There are some sobering statistics for employers who feel they can't afford to hire an outside agency to do backgroud screening, or who don't do background screening on their candidates.
An estimated 1 in 5 companies don't do background checks.
Negligent hiring suits are on the rise - these are suits filed after employees have committed harmful acts that allege employers didn't diligently research their workers' backgrounds before hiring them.
On average, employers are losing these suits 72% of the time
There are numerous examples of companies who didn't do a background check on their employees prior to hiring them, only to pay a much higher cost later on. There is the large corporation that hired a delivery person. The delivery person never had a background check done. He went in to a home and used a knife to attack a customer in her home. The company was sued for $2.5 million for negligently hiring and retaining the delivery man.
The average settlement is approximately $1.6 million, according to Public Personnel Management. So, can you afford to do background screening? Or should the question be can you afford NOT to screen?
