Screening and Background Checks for Home Maintenance Professionals

May 30, 2022

Retailers Must Leverage Background Checks to Screen Their Subcontractors

With warmer weather approaching across North America, it is officially the season for home maintenance. Homeowners, vendors, and retail businesses who subcontract labour require the skills of a long list of professionals to complete various services. When hiring property maintenance professionals, not every candidate is created equally. General labourers, movers, painters, roofers, home installation specialists, and HVAC professionals all require proper screening and background checks to ensure they are the right fit for the job.

Take the necessary steps to screen home maintenance professionals and leverage the skills of those who are not only free from criminal histories but are qualified to complete the task at hand.

10 Reasons to Conduct Background Checks and Screen Home Maintenance Professionals

Offer quality subcontracted labour to your clients and protect your business’s reputation.

1. Avoid Hiring Labourers That Have Problematic Criminal Histories. Maintenance professionals with a history of violence, theft, and sexual misconduct run the risk of reoffending while completing subcontracted labour. A simple background check can spot those with problematic criminal records and prevent them from entering your customers’ homes.
2. Take Steps to Ensure That All Professionals Are Who They Say They Are. Identity theft and fraud are unfortunately all too common, and some bad actors may pose as someone else entirely in an effort to find work. Screening home maintenance professionals with a standard identity check can cross-reference government-issued photo identification with names and addresses.
3. Ensure That Professionals Are Capable of the Tasks at Hand. Verify the claims and licences of tradespeople. A poor performance at a client’s home can be costly but can be avoided with the proper regulatory compliance and trade certification checks.
4. Protect Your Businesses’ Reputation by vetting out subcontracted labourers who perform subpar work or knowingly let their professional licences expire. Many screening tools can monitor regulatory compliance and maintain your business’s reputation for offering great services.
5. Avoid Complex Liability Issues and Litigation. Subcontracted labourers ultimately represent major retail brands, despite not being full-time employees. Should a home maintenance professional commit a crime while on the job site of your customer’s home, business owners may be deemed liable, especially if, they skipped out on proper screening efforts.
6. Prevent Issues Before They Happen. Proper screening and due diligence do not have a specific start or end date and should be conducted regularly. Perform ongoing screening and spot subcontracted labourers who are convicted of non-violent crimes, including traffic violations and drinking and driving (DUI). Make informed decisions and take the professionals with problematic driving records away from the wheel.
7. Spot Complications Regarding Insurance. Sending a subcontractor into a customer’s home who does not have appropriate insurance or whose policy has lapsed is a potential disaster. Ensure that the labourers you hire have proper insurance coverage before they complete their work.
8. Collaborate Only with Businesses Who Are in Top Professional Standing. Business registration verification can sift out subcontractors that do not comply with local laws and regulations.
9. Spot Red Flags with Financial Record Checks. Some subcontractors might have financial problems, which may have retailers thinking twice about leveraging their services. Conduct a credit check and determine how these tradespeople handle their finances and make the most informed hiring decision possible.
10. Offer Peace of Mind to Your Customers. Communicate to your clients that your business has made great efforts to ensure that the labourers entering their homes are of the highest quality. Many screening tools offer retailers digital badges and QR codes for their labourers, allowing homeowners to grab a snapshot of the subcontractor’s professional experience and confirm that they hold proper credentials and authorization.

Background Checks and Screening Tools for Retailers Provided by ISB Global Services

Proper vetting of contractors requires so much more than a simple criminal background check, especially for regulated trades representing your brand and working directly with your customers. ISB Global Services Contractor Compliance Management tools ensure that all authorized subcontractors have the proper insurance and credentials while meeting all regulatory requirements for the work they complete. Leveraging QR code technology with a digital badge that allows for real-time verification ensures that tradespeople are in good professional standing while verifying to customers that they are trusted service people entering their homes.

By working alongside ISB Global Services, any corporation can maintain the regulatory compliance requirements of their subcontractors while offering their customers peace of mind that only those that meet the highest possible professional standards will be authorized to represent you. Be confident knowing that you have taken the right steps towards offering quality and secure subcontractor services to your customers with the assistance of ISB Global Services.

Contact us directly to learn more about available solutions for the retailers utilizing subcontracted labourers and workers.