How to make a pre-employment screening policy for a small business in Australia

When you run a small business in Australia, you probably don’t have an HR department to draw up complex hiring policies.

In most cases, it’s the business owner that does the job interviews and decides who to hire. That’s all very well, but there are a few things you should learn from big companies.

If they have a strict pre-employment screening strategy, they have that for a reason – to avoid bad hires. What is a bad hire? Maybe someone like the guy you had to fire a few months ago after money went missing from the cash register?

If you want to avoid such unpleasant situations you need to learn how to screen for bad hires like a pro.

Using employment background checks

Many small business owners feel very close to their employees. In a large company, the CEO only interacts with top level managers and he doesn’t know most of the people working for him. The staff in a small business is like a family. You get to know each other well and this builds a sense of trust among employees.

Unfortunately, evil-minded employees might exploit this closeness. They will equate you being friendly with you being a fool, a fool that they can steal from and get away with it.

Another problem with small businesses is that oftentimes employees fill in for one another, especially if we’re not talking about highly specialized jobs. This creates a lot of practical opportunities for people to steal money, materials, equipment or products from you.

The least you can do is have any new employee submit to a criminal record check via well known services like the ANCC which can be found here. It’s easy to get one and you certainly don’t need an HR manager for that.

You can order a background check on anyone by using the services of one of the many online character check agencies operating in Australia. You order online, on your phone if you want, and you get a 100% valid national police check in as little as 24 hours if further vetting is not required. This way you avoid hiring people who were convicted of theft, fraud, or embezzlement.

Check the candidates social media accounts

Maybe you’re good at reading people and knowing a good guy from a bad guy, but when your business is at stake you shouldn’t rely on your instincts. You can easily check a job applicant’s social media accounts. Most HR managers in Australia use this type of discreet check on prospective employees and it doesn’t take a trained professional for that.

Whenever we meet someone we check their social media profiles to see what sort of people they are. Why wouldn’t you do that for a new employee?

You can go on Facebook or Instagram and see what they post about and what sort of friends they have. This allows you to understand if the new employee is a good fit and he or she can get along with the rest of your staff.

Look for references

When a candidate submits a CV, they will probably list their past employers. Ask them why they quit their previous job. If they talk bad about their previous employer, make a note of that.

An employee that bears a grudge against a former employer might not be the person you’re looking for. Also, be sure to give that former employer a call and inquire about their employee. Find out what truly happened and if the employee quit their job or was fired for misbehaving or incompetence.