Sports & Fitness Background Screenings:
What You Need to Know Today!
By Michael Faber
M.S., FCRA-Advanced Certification, VP Business Development, SecureSearch
One of the joys of teaching and coaching is the opportunity to help another person realize their full potential while unleashing talents and skills they might never have known they have. Athletes of all sizes and talent levels require coaching and instruction to maximize their performance. Whether you’re instructing the weekend warrior, a fourth-grader who is just learning, or a mature athlete, being a fitness professional is all about earning and keeping the trust of your clients. As you earn their trust, you get to know their hopes, dreams and desires. So how well do your clients need to know you?
Transparency is critical for the fitness professional while you build your business. You might be a sole entrepreneur, a franchisee, or the owner of a network of studios. Background screening is critical so that you understand who you are hiring, and who will be representing your business to every client and prospective client. Here are four critical pieces of information to consider when you’re screening current employees or new hires.
- Search both the multi-state criminal database, and local jurisdictions. There is no such thing as a “national” criminal database as many jurisdictions choose not to report criminal convictions.
- All crimes are not alike. Misdemeanors and felonies may not be reported forever, depending on where the convictions occurred.
- Criminal conviction records are kept by name, not Social Security number. For the most thorough screening, make sure your background check company is searching both given and alias names.
- Even if you’re not working with children, a diligent search should always include the national Sex Offender Registry. Adults are not immune from sexual predators!
The background screening industry is regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and all firms are required to adhere to rigorous standards ensuring privacy of individual’s information. When employees ask why these screenings are required, it’s important to emphasize that a screening does not mean suspicion, nor does submitting to a screening impact a person’s credit score. Having a fully screened staff provides your clients (and you) with peace of mind.
Sports & Fitness Insurance Corporation recommends the background screening services of SecureSearch. To learn more about the benefits of comprehensive background searches, and how your business can benefit from a totally paper-free process (no handling of personal sensitive information by you!) please contact your Sports & Fitness agent today or visit Click here to open SecureSearchpro.com in a new window
Michael Faber M.S. is one of roughly 350 background screening professionals nation-wide to have earned the FCRA Advanced Certification. You can contact Mike directly at (720) 420-3321 or mike@securesearchpro.com