Why Background Checks are Crucial for an IT Position

As you vet candidates for an IT position, running a background check is crucial. In fact, you should use the adage, “trust but verify” for any candidates resume, cover letter, or interview.. These are a few of the reasons a background check is such an important part of the IT recruiting process.

Secure Your Data

Data security is a paramount concern for today’s businesses. At best, a breach will make important data vulnerable. At worst, it will allow hackers to gain access to sensitive records, valuable financial information, and exclusive intellectual property. Recovering from the financial consequences of a breach can take months or even years, and has spelled doom for more than one company in today’s connected world. Conducting background checks can help you identify IT professionals who have been previously involved with breaches, before they gain access to your most valuable assets.

Protect Your Reputation

The consequences of a data breach often ripples outside a company’s walls and into their client/customer base. When data security is called into question, people are much more hesitant to buy from you and will seek out your competition instead. That kind of blow to your reputation can be impossible to recover from. Learning from the past and bypassing candidates who raise red flags can help you insulate your company from a major embarrassment and even legal consequences.

Safeguard Against Negligence

Data security problems aren’t always the result of malicious intent. More often, they happen because of simple user error. It can be harder to identify a pattern of negligence using a background check, but if you are thorough and analyze the results closely, you can spot candidates with a troubling lack of focus.

Avoid Fines and Penalties

One of the often-overlooked consequences of a data breach is that it opens companies up to fines and penalties for violating specific regulations. If you are subject to HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, PCI, or any other mandate governing data security – and the majority of businesses fall under this umbrella – you could face expensive repercussions for a single violation.

Simplify Security

If you hire an IT professional and there does prove to be problems, you will not know the full extent of the issue until you scour your entire infrastructure. There could be buried threats waiting to affect you months or years down the road. Unfortunately, finding and eradicating these threats is an extremely time and labor intensive process that distracts from all your other business initiatives. You can keep your focused on what you do best by hiring trustworthy employees from the start.

If you want to make confident hiring decisions, partner with the team at INSPYR Solutions. We provide high quality IT professionals across the U.S., handling all your background screening concerns before they sign on as a new team member with your company.