If you want to grow your network, you may consider adding people who don’t necessarily have any connection to you but could still be valuable to your business. That can come from hiring new people or adding those that offer skills and knowledge outside of what you already have in-house. When recruiting new talent, it is essential to perform background and reference checks on them to ensure they are the right fit for your organization and not harm your reputation or network.
1. Helps Protect Your Business
When in business, you must be careful about who you let into your inner circle. After all, the people you associate with can significantly impact your reputation and bottom line. That’s why conducting background investigations and reference checks are essential before adding anyone new to your network.
These checks help businesses learn more about the individual they are considering including in their professional networks, allowing them to determine whether they should make a connection based on what they find out. For example, some basic information found during these searches may include past employers, criminal records (if applicable), social media accounts, education level, etc. You can check out this page to learn more about accessing state records and conducting a thorough criminal investigation.
2. Your Network Can Make or Break You
The people you associate with can significantly impact your life, professionally and personally. That’s why it’s so important to screen the people you let into your inner circle carefully. Even though you may know someone for years or even decades, sometimes something about them changes instantly, and they become a different person.
One minute they’re fun to be around; the next, they’re saying something so offensive that you never want to see them again. You never know when a person within your networkwill say or do something that completely alters their character, so it’s best not to take any chances when adding new members to your network.
3. Helps Avoid Embarrassment
You never want to be in a position where you’re embarrassed by someone in your network. That’s why conducting background investigations and reference checks are essential before adding anyone new to your inner circle. You can avoid any potential embarrassment down the road by taking the time to do your due diligence. And it doesn’t have to take that much time! You only need to make sure that people aren’t acting on behalf of other people or companies that are out there trying to discredit your company’s products or services.
It’s best to keep an eye on who is sending you friend requests, following you on social media sites, or interacting with your online content. All this information will help if/when you find yourself dealing with unethical individuals. References can also give you an idea of how the person might behave at work and how they interact with other employees and managers.
4. You Will Not Be Guilty Giving Somebody a Recommendation
There are a lot of great people out there. You want to help them as much as possible, but you also want to protect your reputation. The best way to do this is by conducting background investigations and reference checks before adding anyone to your network. That way, you can be sure that the person you recommend is qualified and trustworthy. People in your network may request a recommendation from you for a job or other position.
Hence, if you take for granted conducting a background investigation or reference check on someone, you might find yourself recommending untrustworthy individuals and putting your reputation and business at risk. Otherwise, if you have already conducted the investigations and checks for everyone you include in your network, you don’t have a chance of recommending an undeserving person.
5. You Feel More Comfortable and at Ease Within Your Network
You will feel more comfortable knowing that you have vetted the people in your network and that they are reliable. Furthermore, you can avoid potential legal issues down the road by making sure that everyone in your network is on the up and up. Additionally, you will have peace of mind knowing that you can trust the people in your network. Finally, conducting background investigations and reference checks is good business practice.
Conclusion
It is essential to take the time to conduct background investigations and reference checks on potential new connections for a variety of reasons. First, you want to be sure that you are dealing with honest, ethical people. Second, you want to be sure that the people you are dealing with have the skills and abilities they claim to have. Third, you want to be sure that the people you are dealing with will not pose a risk to your safety or the safety of your family or friends. Most importantly, it gives you peace of mind when you know who you are dealing with and feel confident in what you’re getting into without regrets.