Reference Reports
1. When a company deals with very sensitive material, and information it should do very thorough background checks on their job applicants before hiring them. Classified information in the wrong hands can be very destructive, and dangerous for the company and the clients they deal with. Due to BSS not doing a thorough background check on their employer from Mercelle-Poulet the employee was caught attempting to sell certain cultures to an overseas client.

Bio-Server-Systems should first start with a credit check with job applicants. The company has comply with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. When the applicant fills out the job application the company must let the applicant know that a credit check will be done, and then they need the applicant to approve for the background to be done. The credit check will obtain information about the applicant’s creditworthiness and standing, character, general reputation, personal information, and mode of living (Heneman, Judge, & Kammeyer-Mueller p.406). Since BSS deals with the very sensitive information a investigative consumer report should be done as well. This report will give information about the general reputation, character, personal characteristics, and the mode of living via personal interviews with friends, neighbors, or business associates of the applicant. A criminal background check should be conducted as well. This way BSS can check to see if the applicant has been involved in any theft, fraud, or any type of violence. These are the types of background checks BSS should run before hiring anyone to work for their company.
2. There are an abundance of questions that a company should not ask, or ask in the correct way on a job application. The questions that must be asked in a certain way that need to be for a specific reason why the company is asking them as well. One of the first questions that are normally asked on a job application is about a person’s nationality. If a company asks this question they should not ask if the applicant is a U.S. citizen, but if they are legally able to work in the United States. BSS should not ask what is a person’s language, but if they are fluent in the language they would like them to speak (i.e. English).

If a company would like to find out about where their applicant resides then they should not ask the question how long have you lived here, but what is your current address. Religion is a big subject to try to touch upon as well. To find out if a person observes certain holidays then they should ask does a person belong to a certain club, or social organization (HR World Editors). A question about an applicant’s physical ability should only be asked if it pertains to the job they are applying for.

3. There is no certain way to make sure that the background testing programs are effective. Sometimes things, or people are always able to slip thru cracks some type of way. It seems that a lot more companies are doing background checks on their job applicants. With so much going on in the world, and things being so different it is a very good idea to try to find out as much as you can about the person you are going to be bringing into your company.
BSS needs to make sure that they indicate in their job opening ad that they do conduct background screenings on their job applicants. This may tweed out potential applicants who do have a not so pretty background. BSS would also need for the applicant to consent to the background check to cover them for legal purposes. They should ask the applicant on the job application do they have a criminal record that includes anything as small as a traffic ticket. Some jobs give employees company cars to drive so their traffic record would be pulled. The most important thing to include at the end of the application is that if any information supplied is false that the application will be terminated immediately (Les Rosen).

4. The methods that BSS has used in the past to conduct their initial assessment are the normal procedures that most companies use. Methods such as applicant blanks, interviews with Stanley and other BSS managers, and a follow-up with the applicant’s former employer may be enough for some people, but what you have to do for one you have to do for all. They should keep these procedures in place, but add a few more for security purposes.

BSS should check past employment references to see what type of employer the person was when they worked for those companies. They could ask for a list of past addresses the applicant have lived at for the past seven years to include a timeframe for when they lived there to help out with the background check (Les Rosen). If they hire the employee then they need to let the employee know that they could be submitted to a random drug test at any time. Since BSS is a company that keeps classified information they should probably conduct random checks on their employees to make sure they are not involved in anything illegal even after hiring them. They would also have to have the employee to consent to this procedure as well.

References http://www.esrcheck.com/articles/Effective-Pre-Employment-Background-Screening.php http://www.hrworld.com/features/30-interview-questions-111507/

Heneman, H.G., Judge, T.A., & Kammeyer-Muller, J.D. (2012). Staffing organizations (7th ed.). Middleton, WI: Mendota House.