Should You Background Check Your Potential Business Partner? Yes.
Whether you are in the planning stages of a start-up or expanding and bringing on partners into an existing company, are you absolutely sure the person you will be trusting with your business is all they portray themselves to be? Are their values, vision and mission a good match for you? A high percentage of people embellish, omit and downright lie on their resumes (and during interviews). And it’s not just workers that do this, executives are in on it too.
It is your responsibility to be sure any person you are considering as a business partner is honest and trustworthy. It’s not only your business at risk, you also need to be concerned about your reputation, your credit, the safety of your employees and legal issues resulting from unethical or illegal behaviors.
How will a background check impact your decision in choosing a partner?
Some things that are red flags may not turn out to be a deal breaker for you. But, they give you some insight into a potential partner’s personality, habits and ethics. This gives you the opportunity to make an informed decision instead of being surprised later.
To start with, how about financial issues? Someone with issues such as a bankruptcy or poor credit may not be able to contribute financially to your business. Do you want your name connected with them on loan papers? Will this potential partner put your company’s credit (and yours) at risk? Sometimes desperate people do desperate things too. If they get into a financial bind, will they be tempted to steal from the business?
And then there are personal issues…
You are putting all your time and energy into the business and you want your partner to do the same. Some people make one bad decision after another that results in them being in crisis mode all the time. A background screen is pretty good about finding information that clues you into people who fall into this category.
Business ethics are going to make a big difference in the future of your company too. Reputation, litigation, client poaching or using proprietary information inappropriately are all problems that can result from a poor partner choice and make a big impact on your business.
Don’t be shy about requiring a potential business partner to go through a thorough vetting process. If they are a smart businessperson, they should want you to be cautious in bringing someone into the company.
Using a professional CRA (Consumer Reporting Agency) for your pre-employment or vendor screening services will save you time and money
For a free consultation or more information, contact Genesis Background Screening Services at 866 944-0041 ext 101. Online, you can email or visit www.genesisbackgroundscreening.com. You can sign up to be emailed whenever we post a new blog at https://genesisbackgroundscreening.com/blog/
Genesis Background Screening is not a law firm and provides our blogs for informational purposes only. Blog is not a substitute for experienced legal advice. Research laws or regulations mentioned in our blogs and ask your legal counsel any questions you have to be sure your organization is within the law and compliant with regulations.
Jacqueline McClure
Genesis Background Screening Services
