Safety is a top priority to both consumers and companies. People want to feel and be safe — that’s human nature. Employees want to feel and be safe at work, and the public wants to feel and be safe from potential risk while they are shopping, eating out, or using a ride share service.
An innovative way for companies to show their employees, customers, and stakeholders that they care about safety is to implement a continuous criminal monitoring solution to mitigate potential employee risk.
Continuous criminal monitoring works by providing timely insight into workforce risk and is
built on reliable data. This means that when an employee has an alleged criminal interaction with law enforcement, companies will be notified in near real time.
Although this risk-mitigating solution has been available for several years, companies have been slow to adopt continuous criminal monitoring. But for companies to rely only on pre-hire and periodic background checks is proving to be risky.
Take a look at current headlines for news stories about companies receiving backlash for an employee’s criminal activity while on the job. Pre-hire and periodic background checks are fine tools to use, but they represent a moment in time and cannot predict future behavior. People are unpredictable, so companies need a solution continuously working to identify potential risk before it happens.
Even though adoption is still in the early stages, there are quite a few companies taking advantage of this solution and here are tips they have shared for how to successfully implement a continuous criminal monitoring solution:
Be transparent with employees: It should come as no surprise to employees that they are being monitored. Continuous criminal monitoring is a good thing, so there should be clear communication about the program with employees.
It is in the best interest of all involved if employees understand the “what” and “why” behind a continuous criminal monitoring implementation. It is important for companies to share with employees, customers, and other external stakeholders that they are taking steps to prioritize and ensure safety.
Make sure that employees understand what will happen if the company receives a risk event alert. It’s crucial for employees to know that because they have an interaction with law enforcement does not necessarily mean they will be terminated from their position. One significant employee benefit of continuous criminal monitoring is that employers have the opportunity to start a conversation at the first sign of risk and help get an employee back on the right track.
Investigate quickly: When a company receives an alert, it is best to investigate immediately. Companies should be in contact with their background screening agency to investigate and verify the alert quickly to understand what is going on with the impacted employee.
This would be the time to ask pertinent questions and gather more information: Is this interaction with law enforcement leading to the opening of a court case or is this charge being dropped? If there is a court case, employers can find out those dates to anticipate the impacted employee needing time out of work. Staying on top of an alert keeps companies ahead of future risk while determining what additional steps must be taken.
Adopt, adjust, and amend: Change is not always easy. When moving forward with a continuous criminal monitoring solution, companies should make sure they and their background screening agency have a process in place to investigate, amending any information quickly and correctly through subsequent research.
These adjustments should be made, not only as it pertains to a single employee case, but also as it relates to company policies and procedures. Is it written in the employee guidelines that an employee must alert their manager after an interaction with law enforcement? If not, be prepared to adjust company policies and communicate those changes to employees to be as transparent as possible. Consult with your human resource leaders and other subject matter experts to learn how best to implement these potential changes.
There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach for companies adopting continuous criminal monitoring. As companies move forward and have some historical data to analyze from the continuous criminal monitoring solution, they have the opportunity to evolve with what fits for their culture and workforce.
Enlist a layered approach: Continuous criminal monitoring is just one tool in keeping a company as low risk as possible. And while it is a valuable tool to identify and help manage criminal risk, it cannot be a company’s sole approach. In order to have the safest work environment possible, companies require more than just continuous criminal monitoring, they also require the development of a culture where employees understand what is expected of them so they can hold themselves accountable and hold others accountable, too.
Companies that do not currently use a continuous criminal monitoring solution have the opportunity now to learn from early adopters. They can move forward with a successful implementation of this solution with fewer delays, more employee satisfaction, and a plan to keep employees, customers, and the company’s reputation safe.
There is still a lot of room to grow in the continuous criminal monitoring space, and early adopters of this solution have an advantage over their competitors. Companies ahead of the continuous monitoring game are more attractive to potential new hires, and they can more easily mitigate risk to their company. Win-win!
Workforce trends come and go, but safety challenges are a constant for companies. With continuous monitoring, companies go from reactive to proactive in their approach to safety, because risk does not stop after an employee is hired. People are unpredictable, so companies need a solution that helps mitigate the risk.
If you have not already done so, be sure to listen to our latest webinar, Reducing Workforce Risk:The Future of Continuous Criminal Monitoring.
Learn more about continuous criminal monitoring and our other solutions, or contact us here. We’d love to help you find a solution for your needs!
The information provided is intended as general guidance and is not intended to convey any tax, benefits, or legal advice. For information pertaining to your company and its specific facts and needs, please consult your own tax advisor or legal counsel. Links to sources may be to third party sites. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.