Can a pre-employment background check policy be part of a marketing strategy?

A company’s success depends very much on its public image, especially today when any minor scandal will spread like wildfire on social media, giving rise to a huge backlash and even calls to boycott the company’s products. On the other hand, if a business enjoys a good reputation it will see more interest in its products and services, and this means, of course, larger earnings. Background checks are one of the best tools available to Australian employers if they want to make sure their company has a good name, which is one of the pillars of a modern marketing strategy. Let’s see how this works.

Why does reputation matter?

If you want to understand how can a public scandal affect a company’s image and balance sheet, all you have to do is look at the harassment scandals brought to light by the #MeToo movement.

Big companies, such as Nike, Guess or Barnes and Noble have been hit by harassment claims and their share prices fell instantly. That hurts a lot. If a company doesn’t address the situation quickly, they risk being targeted by even more hurtful boycotts.

You don’t have to be Nike to feel the heat when such a scandal breaks. For a small company it’s enough if the news spreads in the local community. Just imagine for one second what might happen if a female customer comes forward and claims she was assaulted while getting a pedicure at your small beauty parlor. You might as well tell your employees to take the rest of the month off as you won’t be seeing many clients. Or imagine having a customer come into your building to be met by a rude drunk employee. They won’t be coming back any time soon, either.

This brings us back to the pre-employment background checks issue. If you want a reliable employee, don’t be afraid to ask for a background check.

Should you make background checks compulsory?

If you want to avoid bad hires, the answer is yes. The good part is that submitting your present and future employees to a national police check is not a complicated task and won’t put an extra burden on your HR department. Many Australian businesses have started using online police check agencies like the following link for ANCC: https://www.australiannationalcharactercheck.com.au who are fully accredited with the government, so their results are valid.

As an employer, you can tell your HR manager to find such an online agency and set up an account they can use any time they need. All they have to do is access the online platform, fill in the required information, and wait for the criminal record check. Actually, you don’t have to wait much. The police check comes back in 2 or 3 business days and if a candidate has a record you’ll know every offence they’ve ever committed in all Australian states and territory.

All you have to do is eliminate those that have a record and could prove dangerous to your company’s reputation.

A side benefit of using routine background checks is that word spreads and good professionals will be more interested to apply for a position with a company that takes workplace safety seriously. Marketing yourself as a reliable employer will help you attract better people, while those who have something to hide will prefer to stay away.