, 9.5 percent of the individuals screen for work related purposed by Kroll had a criminal conviction in their past. This figure is up four-tenths of a percentage point since the previous year and a full percent since 2005 when only 8.5 percent of applicants had been found guilty of committing a crime.
President of Kroll’s Background Screening division, Michael Rosen says that “background screening is as important as ever, as evidenced by the trifecta effect of 1) the U.S. job market becoming more competitive for positions, 2) a need to fill positions as quickly as possible, and 3) an increasing trend in criminal hit ratios.”
The industries that had background checks with the highest occurrence of criminal activity included construction, automotive, and retail. Education was found to the lowest, possibly because more individuals in these professions expect to have to undergo pre-employment screening. This may deter those with tarnished records from even applying for such positions.
The report also found that the occurrence of “red flags” on the food services industry’s background checks went from 12.1 percent in 2006 to 13.4 percent last year. The manufacturing industry also jumped significantly, going from 11.6 percent to 12.6 percent.
All of these increases were potentially effected by the fact that employers are now screening candidates for a larger number of positions and conducting background checks into the pasts of temporary employees, vendors and consultants. Employers are also conducting background checks that are more thorough than ever before.
There was also a rise in the number of multi-jurisdictional background checks conducted. As companies branch out further in search of the best workers, the complexity of pre-employment screening intensifies. According to Rosen, “it is now common for a job applicant to have been raised in Japan, educated in the UK and now seeking employment in the U.S.”
Kroll handles both domestic and international background checks along with executive-level screening, drug screening, and physical exams.