Back
in 1999, when I started Rainforest Plumbing & Air, I didn’t realize the
impact that a criminal element could have in my business.
Over
the years, prior to doing criminal background checks (the Crime Free Advantage), I had a number of
problems including serious vehicle accidents, disappearing employees, missing
trucks and inventory, embezzlement and the loss of thousands of dollars in
stolen equipment.
I
believe that dishonesty has a pattern and a history of dishonesty will likely
repeat itself.
There
came a point at Rainforest Plumbing & Air, when I realized that I needed to
create a safer environment for the protection of my business, it’s employees
and it’s customers.
I know now that 1 out
of 6 individuals has a criminal background.
Today, no one works for me that has felonies, misdemeanors from violence, theft, embezzlement, drugs, sex crimes or crimes
against children.
We
frequently turn away individuals who apply for employment at Rainforest Plumbing& Air because they have a criminal background. We know now that many of those
same individuals, whom we have turned away, are now working for many of our
competitors.
CrimShield
is the service we use to do criminal background checks. As a client of
CrimShield, we have an automatic system of obtaining background checks by live
investigators that we can rely on. This is not a simple internet search or
online service.
We
are proud to say that we CrimShield certify 100% of our staff upon hire and
every year thereafter. No one is excluded. That includes myself as well as the
Controller, the Managers, the technicians, the bookkeepers, dispatchers,
warehousemen and field helpers; EVERYONE! I am very committed to maintaining a 100%
crime-free workforce.
Now
with Crime Free Circle, we are listed with other like-minded companies who are
equally committed to crime-free and Qualified Technicians.
Since
Rainforest Plumbing & Air began requiring CrimShield certifications, our
insurance rates went down, we have not experienced any drug related incidents
and our best employees stay longer. We feel we have better qualified technicians.
When
I first considered committing to background checks I was nervous about a
painful transition. It turned out not to be as difficult as I thought.
Interestingly, the least productive employees were the first to go. I am
convinced that there is a correlation!
In
the end, I believe that making the decision to do background checks was a leap
in organizational maturity and by far has been one of my best business
decisions. If you own a service business, you must do criminal background checks. Even though there is a cost of doing them, there is a greater cost of not doing them.
