Building a Strong Multicultural Workforce

A multicultural team adds diversity and new perspectives to your business, both of which positively impact productivity, performance, and ultimately profits. The rise of remote working and the ease with which people travel and move around the world are both making it more and more possible to create a workforce with a wide variety of experience and perceptions. 

Side by side with this growth in workplace diversity is an increasing focus on workplace safety. Pre-employment background screenings are becoming standard across all industries in the United States at the same time that employers are looking beyond our borders for great talent. Is it really practically feasible to do both? Can your organization hire more people with experience living, working, and learning abroad and maintain a strong policy of background checks? The answer is a resounding yes. With the help of reliable global background screenings, your business can simultaneously increase diversity and safety. 

Global Checks: What’s Possible

Employment screening rules and regulations vary wildly across different countries and jurisdictions. It’s important to be aware of the laws in each country and to stay compliant. Your legal team and background check vendor can help you with those issues. In addition to standard criminal history checks, it’s also possible to do the following:

• Identity verification, including passport verification
• Address checks. While a simple social security number trace will not help with international addresses, experienced global screeners access tools in each country to assist with locating address information.
• Employment verification. Global screeners contact former employers regardless of location to confirm job details, including position, responsibilities, performance, and salary. Keep in mind that the collection of this kind of data is not allowed everywhere.
• Professional license/certification verification. Information about international professional licenses is available, so you can be certain to hire someone with the right credentials.
• Education verification. Most international education checks will verify the highest earned degree or certification, but custom searches are possible.
• Financial regulatory screen. This type of screen will discern if disciplinary actions have been taken against the applicant that would prevent them from working in financial services or upper management positions.
• Sanctions and other lists. There are a number of international sanctions databases that can be searched. Examples include terror watchlists, debarments, and most-wanted lists. A robust screen will determine if the applicant appears on any of these lists.
• Social media search. A scan of the candidate’s social media presence will reveal alarming patterns or behavior regardless of where the individual lived or worked.

The Final Word on International Screening

Yes, an international background check is more complicated, takes a bit longer, and costs more than a strictly domestic check. Nevertheless, these costs are small compared to the costs associated with a bad hire. Take your business forward with a diverse, safe workforce.