A background check can reveal a number of things about a prospective employee, contractor, or volunteer. It can give you an overview of their criminal history, confirm whether or not their histories are accurate, and in some cases, inform you of what kind of driver they are.
Will the Person Be Driving on the Job?
When a prospective employee, volunteer, or contractor will be driving for some or all of their job, it is a good idea to screen for any traffic violations on that person before hiring them. If you notice a prospective employee has traffic violations on their record, you may be wondering whether this is a big deal and should impact your hiring decision. The answer to this question is “it depends.” If they will be operating any sort of vehicle during their job, you should be concerned and screen for traffic or vehicle violations.
After all, you don’t want to hire someone who will be driving customers, clients, or kids around and has a track record of speeding, running red lights, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and/or other serious violations. If they continue to drive like this while they are on the job, you put yourself at risk for a damaged reputation. As always, it is important to consider multiple factors.
What is the frequency and severity of the traffic violations?
It’s important to keep frequency and severity in mind when looking at a prospective employee’s driving record. If they received one speeding ticket a few years ago and the rest of their record is clean, you probably don’t need to be concerned. However, if they have had countless traffic violations, including some severe ones like DUIs, hiring them is risky.
Background screening solutions, like FedCheck, let you filter the severity and timeline of traffic violations, so you get a clear, up to date picture of the person you are looking to hire or allow inside your facilities.
What if they won’t be driving on the job?
Should you care about a prospective employee or volunteer’s traffic violations if they won’t be driving on the job? This also depends. You may be indifferent while others may view them as a risk and refrain from hiring them. In any case, an instant background check for traffic or vehicle violations should only be obtained in cases when driving is related to the job. Your industry, as well as the needs of the job, will dictate the answer to this question.
Use these questions to decide what kind of instant background check you need to perform for your next volunteer, contractor, or potential employee.
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