Insomnia: July 2006

Community Comments

Employee Screening; Effective Evaluations

By Georgene Waterman

Q: I own a small software company in Rocklin. We are ready to add some employees to our 45-member staff. I placed an ad on Monster.com and have received more than 100 resumes in response. I have interviewed and chosen the three candidates to whom I would like to offer jobs. I now need to check their references. I understand that some companies are checking more than just past employment. Would you fill me in on what I should check and how to go about doing it?
A: As job applicant lying and resume "enhancement" increases, businesses and corporations are taking a new look at their screening processes. In 2005, 14.1 percent of applicants lied about their education. When applicants know you will be doing pre-employment screenings, the candidates that won't pass the screenings will usually not even apply. This will save you a great deal of time and money.
     A search for a criminal record, a DMV report and a Social Security trace should be done on all your employees prior to your offering a job. Many companies are now asking for credit-history reports on all their employees or at least for the employees who will be handing the finances. Verification of employment, education and military service are also usually done. When physical activity is part of the job, a worker's compensation history should be sought. Even though a person may not be driving a company car, screenings such as the DMV screen often expose relevant character issues.
     There are several companies that can help you with some or all these screens. The important thing is to use these screens along with some of the psychological screens, such as personality-style analysis or job-aptitude tests.

Q: I manage a high-end hotel in downtown Sacramento and am responsible for more than 300 employees. Each year we provide each employee with a performance evaluation, but we don't talk about the goals that we set for them until the next year. This process is just not working for the employees we have problems with. Do you have any ideas of what we can do?
Continued...

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