4 Reasons the Energy Industry Needs Background Checks
If your company operates within the energy industry, your hiring practices should include thorough background investigations. Energy industry employees are charged with the operation, maintenance, and safeguarding of a great deal of expensive and dangerous equipment. Additionally, the safety and comfort of the public can be impacted by the actions of energy industry workers. Ensuring that your staff is skilled, reliable, and of upstanding character is critical. Background investigations can help to verify all this and more before bringing a new hire on board.
Here are four reasons your energy industry organization should be using background investigations both pre- and post-hire.
- Energy industry employees must be skilled.
Your company’s employees aren’t doing just any job–they are working on complex electronic and physical systems that take a great deal of training and experience to understand. To ensure that your employees have the background and skills needed to keep your company running, a background check is critical. Reference verifications and other interview-style background checks can help to ensure a potential employee is qualified for a given position.
- Energy industry employees must be trustworthy.
Employees of the energy industry are exposed to a great deal of sensitive information. The energy grid is in many ways a matter of national security, and employees might have the ability to tap into the grid for repairs or to access data that should not be exposed to the public. Statewide and Federal Criminal Searches can help to show felony and misdemeanor records for a possible hire. Office of Foreign Assets Control searches turn up information on applicants who have been involved in narcotics or terrorism. Checking out the background of an applicant to ensure their ethics align with the needs of your company is critical before onboarding.
- Energy industry employees must be cautious.
In addition to the danger of leaked information, the energy industry deals with the real possibility of physical danger–to its employees and to the public. Workers deal with expensive and dangerous equipment while on the job, and it’s imperative that your company be sure potential hires are cautious and meticulous. Reference verifications can once again help in this area. Additionally, drug screenings can verify that your applicant is not under the influence and will be able to commit to daily focus while on the job.
- Energy industry employees deal with the public.
In many instances, employees of the energy industry are on the front lines, speaking and interacting directly with your company’s customers every day. It’s important to be sure that potential hires have the professional demeanor necessary to make these interactions go smoothly and without incident. After all, your employees represent your company and its reputation. National Sex Offender Registry searches, among others, can help to ensure the employees you bring on will not pose a danger to the public. Professional reference screenings check an applicant’s past work behavior to see if they have the right demeanor to represent your company.
Call Alliance Risk Group today to discuss background investigations for your energy industry company. We are well versed in background checks for your industry!
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