Not every business wants to take the time or pay out the money to conduct background checks on their employees. But in the hospitality industry, such checks can mean the difference between hiring great people or career criminals. You are putting the reputation of your business in the hands of your employees, so there’s nothing wrong with you wanting to know who they are and what they’ve been up to. Here are five reasons why background checks are critical in the hospitality industry.
Safety of Your Guests
One of the number one reasons you should do hospitality industry background checks is for the safety of your guests. When they book into your hotel, eat at your restaurant, or play at your amusement park, guests are giving you their trust. They expect you to take care of them, keep them safe, feed them well, and provide them with a good time. You don’t want to break that trust by allowing an employee to harm them in some way.
Background checks let you know if an employee is a good fit for your business. If it turns out someone has been caught stealing from the cash register or taking things from guests’ rooms or joyriding in other people’s cars, you probably don’t want them as a cashier or housekeeper or valet.
Safety of Your Employees
Some people do not play well with others. You should know that before you hire them and assign them to work with guests or other employees. You are responsible for the safety of everyone you employ. If your ride attendants and wait staff and bag handlers are picking fights with each other, they aren’t being safe. And they could cause serious issues for you and your business down the road. Do you want to deal with a lawsuit because one of your employees punched someone in the face? Probably not.
Safety of Your Reviews
In this day and age, bad reviews can sink a business. All it takes is one angry guest who had something stolen from them or dealt with a rude employee, and your reputation is ruined. Give yourself a bit of security against bad reviews by making sure your staff is as good as you can get. If they have a history of less-than-stellar activities, consider not hiring them. Or at least not allowing them anywhere near your customers.
Safety of Your Budget
Hiring an employee that steals or picks fights or has issues with drinking or doing drugs on the job is going to end up costing you a lot of money. Not only will you possibly have to pay to replace stolen items, or for medical bills for injured employees or customers, you’ll have to fire the problem employee and spend time and money finding their replacement.
Safety of Your Business
The bottom line is that performing hospitality industry background checks protects your business. It keeps you from having to pay court fees because your employee punched someone or took all the cash from their purse. It (hopefully) keeps you from finding terrible reviews about your business online. And it keeps you from having to constantly replace employees. It also gives you peace of mind that you are hiring and employing people that will help your business succeed and not the other way around.