The Importance of Background Checks

Posted on by February 21, 2013

Clinical RecruitmentWhen dealing with recruitment processes and strategies, background checks can prove to be an effective form of insurance against various factors which can be detrimental for the company, associates, and work environment. When considering conducting background checks, it is critical to understand several aspects: how they can be beneficial to your company, the assortment of checks that can be performed, and the costs associated.

Protection and insurance are two of the most key components in anyone’s personal or professional life. Background checks during the clinical recruitment process can serve to provide both. Through the application of these checks, a company is able to research a candidate’s credit history, confirm education and employment history, and review driving, criminal and court records. This information can provide valuable information to either confirm or deny the qualities of your top candidates.

As you can imagine, hiring a candidate with a negative or shady history could be easy without conducting a thorough background check.  Of course this could open the door for serious risks and consequences with the impact being devastating to the work environment, company atmosphere, and employee morale. By proactively performing background checks, you help to secure the integrity of the company, your employees, and reduce turnover.

There are two basic types of background checks: professional and personal. Both types of checks are vital to securing data about a candidate. Each form of background check analyzes different aspects and characteristics of a candidate and can prove to be valuable predictors for how he/she may perform in the position and in the work environment.

Professional background checks are done through a separate company or through the use of specific software services. These are the most thorough, but also the most costly. Professional background checks, provided by services such as Intelius, Identity P.I., and US Search, can range in prices, but an intermediate check is around fifty dollars.

Personal background checks are carried out through the hiring manager or the associate in charge of the recruitment process. These personal background checks, while far easier and simpler than a professional background check, are just as vital. In this instance, the recruiter uses basic Internet search methods to uncover a candidate’s personal history. “Googling” a candidate’s name and viewing his/her profile on various social networking websites, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, can all provide information about a candidate’s professionalism, personality, traits, attitudes, and beliefs.

Background checks are not only a way to uncover possible negative aspects of a candidate, but can also serve to reaffirm previous positive evaluations as well. Through the implementation of professional and personal background checks, a company is able to protect its employees, assets, and atmosphere, as well as reduce turnover and take progressive steps toward a successful and beneficial work environment for all.

Need assistance establishing a competitive clinical research salary or recruiting tips to improve your clinical recruitment results?  We offer complimentary consultation in these areas!

Written by Ryan Miller

Dedicated to Every Client’s Success

Angela Roberts
www.craresources.com
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3 Things NOT TO DO when Focused on CRA Recruitment

Posted on by February 21, 2013

Clinical RecruitmentDefining the things you should do during CRA Recruitment is as easy as 1, 2, 3.  First, you have to identify the job requirements for the staff who will be monitoring your clinical trial.  Then, you need to post your position and interview candidates. Finally, you need to hire one of your applicants.  Those steps seem pretty straightforward; however, the devil is in the details!  The hardest part is defining what NOT to do when focused on CRA Recruitment.  Here are the 3 biggest recruiting tips for things to avoid:

1.    DO NOT post the position or start considering applicants without a complete and thorough understanding of what you want. Think about what your team needs (“have to haves”) and wants (“like to haves”).  Know what qualities would be beneficial for this position including therapeutic and phase experience.  If you are having trouble, evaluate your current CRA team: what qualities do they have, and what qualities would enhance their work?  Need some tips on what to consider?  Take a look at our advice on how to Qualify a Position.  Some overlap in skills and qualifications is okay, but the goal is efficiency.  Most importantly, DO NOT settle.  The candidate pool for CRAs is wide enough for you to find exactly what you need.

2.    DO NOT enter an interview unprepared. This could have negative consequences for you, your company, and your clinical trial.  You need to plan what questions you will ask and you need to have a general understanding of what you want the candidate to tell you.  Additionally, use Behavioral Interviewing Methods during your interview as this method will give you a clearer idea of the candidate’s true experiences, character, and ability to think on his feet.

3.    DO NOT involve everyone in the hiring process.  It will over-complicate things, and it may muddle the CRA recruitment process.  Of course you will want to bring in the appropriate people at the appropriate time; however, involving extra people too early takes away from your time and resources, and those staff members could be using their time in more productive ways.  I recommend one person to do the initial phone interview.  This will weed out a large percentage of your non-qualified candidates and will fine tune your top candidate group.  Once you have reached a group of top candidates, then you should engage more team members for future interviews as a sanity check and to finalize the selection of your new Star Employee.

Need assistance establishing a competitive clinical research salary or recruiting tips to improve your clinical recruitment results?  We offer complimentary consultation in these areas!

Written by Alli Hunt

Dedicated to Every Client’s Success,

Angela Roberts
www.craresources.com
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How to Recruit and Hire the Best: A Checklist for Success

Posted on by February 21, 2013

Clinical RecruitmentRecruiting candidates can be a tedious task, but if you carefully plan out the process, it can be easy and relatively stress-free.  Creating a checklist that covers the entire course of the process can help you easily identify what you need to do in order to find that perfect candidate. Here is a short compilation of tasks to consider when putting together your recruiting strategy.

1. Fully qualify the position with your hiring team and confirm approval to hire from finance or other appropriate divisions in your company

2. Create a well written job description

3. Create a list of the most important personality characteristics and ‘soft skill’ traits that you want in a candidate

4. Research similar job salaries and create a base range that is competitive, yet affordable

5. Notify all in-house employees of the new opening and fish for referrals

6. Evaluate in-house staff and proceed with the qualification process of in-house employees as appropriate.

7. If you decide upon a current in-house employee, start the transition process and end the search.

8. If you are not happy with any of the internal candidates, begin searching outside the company and post the job opening in various venues whether it be online or offline

9. Contact job placement firms and agencies for any leads or tips on finding a perfect match

10. Using the job description, fully qualify applicants and start scheduling phone interviews

11. Prep your team on how to effectively conduct phone interviews

12. Evaluate the team results of the phone interviews and schedule face-to-face interviews for the top candidates

13. Prep your team on how to effectively conduct face-to-face interviews

14. In a timely manner, communicate an offer to your top candidate

15. Communicate rejections to other candidates

I hope you find this list helpful…and not totally overwhelming.  We have step by step “how to” articles for many of these tasks.  If you have any questions or need any assistance, please leave a comment and we will be in touch to provide you assistance.

Written by Eric Lee

Dedicated to Every Client’s Success,

Angela Roberts
www.craresources.com
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What should your Compensation Requirements be?

Posted on by February 25, 2013

Clinical RecruitmentOne of the toughest things to consider after receiving a job offer is if the compensation offered is fair; and let’s face it, most people have a hard time assigning a monetary value to themselves. The best way to determine what compensation to expect or negotiate for is to do your part up front and research it.  There are a number of ways you can easily do this research and gain a good understanding of what your monetary worth in a particular job role or function should be.

Use the Internet

The World Wide Web is a great place to start your research.  There are various free resources on the web which allow you to sift through compensation information and compare the different rates for different jobs.  I personally benchmark positions using payscale.com, indeed.com, and simplyhired.com.  You can also search the job boards for postings similar to your desired position.  Many of these postings will list compensation ranges.

These Internet services are not always the most accurate since they are typically very general, but you can get more industry specific information at minimal cost.  However, do not limit yourself to just conducting Internet searches; don’t be afraid to approach this task the old-fashioned way because newspapers and local listings are also great ways to find information about compensation. 

Ask the People Around You

Personal input from former and current employees within the industry of a potential job may be a great way to measure the worth of your desired position.  By talking with those around you, you are easily able to compare and contrast your responsibilities with your peers and obtain a basic idea of what to expect.  Another option is to seek out a job placement recruiter because they are experts in every element of finding and accepting a job offer.  Recruiters can also provide a plethora of resources and information that you may not have thought of or have access to and typically at no cost to you.

Consider the Benefits

When you are determining your expected compensation range, make sure that you are taking the entire compensation package into account.  Often, a high paying job is balanced with a benefits package that isn’t as attractive.  Many companies offer a 401(k) contribution plan, and typically the size of the company is directly related to the size of their contribution levels.

Written by Eric Lee

Investing in a Lifetime of Success,

Angela Roberts
www.craresources.com
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