5 Reasons to Conduct Vendor Background Checks On Your Network 

Background Screening | Risk Management | November 9, 2021

If your organization utilizes a vendor network with contractors to deliver products or provide repair, installation, or services, you know you are immediately ‘linked’ to any contractor network used and those people in it – whether you like it or not. Think about that.  

That means that when an issue arises, it is your organization – your reputation, risk, financial and operational outcomes that are on the line and connected to each of those contractors. You can’t pull back at arm’s length and say, “they aren’t mine,” and try to absolve yourself of negligent retention claims. Your organization remains accountable for the individuals that you send out to sites. For this reason, you need to be able to demonstrate due diligence, which includes conducting vendor background checks. 

Vendor due diligence is standard in most vendor management programs and evaluates a vendor’s risk to the organization’s business operations. Knowing your vendors and mitigating any chance they may pose is a critical ingredient in business success.  

Five reasons vendor background checks are essential:  

1. Reduce risk to your organization. Making informed and consistent decisions about who will represent your organization can reduce claims and demands for damages if issues occur. The danger exists on the operational, reputational, legal, financial, and competitive levels when you do not have an appropriate program in place. 
2. Customers expect it. Several years ago, we researched homeowners and consumers and found that most people wish to have been background screened whenever someone has been into their home.  
3. Protect your customers. No one wants to believe you would act negligently or put them at risk of unnecessary harm but not sending an unscreened contractor to a consumer’s home will do just that.  
4. It may be a regulatory or industry requirement. Knowing who you are working with, and verifying the legitimacy of vendors, extends to the specific people engaged on your behalf. Being able to ensure they have been appropriately vetted is key in proving you have met these obligations. Conducting vendor background checks are an important way to demonstrate that you have taken appropriate steps to verify who is working on your behalf.  
5. It is a sound business practice. Along with other risk mitigation techniques such as COI Management, TIN matching, or business verifications, vendor background checks are becoming a standard expectation for anyone working with a service network.  

Vendor background checks should not be a singular event. The risk continues throughout the relationship you have with your vendor network, which means rescreening and continuous criminal monitoring may also be essential services to add to your vendor background check program. 

To discuss how you can implement these solutions in your organization, fill out our online contact form today.

Contents are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Users are reminded to seek legal counsel with respect to their obligations and use of PlusOne Solutions services. 

About PlusOne Solutions

PlusOne Solutions has been an industry leader in the risk management field by specializing in compliance programs that meet the complex challenges of geographically dispersed contractors, vendors, and employee networks. PlusOne Solutions protects companies from possible financial, legal, and reputational risks associated with contractor and vendor relationships while creating safer work environments. To learn more, visit https://www.PlusOneSolutions.net.