When you want to hire a new employee, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Bringing new employees on board requires a degree of trust and faith you may not even bestow on a neighbor or friend, and yet most new hires are often complete strangers. The best way to protect the company’s assets and the organization in general can result in social media background checks of potential employees for more information. 

Social media accounts such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram tell a lot about someone’s character and judgment. The use of social media information has become prevalent. Counselors and employment agencies often advice job seekers to make the necessary account privacy settings to ensure employers do not access all the data on their pages. 

Social Media Background Checks 

Does this simple trick actually work? Not all the times. Some companies are upfront when it comes to their intention to view the social accounts as they screen applicants. Others even request usernames and passwords while conducting the application process. Applicants are then forced to delete photos, comments, and other information that can prevent them from getting the job. 

If this is the approach your company follows, you need to know that state legislatures have enacted laws that illegalize acquisition of this kind of information to be considered for the job. Legislation has been passed to forbid employers/HR managers from requesting the social media data for employees to keep the job. So, depending on your business’s location, you’ll need to know what the law states to avoid breaking the law. 

What You Need To Do 

Although social media may seem like it offers a lot of the information employers require, there are less risky approaches your company can rely on to know if a candidate is suitable for the position or not. These methods are less risky, but they still offer plenty of information. After all, these social media accounts are designed for socializing and there is a high chance that the behavior a person reflects on these kinds of sites isn’t necessarily what you are bound to see at work. 

Extensive screening using civil and criminal records, education verification, credit information, as well as other carefully conducted background checks can assist you to uncover behaviors that can indicate an employee’s activity and performance while on the job. Since these processes are well established, the laws and guidelines that regulate their use are clearly defined. What’s more, because hiring regulations change often, it has become hard for hiring managers to keep up with the recent updates, including how the laws apply to the actual hiring scenario. 

Relying on companies like Fama to conduct the background checks for the candidates is the best way you can be certain that the hiring process you use is not only legal but also fair. This gives your company the peace of mind and contributes to your risk management initiative. Other than conducting the research, Fama can also provide detailed and complete results that substantiate hiring decisions and protect the firm in case legal issues arise. This offers another layer of protection