Business owners need to hire honest, skilled, and hardworking employees to run a successful home services business. There’s truly no limit to how an exceptional employee can help an electrical, HVAC, plumbing, or other small business enhance the customer experience, perform high-quality work, boost sales, and ultimately grow revenue.
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However, a business takes a gamble anytime it hires a new field tech, customer service representative (CSR), or office manager.
An employee with a history of theft or other crimes could prove highly problematic, potentially losing money for your business or, even worse, from a customer. If the new hire serves in a role where they accept customer payments in the field, you want to know they’ll be honest about reporting every penny.
Field technicians spend considerable time on the road, and in your company truck, which can cause major issues if you hire someone with a history of dangerous driving. Even more important, many of the trades require highly specialized technicians. Sending an unskilled tech to a customer’s home to perform a complex repair puts the homeowner, technician—and your business—at considerable risk.
To ensure peace of mind, most business owners in the trades perform background checks on job candidates, often using online background check services and software. In fact, more than 95 percent of all companies conduct some type of background check before making a hiring decision, according to HR.com.
Business owners can choose from several types of records checks, and multiple background check services and websites, to quickly vet prospective candidates. Before exploring different services, make sure you fully understand the type of background information the screening process includes, as well as the different types of screenings available to home services business owners.
It’s also important to understand that a black mark on a background check—a decades-old misdemeanor offense, poor credit history—shouldn’t automatically disqualify a candidate, especially when many of the skilled trades anticipate a labor shortage over the next decade. As a business owner, make sure to evaluate the seriousness and timeliness of the offense before you decide to hire, or not hire, a candidate.
What is a background check?
Simply put, companies perform background checks on potential employees to confirm the candidate is in fact who they claim to be on their job application. Background checks also verify whether specific job skills, requirements, and other statements are truthful and accurate.
With the candidate’s consent, the employer usually enters a job seeker’s full name, date of birth, Social Security number, and address, into an online background verification service to obtain the necessary records.
What does a background check show?
Depending on the type of background check and the screenings service you use, a background check may include:
Employment history
Education and licensing
Citizenship or residency status
Criminal history
Driving records
Credit reports
Family members and known associates
Types of background checks
The type of background check solution you choose will ultimately depend on the nature of the work you perform, and the customers you serve. If your business contracts with government institutions, employees typically need to undergo more intensive background checks, which might include a fingerprint check.
Pre-employment background checks: Most businesses in the U.S. conduct pre-employment screenings on prospective hires. A pre-employment background check typically includes employment history and education, criminal and arrest records, citizenship verification, consumer financial information, driving records, and potentially a drug screen.
Criminal history background checks: Criminal search checks typically look for misdemeanor and felony convictions, including state and federal records searches. Depending on the state, some criminal background checks look back seven years, while others check the previous 10 years. If your company works in buildings where children are commonly present, such as a school or daycare center, your screening may need to include a sex offender registry check.
E-Verify background checks: E-Verify cross references a candidate’s employment information on an I-9 form with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to confirm employment eligibility.
Fingerprint background checks: If your company contracts with government agencies, employees will most likely need to pass a fingerprint background check. Typically, your job candidates need to visit a designated facility to submit a fingerprint to the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), which houses millions of fingerprints collected by law enforcement. A fingerprint background check provides a complete criminal history, including every interaction with law enforcement, from arrests to traffic tickets.
Best background check services
Fortunately, business owners in the trades have multiple options for choosing a reputable background check provider. A quick online search uncovers several available tools. The key to selecting the right services really comes down to your specific business needs, and desired turnaround time.
Note: Most services require an annual or monthly membership fee for a set number of searches.
You also want to consider choosing a background check company with accreditation by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), which “brings national recognition to an employment background screening-affiliated organization for its commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards and continued institutional improvement.”
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5 Background Check Services for the Trades
TruthFinder
With an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, TruthFinder scans hundreds of millions of available public records, social network data, and even the dark web to provide you with a complete background check report on your job candidate.
TruthFinder features:
People search
Background check
Criminal records
Public records
Reverse phone look-up
Dark web scan
Family tree
Does TruthFinder require a membership?
Yes, TruthFinder offers unlimited searches with a paid, monthly subscription.
How much does TruthFinder cost?
$28 per month, or $1 for a 5-day trial.
Instant Checkmate
Boasting more than 70,000 five-star reviews, Instant Checkmate offers a variety of background screening services to help home service business vet potential hires, including a mobile app to run record searches from the field.
Instant Checkmate features:
People search
Reverse phone look-up
Email search
Location search
Criminal and arrest records
Sex offender database
Inmate search
Customer support
Does Instant Checkmate require a membership?
Yes, Instant Checkmate offers unlimited background reports with monthly subscription.
How much does Instant Checkmate cost?
$22.86 per month, $9.86 per month for a six-month membership, or $1 for a 5-day trial.
Sterling
With an accreditation by the NAPBS and FCRA compliance, Sterling claims to check 20 percent more criminal records than other providers using three proprietary technologies. Sterling also partners with testing centers nationwide to offer drug testing, fingerprinting, and other health screenings.
Sterling features:
Civil court records
Criminal background checks
Global checks
Motor vehicle records
Sanctions, risk and compliance
Social media searches
Social Security number trace
Drug screening
Executive investigations
Does Sterling require a membership?
No, Sterling charges per background check.
How much does Sterling cost?
Sterling offers multiple pricing options, depending on the service. A basic check costs $29.95.
Intelius:
Intelius scans several databases of public records and allows you to search a job candidate by name, phone number, or address. Intelius provides multiple price points and recurring plans, but some reviews mention users don’t get the option to download reports.
Intelius features:
People search
Public records
Background check
Reverse phone look-up
Reverse address
Criminal records
People directory
Phone directory
Does Intelius require a membership?
No, Intelius offers one-off purchases, but also offers membership packages.
How much does Intelius cost?
Intelius offers basic name searches for as low as $1, and email look-up or social network searches for $6.95. Monthly plans with unlimited searches start at $19.95, depending on the services.
GoodHire
GoodHire offers more than 100 screening services to help businesses vet and hire quality candidates. Users gain access to the GoodHire platform and dashboard, making it easy to see the status of multiple reports in a single view. When you request a background check in GoodHire, the technology automatically sends an online verification form to obtain the candidate’s consent.
GoodHire features:
Criminal background checks
Drug testing
Employment verification
Education verification
Reference checks
Driving records
Credit checks
International background checks
Does GoodHire require a membership?
Yes, GoodHire requires a membership, and offers three tiered plans.
How much does GoodHire cost?
Basic plan: $29.96 for 25 background checks per year
Standard plan: $54.99 for 25 background checks per year
Premium plan: $79.99 for 25 background checks per year
ServiceTitan Software
ServiceTitan is a comprehensive software solution built specifically to help service companies streamline their operations, boost revenue, and substantially elevate the trajectory of their business. Our comprehensive, cloud-based platform is used by thousands of electrical, HVAC, plumbing, garage door, and chimney sweep shops across the country—and has increased their revenue by an average of 25% in just their first year with us.
