So your applicant has a “Bahcelor’s” degree…

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Imagine this:

You’re hiring for a position that requires a certain level of knowledge and experience from your candidates.  You’ve finally narrowed it down to two applicants, and one of them just sent you his diploma, which looks like it was typed this morning in Microsoft Word—and it turns out he can’t even spell “Bachelor.” 1

It’s probably safe to assume this applicant won’t be the best candidate for the position, but it’s also important to know that you’re not alone.  Nearly half of workers in the U.S. know someone who has fudged their previous experience on a resume or application. 2  Worse, your applicant may not even know their diploma is a fake (although we hope this guy wasn’t that clueless).  Many diploma mills present themselves as legitimate, claiming to use “legal loopholes” to get degrees from real institutions based on life experience rather than credits or exams.3

So how can you find out if your other applicant has also been truthful about their credentials?  A criminal background check may not be enough to uncover a false diploma, and verifying a diploma requires time and effort.  To meet this need, the McDowell Agency staffs a department especially for employment and education verifications.  Our verifiers work with trusted databases such as the National Student Clearinghouse, which is used by many institutions to keep enrollment and degree records, as well as The Work Number, which does the same for employment records.  If your applicant’s information isn’t available from these databases, our verifiers reach out directly to institutions and companies to verify records.

Want to leave the verification to the pros? Contact us for more info →

1 True story.
2 http://rh-us.mediaroom.com/2017-08-17-Resume-Lies-On-The-Rise
3 Such as http://www.college-degree-fast.com/

Employee Turnover

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It is no secret that employee turnover is incredibly costly. In fact, one study shows that a single worker turnover can cost upwards of $15,000! And that’s just the direct costs.

Can comprehensive background checks reduce turnover?

Absolutely! Background checks help promote a safe working environment and they keep employees honest. They also help increase the quality of the candidates applying.

Q: What are the indirect costs of turnover?

A: There are many, and most come in the form of time. The amount of time it takes to set up and conduct interviews, time to go through candidates, and the amount of time it takes to train a new hire are a few examples. Another major indirect cost is the affect turnover has on morale of the company.

Q: Morale costs? What is that?

A: Because the other employees will have to cover the workload of the employee that left, they will be under greater stress to balance everything until someone new can be hired and trained – this is the major impact of morale costs.

75% of the causes of employee turnover are preventable.

Want to see how we can help mitigate employee turnover with a comprehensive background check? Contact us now!

Feel free to give us a call, shoot us an email, send a carrier pigeon, whatever! We will respond and work one-on-one with you to develop a background screening package that fits your needs as well as works to bring in the highest quality candidates to decrease your cost of employee turnover.