Did you hear the one about the prosperous moving and storage company that hired a driver who, it was later discovered, had three drunken-driving convictions in another state? How about the driver who was pulled over while trekking from Oregon to Arizona? It turned out he was a fugitive from a Texas arrest warrant. After his arrest, the fully loaded truck he commanded sat unattended for several hours on the roadside until another driver arrived. Then there was the director of operations for a well-known moving and storage company who was arrested for embezzling money. It wasn't even the first time she'd been arrested for such a crime.

Any one of these scenarios could become a reality for your company--if you're not taking the right precautions. At one time, pre-employment screening was reserved for police officers and government officials. Now, moving and storage companies have discovered the value of running background checks. It's no longer acceptable to have potential employees write their names and Social Security numbers on generic applications. Today's employers need more information to safeguard the company and its employees. They're using everything from drug screening to criminal-background checks to ensure the person they hire is not only the right candidate for the job, but also a safe one.

Just the facts

Once upon a time, moving and storage companies would simply compile applications and conduct interviews when they needed to fill a position. A reference or two might be verified. Driver's licenses were often checked. Some companies started drug and alcohol screening years ago. But few were doing comprehensive background checks that many say are critical in today's work environment.

"Background checks are very important because, more than you would like, people don't tell you the whole story," says David Schwarz, president of Smart Search Corp., a New Jersey-based recruitment company specifically serving the moving and storage industry. Smart Search offers job, credit and driver's-license checks on all the employees it places. "I know that I'm sending in a viable candidate; that he doesn't have any skeletons in his closet; that I'm promoting someone who has a good reputation," Schwarz says.

Although more companies are adding background checks as part of the application process, too many wait until something happens before instituting the practice. "They're being reactive instead of proactive," says Brad Thomas, vice president of marketing for InterQuest Information Services, an employee-screening company in Cape Girardeau, Mo. "A lot of companies think 'This is not going to happen to me.' Problem is, it's theft or something like it that leads them to us."

Another mistake companies make is relying solely on a single interview when hiring, Schwarz says. "Checking references is absolutely essential. People give personal references and they're worthless because friends will lie."

ACS Data Search conducts screening for employment, commercial and residential applications. "What the client wants is what we'll do. If they're only interested in Social Security verification, then that's what we'll do for them," says Kelsey Cherne, director of operations for the Kansas-based company. ACS can execute credit, criminal, education and driver's-license checks and can also verify Social Security numbers for potential and current employees. Credit and driver's-license checks require an applicant's or employee's consent. However, criminal records are accessible by anyone at any time.

"The most important one is a county criminal report," Thomas says. "Not every state provides a statewide report, but a county crime report is a seven-year, felony-misdemeanor convictions report. It's still you're most detailed report."

A Social Security trace is also vital. Some applicants, for some reason, will even lie about where they've lived. "Why even go any further?" asks Thomas. "They've already lied. The company will save itself some money by going to the next applicant."

Background checks aren't just for the moving and sales staff, either. Administrative personnel, especially managers and employees handling the books, should undergo intensive background checks. "If you're hiring a director of operations or an office manager, it's important to know they don't have any previous convictions of embezzlement or something like that," Cherne says.

The cost of a background check depends on how many avenues a company wishes to pursue. Most screening companies offer criminal and driver's-license checks as low as $35 apiece, a cost well worth it, Cherne says. "If someone is driving a truck with $30,000 worth of possessions, that $40 you spend up front is nothing compared to what it could cost you in the end," she adds.

Reducing negligence

The reason background checks are important is simple. "You want to try and prevent some type of negligence," Thomas says. "You're not going to eliminate it all. There are some people who snap. There are some people who commit crimes for the first time. But you want to try and eliminate the bad people immediately. If you do get sued, at least you can come back and say, 'Look, I tried to screen this person. I ran a criminal report. I ran a pre-employment credit check. I did everything I could. The applicant lied to me.'"

While background checks may not directly indicate whether an applicant is potentially violent, it could yield useful information. "If you've got someone who's been convicted of battery or assault, you don't want to hire that person," Thomas says. "If they can't handle the stress of their home life, do you think they're going to be able to handle the stress of a sales job when the pressure is really on?"

Background checks will essentially weed out the bad apples. "Granted, you may spend years of screening people, never find one, and say 'I wasted my money,'" Thomas says. "No, you didn't. You didn't have anybody who snapped. You turn the TV on and you find people who go in and shoot their employers. Come to find out, this person was arrested years ago on gun charges. Would you have hired him? Probably not."

Hiring an employee with a poor work ethic or bad attitude may even affect your bottom line. "It can ruin your customer-service relations--how these people get along with your clients when they are out on the street representing you," Schwarz says. "I've come across a mover who would prefer to have a truck sit in the yard and not use the equipment, which is very costly, rather than send out the vehicle with an inferior crew."

A thorough check on current and potential employees is also a good marketing tool. "Screening makes the company more credible," Cherne says. "They can tell customers, 'Yes, we screen our employees.' And that make a difference."

Test time

Many companies have found background checks don't go far enough when it comes to hiring. In addition to checking driver's-license records and references, some companies are requiring potential employees to take a battery of tests to determine whether they will be good hires. "There are a few of my clients who really like that and stick to the outcome," Schwarz says.

Companies such as ICS Marketing Inc. offer products to assess a candidate's personality. "People make the mistake of hiring experience and not behaviors and attitudes," says Jaynie Smith, president of Florida-based ICS. "Experience can be trained; behavior and attitudes are inherent in the person. Somebody can have all the knowledge and experience in the world but if he doesn't have the right behavior for the job, it's not going to be a fit. The purpose of assessment is to make sure you get a square peg in a square hole."

Personality tests can also determine which traits are ideal for the position your company is trying to fill. "We have the ability to create customized profiles based on top performers within a given position," says Kevin Sessions, director of sales and business development for Atlanta-based ComputerPsychologist.com. Personality tests can unveil a person's strengths, weaknesses, values, organizational skills and impact on the business environment. "You're able to compare candidates so you can really assess, before you hire somebody, how similar he is to your top performers and what his strengths and weaknesses are," Sessions says.

Experts assure tests such as these are difficult to manipulate. "Because there are so many questions, there's no way for a candidate to know which question relates to each trait," Session says. "Furthermore, he has no way of knowing what's the best way to answer to score on each trait."

However, Smith advises, personality or behavior tests should not replace background checks and thorough interviews. "They are just pieces to the puzzle," she says. "All of my clients who use it tell me it has improved their hiring batting average immensely. They have a much lower turnover because they're getting the right people in the right jobs." Pre-screening can lead to a big return on the initial investment. "Spend a lot of time and money on the candidate before you hire him, because once you hire him and make a mistake, it's costly," Smith says.

Top talent

One company has streamlined the entire application process, providing interview and assessment tools that quickly identify top candidates. Richmond, Va.-based Jobseeker.net offers an online application method that identifies top candidates.

"What Jobseeker has done is provide a very advanced, sophisticated extension of the interview," says Scott Bernard, Ph.D., vice president of business development. In addition to the typical questions, the online application can be tailored by a company looking for particular qualifications. "It gives you all kinds of information on the candidate's interests, skill level, expertise, work attitudes and a lot of personality variables to help employers do a better job of selecting top talent," Bernard adds.

For example, a moving and storage company with an operations position to fill can ask applicants how many years of experience they have. If the company will only hire applicants with 10 or more years of operations experience, applicants who don't meet that criterion are automatically withdrawn from further consideration for that specific job. "Instead of getting bombarded with resumes that don't meet the company's criteria, it gets more information on a smaller number of top candidates who are a strong fit," Bernard says.

Jobseeker is not a test, Bernard stresses, but rather a tool to help companies seek out the right candidate. "You often get a large group of candidates who seem to meet your job criteria. You cannot interview them all. Our sophisticated reports on each top candidate help employers quickly figure out whom they really want to talk with further. Meanwhile, it saves moving, storage and transportation employers a lot of time and money associated with the whole hiring process."

Getting it right

Because replacing one employee can cost as much as 150 percent of one employee's salary, making sure you hire the right person the first time is crucial. Background checks and testing can eliminate putting the wrong person in the wrong position and reduce the potential for negligence. The experts say candidate screening should at the very least include criminal and driver's-license checks, Social Security verification, and drug and alcohol screening. Screening weeds out potential problem employees and safeguards your company and employees.