The sad fact of life is that people lie and sometimes there’s a good reason for it and sometimes there isn’t. The point is that you cannot take everything at face value and if you do, without checking the facts for yourself, you really only have yourself to blame. So, what details do you need to check for employees?
People lie in every aspect of their lives – some more so than others, I agree. This applies in the world of recruitment just as much as anywhere else. You may think that this is stating the obvious but it bears repeating. If you do not check the basic information provided to you by a candidate, it is no one’s fault but yours if it turns out that they were lying.
You have the perfect opportunity to ask for proof when you recruit. If a candidate tells you they are a proficient speaker of Spanish, for example, how difficult would it be to find a native speaker to have a quick chat with them on the phone? How much more expensive would it be to find, when you put them in front of that very important Spanish client, that the extent of their Spanish is “two beers please”? The same goes for any other skill they claim to have – if you have the option to check that what they say is true, do it. You won’t regret verifying the information but you may just regret not doing it.
Again, what details do you need to check for employees? What about their personal information? Can you check that? Of course you can, within reason of course! In fact, you should be checking that they are who they say they are. That means asking for proof of the right to work in the UK (original documents, not copies) and asking for a driving licence if the job involves driving.
If you discover that things check out then you can proceed full steam ahead. However, if you find that things aren’t as they should be, you have some decisions to make. Is the discrepancy a small white lie or a whopping great fib? Is it significant enough to affect your trust in this person? Remember that if they lie at this stage, you will always be wondering what else they’ve lied about and that’s not exactly a good start to any working relationship.
In short, checking details and verifying information is a good thing. It makes you look very diligent and professional. Not checking details and taking everything at face value, on the other hand, is a very risky strategy. You have been warned! Keep asking – what details do you need to check for employees?
Contact us for advice and guidance when doing employee checks.
