Wading through numerous applications and arranging interviews can make the hiring process feel quite stressful. When searching for the ideal caregiver, whether its child care, tutors or aged care, there is one step in the process that should never be glossed over – background checks.
Background checks are essential to ensure that the person you’re inviting into your family home as caregiver is suitably qualified and reliable. Obvious warning signs to watch out for are criminal records, driving offences or personality traits that make you uneasy.
You can undertake your own investigations in addition to background checking candidates. Here are 5 steps to follow when background checking caregivers:
1. Don’t go it alone
A complete, thorough criminal record check is a piece of the safety-check puzzle best left to a professional company. Once compiled, pay special attention to the individual’s traffic record if they will be doing any driving. A caregiver criminal record check will give you that all important peace of mind knowing that your family will be safe under the supervision of a screened caregiver.
2. Do some online research
Perform a Google News search. Search for any news stories written about them or in which they’re quoted. Look for any personal blogs written by your potential hire to get an idea of their views. As with social media searches, be careful to ensure you are looking up the right person, as any number of individuals may have similar names.
3. Check social media
Look for your potential caregiver on popular sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, etc. In addition, Pinterest might provide clues about a person’s interests and hobbies. If they have a review history on Yelp, the site could offer clues as to the types of places they frequent as well as their buying habits.
Many people have no privacy settings on their personal pages and treat them like a tell-all. Look for objectionable photos and status updates. Pay careful attention to the person’s Facebook friends and those who comment on their page. This may provide clues about lifestyle and personality.
4. Prepare interview clues
Even the most comprehensive background check is not foolproof. Families should interview any potential hire carefully by asking general background questions, asking about the way the person was raised, their relationships with friends and family and jobs they’ve held.
Practical questions such as, “How do you take an infant’s temperature?” and, “What would you do if my 2-year-old got really cranky because he’s teething?” can be very telling. Ask about discipline, but rather than asking if you would ever spank a child, ask, “When do you think it’s appropriate to spank a child? Please describe a situation.” This will yield more information.
5. Reference the references
Employment and reference checks are part of any standard, third-party safety check, but how do you know an individual’s references aren’t friends or next door neighbours? Do what you can to ascertain the identities of references, especially if something doesn’t seem quite right.
Hiring someone to care for a loved one can feel overwhelming and scary. A background check can go a long way toward easing your mind and allowing you to go through your day knowing your loved one is being cared for in the best way possible: by a responsible caregiver you can trust.
