Bail Bondsman's Guide to Hiring High-Quality Employees, Part II

• May 11, 2011
• by Collateral Staff
• Business Tips

In part 1 of our series on finding and hiring high-quality employees for your bail agency, we focused on attracting qualified applicants and interviewing them. In part 2, we'll tell you how to screen candidates to find the best fit for your business.

Once you have interviewed several applicants for your bail agent job or administrative position and narrowed it down to a select few promising candidates, it's time to take an even closer look at each person. Combining the following four screening methods will give you a solid idea of which person will be the best fit for your bail agency.

Background check
A background check of your selected candidates allows you to verify their qualifications, as well as examine their pasts for any criminal charges. A thorough background check will:

• Confirm a candidate's education

• Reveal criminal misdemeanors or felonies

• Reveal a person's driving record

• Examine a person's credit history, which can be important for people who will be handling money

• Verify a candidate's employment history

Background checks are relatively easy to obtain and many websites offer these services online. These companies can provide you with a wide variety of information ranging from a detailed account of an applicant's history and acquaintances to the simple verification of their Social Security number.

Reference check
By talking to a potential employee's previous employer, reference checks can help you determine what kind of worker the candidate is and whether they will be an asset to your company. The following tips will help you get the most from your reference checks.

• When requesting references from candidates, make sure to ask specifically for professional references. They will be more likely to give you an honest report on the candidate's abilities and qualifications than their friends or family.

• Know which questions you can legally ask references. The law states that when talking to former employers, you can only ask questions relating to the person's job performance. Do not ask the reference any questions that you are legally not supposed to ask the candidate during the interview, such as inquiries about age, nationality, marital status or disabilities.

• When speaking to the former employer, give them a detailed idea of what the candidate would be doing at your bail agency, and ask them questions that will determine whether the person can handle the specific duties. Also make sure to ask the employer whether they would rehire the person in the future.

• Ask questions that will verify the accuracy of the information stated on the candidate's resume and in the interview. Facts you will need to verify include dates of employment, starting and ending salary, titles held, and the person's reason for leaving the job.

Social media screening
Although somewhat controversial and not always accurate, you can also screen a potential employee by looking at their social networking profiles on Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter. The benefits of using social networking sites to check into a candidate's background are that it's a fast, easy and free way of looking into a person's character and finding out more about their personality. Be wary when using this method because not only can information on these sites be inaccurate, but you may also learn information about the potential employee that can't legally be used in the hiring process under Equal Employment Opportunity laws.

Drug and alcohol testing
Lastly, you can conduct a pre-employment drug test. Many statistics have been released over the last few years that highlight the importance of having strict drug and alcohol policies when hiring. For example:

• About 65% of workplace accidents are related to substance abuse.

• Substance abusers are five times more likely to file a workers' compensation claim.

• Approximately 80% of drug users steal from their employers.

• Alcohol and drug abuse also has been shown to lead to unexcused absences, frequent changes of employers, higher medical costs and decreased productivity.

Taking the time to make sure the person you hire doesn't abuse drugs or alcohol will go a long way toward protecting the financial health of your bail agency and the safety of your employees.

Conclusion
Due to the constant need for professionalism and exemplary ethics in the bail industry, it is especially important to take your time to hire a quality bail agent or administrative professional. By following these simple guidelines you will not only be able to hire a person who can get the job done, but also ensure future success for your bail agency.

To read the first article in this two-part series, click here.

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