The Parthenon, the student newspaper of Marshall University, reports on the adoption of a background check policy by the University. Here’s the lead.
Employees who apply for jobs at Marshall University or Marshall Community and Technical College must now undergo background checks.
The Board of Governors passed the background check provision, Policy No. HR-14, during its Oct. 16 meeting, marking the first time the university has required background checks campuswide, the policy said.
The story gives us a look at many issues that have to be considered when an organization that hasn’t mandated background checks before makes them a requirement. Let’s consider a few.
The story quotes HR Director Jim Stephens as saying: “We hope, though, that departments have been performing these checks for a while because it’s a sound hiring practice,” It sure is.
In many organizations, some departments do background checks and others don’t. A policy like Marshall’s makes it clear that everyone should do them and makes a lot of excuses irrelevant.
Marshall’s policy applies to all faculty and staff hired on or after November 1. You’ve got to have some kind of effective date. You’ve got to be clear about who’s covered and who’s not covered by the policy.
Current faculty and staff won’t be checked when they apply for new positions. I would prefer to conduct background checks any time there’s a change in function that allows access to sensitive information or to money.
Student workers in general are exempt from the policy. But student workers applying for health and research positions or positions where they work with minors will have to submit to a background check.
What’s not mentioned in the article, but which is also important is the kind of background checks that should be done. The big three choices are criminal, per-employment credit check, and driving records check. The policy should also specify any other checks, such as reference checks that should be part of the hiring process.
You also have to decide who’s going to do the background checks. At Marshall, like many organizations, the task falls to HR. I hope there’s been budget money available for them to take on the new work.
So if you’re considering establishing a background check policy, make sure you touch all the bases. Define who will be cheeked, what checks will be done, and who will be responsible for doing them.