Hiring Remote Workers Due to The COVID-19 Epidemic? Here’s Why You Need to Screen Them Carefully!
Thinking about hiring remote workers? Everybody is. As the coronavirus outbreak becomes more serious with each passing day, more and more employers are asking their employees to stay away from the office and work from home. Allowing employees to work in an office setting in the midst of a viral epidemic is a risk that many employers cannot afford to take right now.
What this means is that most employers will have to rely on hiring remote workers to keep their business going – at least until we tide over the COVID-19 storm. In such a scenario, it is critical for you to have a comprehensive screening process in place for remote workers.
Why Remote Workers Should be Screened Carefully
It is always advisable to screen potential employees, but it is particularly important when it comes to remote workers for several reasons.
Verifying the Authenticity of the Information Provided by Applicants
First and foremost, a remote, work-from-home position has a layer of anonymity, which an office job does not have. Technology has made it possible for employers to hire remote workers without even meeting them in person. In such cases, how do you make sure that the person whom you hire is indeed who they claim to be? This is one of the primary reasons why a thorough screening process is needed for remote workers.
With a background check, you can confirm the information provided by the applicant – academic credentials, professional certifications, and employment history – is true.
if you are hiring remote workers, you might like reading this:
Background Screening Checks For Companies that will benefit them the most.
Checking if Applicants are Financially Responsible
For some work-from-home positions, you might have to provide the employee with expensive equipment. In these types of cases, it is essential to check if the person has a criminal record or a history of financially irresponsible behavior.
Checking if Applicants Can be Trusted with Sensitive Data
In some cases, remote workers might have access to sensitive data about the organization they work for or the customers. If they are irresponsible or malicious, they might accidentally leak the data or use it for nefarious purposes. In this kind of situation, the hard-earned reputation of the organization might be irreversibly damaged. The organization might also have to face the wrath of the customers in the form of class-action lawsuits.
To avoid such problems, a criminal record check is absolutely essential. It can help you identify and avoid people who cannot be trusted with sensitive data.
Similarly, if the person has a history of making derogatory and demeaning remarks related to race, ethnicity, religion, or gender on social media, you might want to steer clear of them, especially if the position you are hiring for requires the worker to interact with people from all walks of life.
This is why your screening process should include a drug test and a social media check when you are hiring remote workers.
Background Check For Hiring Remote Workers – A Necessity
Remote working is an arrangement that can benefit the employer as well as the employee – if done rightly. With a reliable screening process in place, you can easily identify and avoid problematic candidates and hire competent, trustworthy people who can be an asset to your organization.
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