Business has become less intimate than it used to be. It wasn't that long ago small companies dealt only with people in their own neighborhoods. Vendors and customers were often known to the owner, at least indirectly, and it was common to do business with a handshake.

In today's world, even a small one-person business run off the kitchen table can do business with people all over the country and the world. They deal with strangers so often that complete background checks have become a key part of the business toolkit.

Finding The Right Business Partners

No business is an island. In order to operate you need to form partnerships with other businesses that offer services and products you need. These can include marketing firms, parts suppliers or accountants to do your taxes. Getting complete background checks done on these potential partners before signing a deal with them ensures they are everything they claim to be.

Investigations can reveal a host of important information such as consumer complaints and legal action. Do you want to do business with a vendor who has had six product liability suits in the last three years? How about a service provider who has done business under five different names, almost as though they are hiding from creditors?

Not only can these bad businesses hurt your operations directly but they can ruin your public image. Guilt by association has damaged the reputation of many honest companies in the past.

Employee Investigations

It is common practice to run complete background investigations on workers from factory line employees to CEO candidates. In fact, the higher a position in the company, the more likely the need for an investigation.

Calling an applicant's previous employer is no longer a useful avenue of investigation. Increased liability means that HR departments won't do any more than confirm that a person used to work there. This applicant might have been fired for embezzlement or assault on a co-worker, and yet their employer can't admit that to you without risking a lawsuit.

Not all revelations need to be that dramatic. Falsification of credentials from past work history to college degrees is common at all levels of employment. Discovering this fraud says a lot about the applicant's character and saves your company embarrassment.

Look Into Your Customers

Information technology has made credit and other scams easy to perpetrate and many companies are protecting themselves by screening potential customers.

A convenience store isn't going to run complete background checks on every person who walks in the door, but there are a number of operations that are taking the time to investigate their clients. This can range from a simple credit check to an in-depth criminal background investigation.

Some businesses hesitate to perform complete background checks, feeling it is discourteous. Courtesy is important but protection is more important and these checks can be carried out discretely. Besides, if they are smart they are investigating you too.