• The need to hire the most qualified candidate, and the inherent risk in hiring the wrong candidate, has never been greater. Workplace crime, unethical business practices, and misleading resumes are on the rise. The costs of fraud, embezzlement, theft and violence are a multi-billion dollar drain on our economy, bleeding organizations both large and small. Background checking has exploded in the workplace over the last 10 years. Some of the most compelling reasons organizations now conduct background checks:
  
  
• Making background checking a part of an organization's culture can not only enhance its effectiveness (e.g., through greater productivity and retention), but also its reputation.
  
  
• Background checking can supplant an organization's loss prevention efforts by helping provide a safer environment for employees, volunteers, and others.
  
  
• The most common reason among employers for not conducting background checks is cost. However, the cost of background checks represents a fraction of the cost of: terminating an individual; re-recruiting, re-hiring, and re-training his or her replacement; and defending a lawsuit brought by a victim of a dishonest or violent individual's actions (which can range in the multi-millions of dollars). Additionally, background checks may uncover a history of fraud or theft, and many organizations especially retail companies experience very high levels of employee theft.
  
  
• A background check may uncover deception. It can affirm an individual's professional or personal integrity by confirming that an individual told the truth on his/her resume or application regarding criminal, employment and education history.
  
  
• In some organizations and industries some form of background checking is often required whether because it is mandated by law, or because an insurance company demands it.
  

- NAPBS