An SME’s Guide to Background Checks

Because a bad apple can ruin any business, no matter how small.

When you’re a small business, chances are you want to keep your business?lean.

That means cutting off unnecessary expenses—that fancy software that seems like it could help but pays a hefty buck, the redundant positions that don’t contribute to the company, even the office space you might not need.

At this point, you might be scrutinizing every payment and micromanaging your cash flow. And at this point, it can be tempting to do a lot of the things yourself.

Having worked with many SMEs over the years, we’ve noticed that this is a hard-and-fast formula to burn out. Which, for smaller businesses, deals with greater consequences.

As a background check company, we won’t call ourselves experts in your operations. But we will say this: for any business, be it big or small, delegation is a powerful tool to help you achieve your goals faster. And when it comes to background checks, you want a professional to handle them.

But why do I need background checks?

When hiring for an SME, background checking your candidates might feel a little frivolous. After all, if you’ve screened your applicants the right way, surely there’d be no need to verify their data?

That’s where people get it wrong. Some of the clients we’ve worked with told us about how an employee ruined their business’ reputation because of their actions—something that would have been easily avoided had they done a background check during the application process.

In essence, a background check guards your business from those bad apples and ensures that the people you have on your team are trustworthy.

Moreover, they make sure you have the following:

• Employees who are physically capable of the job they applied for
• Employees without sanctions you have to work around
• Employees or business partners who won’t sink your business with their debts

Getting that winning team is especially crucial in the early stages of your business. You don’t want to waste time recuperating from one bad hire.

Background checks 101 for SMEs

So, as a small business or SME, how do you get started with background checks? And how do you choose a service provider?

It’ll depend on what your needs are. And these needs usually come in the form of the following:

• How many people am I looking to hire?
• What kind of checks do I need to do?
• How much money can I spend?

And these are just the basics. Knowing the answers to those three questions helps you zoom into the type of background check service provider you want without overspending your budget.

Most of the time, you may need less than ten background checks per year. In that case, you should look for service providers that offer that option since not many companies do. And sometimes, if they offer it, they are expensive.

Another consideration is finding companies that offer bundles, packages, or financially flexible options. Some companies put together your usual criminal records, employment verification, and education verification checks at a discounted price, allowing you to add more checks as you please.

More importantly, when you get a professional background check company at the helm, you’re sure that each check has been vetted as accurately as possible, thanks to the power of software and a dedicated team.

If you’re curious about where to start or how background checks can help your SME, feel free to message us at?[email protected].