If you’re about to apply for a position in the retail industry in Australia, chances are you’ll be required to submit to a background check, on top of other pre-employment screening procedures. This trend has been evident for the past few years and will only continue to grow. There are many reasons behind this trend, but the main two are utility and availability. Let’s have an in-depth look at this.
Employment Background Checks Have Become Widely Available:
Some might be surprised to hear that. Criminal history checks are not something new after all. No, they aren’t new, but five or ten years ago HR managers were reluctant to put job applicants through all the trouble of getting one. Everybody knew it was quite a hassle to have to deal with the police department and all the red tape, not to mention that it took weeks to have the police check done. Nobody wanted to wait all that time, not the employers that had a position to fill and certainly not those looking to get the job and start earning money. In most cases, HR people went with their guts – this guy or girl seems decent, let’s hire them!
Things have changed with the apparition of online character check agencies. These agencies are fully accredited with the government and are authorized to perform full criminal history checks.
For HR departments for retail businesses across Australia this is a major step forward. They now have the perfect tools to screen their employees without wasting any time. Or effort. The procedure is very straightforward, and it only takes a few minutes to order an online background check on an employee. Since it’s easy to check on the candidates’ past, no wonder retail employers make sure they don’t hire any thieves or people involved with other types of criminal activity.
Why Do Retail Companies Ask for Background Checks?
Employee theft is a major problem no matter what type of business you’re running. It is even more so for the retail industry where there are so many more things to steal than in a typical office. What is a regular clerk going to steal? The stapler and some crayons? These cost money, too, but not as much as a brand new T-shirt or a pair of running shoes. People in Australian retail businesses have access to lots of tempting products that are easy to sell. And let’s not even talk about those working in luxury retail. Or the fact that workers in retail have quick access to the cash register!
The risks are considerably higher for employers in retail and this explains why so many of them have introduced routine background checks on any new hire.
It’s so easy to get a criminal record check, it is extremely affordable and the employer gets a guarantee the new sales representative is not someone who’s been in jail several times for stealing, fraud or any other type of financial offence.
Mayedul Islam is a Founder and Editor of Garments Merchandising. He is an Expert in Garments Merchandising. Writing is his passion. He loves to write articles about Apparel, Textile and Garment Washing specially on Merchandising. Mail him at mayedul.islam66@gmail.com