Safeguard your charity with background checks
Charities need to have a strong screening process in place in order to ensure the most suitable and talented individuals are on board, safeguarding those your charity exists to support at all times and also protecting the positive reputation that your brand has worked so hard to create. At the same time, there are very strong compliance reasons why many charities should have a good screening process.
So background screening should be regarded as a key aspect of the recruitment route for many charities. Indeed the more one looks at the subject one can see perhaps a surprisingly large number of charities should be using such a process. When one thinks of how increasingly charities are vulnerable to theft and fraud and of the liabilities involved when a charity is in a partnership or contractual situation, the wider relevance of background screening becomes apparent.
Risk management
This can be an important part of the risk management process and "people risk" is a standard risk which needs to be guarded against. Also, background screening is an "enabler" in that it gives you that extra confidence to go ahead and take on the people and volunteers you want.
It is a process which ensures that the most appropriate people are joining your charity as your employees or volunteers, and gives you the confidence to focus on the talents and skills they can bring to you. After all, it is these people who will be representing your charity's ideology and mission through the performance of their own day to day activities.
Although it is not a legal requirement for all areas within the charity sector, it can certainly be a valuable asset during the recruitment stage and it means you will have all information about a candidate readily available to you.
For many charities, individuals working in them are often there to support others who come to a charitable organisation for help or guidance at a vulnerable time in their lives. Their trust lies with you, and they are wholly reliant on those who are working within your organisation promoting the wider charity ethos at all times.
Charities also often rely on the support of countless volunteers and a handful of trained employees to keep things running smoothly and ensure the end user feels the benefit of often limited resources wherever possible. This means a large number of supporters can be on hand at any one time, but this also presents those administrating with numerous people to keep track of in the process. Due to the volume of numbers, it can mean that a rogue individual could potentially slip through the net.
Checking volunteers
Just in case there is any doubt about this, it can be really important that volunteers are checked out properly. Background checks should be just as applicable to all those involving themselves in charity work. It’s more important than ever to know all you can about who is working in your charity, no matter how long that volunteer status may last. In short, it is crucial to utilise all the information that in many cases is readily available at your fingertips.
Accessing this information doesn't have to be such a monumental task as may be thought. Doing it digitally makes life so much easier. One can tap into official sources directly or use third party providers who will do the job for you. Either way the most efficient mechanism is digital. But the key is to do it on an organised and purposeful basis.
As a charity, you have a responsibility of knowing who is supporting your organisation and its overall aims at all times - whether that be in a voluntary capacity or as an official employee. Charities do have safeguarding responsibilities, and in particular for those who are vulnerable or have special needs. For this reason, background checks are undoubtedly an essential part of any charitable recruitment process, not least a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
Crucial history
Although a DBS check can be available at different levels depending on requirements, the completion of a DBS check provides the organisation carrying it out with information regarding an individual’s criminal history and any additional related information about activities whilst in previous employment. Knowing all of this not only helps protect those you work with and for, but the overall reputation of your charity too. After all, a questionable hire can have a serious impact on your charity’s image in the press.
It is not only people at the front end who need to be considered for background checks, nor when there are front end people are the vulnerabilities just where there is direct inter-personal contact. Information security is becoming an increasingly important issue for charities and they should be aware that much fraud and theft of information is often the result of insider wrongdoing.
Recent news articles have highlighted delays with DBS checks notably with applications processed by the Metropolitan Police. Cases like this have proved problematic not only for those applying to work in the charitable sector, but across the board in other industries also. In fact, it has been reported that 150,000 jobseekers are currently in limbo due to DBS check delays, with 17 out of 45 police forces missing the government target of completing 85% of applications within 14 days.
This is an extremely worrying statistic and can make background checks seem off-putting, particularly for charities which more often than not cannot afford to waste time or valuable resources. There are ways to avoid becoming caught up in this kind of situation, however. The key is to move the process online in order to move things along more swiftly.
Digital system
Switching the screening process to a digital system benefits those charities which are short on time and need to recruit efficiently, without compromising on safety or security. Similarly, introducing the official DBS Update Service can also help prevent any delays or backlogs.
This particular service allows criminal records to be kept up to date without the requirement of applying for a new DBS check. One of the added benefits is that in relation to volunteers, this is a completely free service, leaving no excuse for all volunteers not to be covered by this system.
Covering employees, this is a £13 per year system which is a low cost solution that means less paperwork and will ensure that as a charity employer, you always have the most important information about your employees at hand without the extra administrative costs. This will result in your charity consistently employing people who are suitable for roles within your organisation, and particularly those working with vulnerable adults, children or animals.
