Episode 45: Everything You Need To Know About Background Checks With Jason Waggoner

On this episode  Bella spends time with Jason Waggoner, Vice President of Marketing for ACUTRAQ Background Screening Solutions. They discuss the importance of background checks and how ACUTRAQ can help eliminate some of the liabilities around doing it yourself. Jason Waggoner They discuss: Some of the drawbacks to using the simple background check services you see online How a service like ACUTRAQ can actually reduce some of the liability around background checks How you should proceed when a potential employee has something flagged in their background check Jason's UMeetU movement and acting/video production activities. You can find out more about ACUTRAQ at https://www.acutraq.com/. To find out more about Jason's UMeetU movement, go to http://www.umeetumovement.com/. To see a cool music video Jason put together for ACUTRAQ check out https://youtu.be/2giXfjnB0p4. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 45 of Bella in Your Business. Welcome to Bella in Your Business, where Bella will discuss anything and everything about your pet sitting business to help you land on target. So get ready—Bella’s got your chute. Let’s jump. Welcome to Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta, and today I'm here with Jason Wagner from AccuCheck. Jason, how are you? Good morning, doing good, glad to be on. Appreciate you giving me the opportunity to come on and chat with you. For sure, I'm so excited to have you here. Jason and I have known each other for years now. He was my go-to guy forever when I had my own pet sitting company. And since then, he's actually been the go-to guy for a lot of other pet sitters. But I thought it was important to bring Jason on today so that all of you who do not understand the importance and the legalities of background checks—or maybe you're just starting off with having some sort of staff—get this awesome information and not only awesome information but also an awesome contact you can count on, rely on, email, and have that personal relationship with. No more doing these random internet background check sites where you don’t even know what’s going on. So Jason, without further ado, why don't you give us a background of who you are and what Accutrack does. You bet. I'm the Vice President of Accutrack. I've been with the company since 2008. It's been really neat to see the company grow. When it started, the owner did everything alone with one office person. Now we've grown to nine people in the office, pretty much in every state—thanks to our pet sitters. It’s been an amazing process. We do background checks for literally every industry—pet sitters, landlords, employers, volunteers, contractors, and so on. We handle drug testing, motor vehicle reports, and all types of criminal reports. Many people think background checks come from one place, but there are actually many sources we check to make sure the data is accurate. In a nutshell, we make sure you’re safe before giving someone keys and codes to your home or business. Let me ask you—since you mentioned pet sitters, how many pet sitters do you think you already help? The last check we ran, it was right at 200, and that’s been a while back. So I’m guessing close to 250 or even 300 now. That’s incredible! It’s been amazing. We never thought we’d be in this industry, but the power of social media and word of mouth has been huge. Almost all of our pet sitter clients came through networking and referrals. For sure. That’s a great testament. We could do a whole podcast on word of mouth and networking. I remember when Sarah Bear first mentioned you, and we started referring you everywhere. And now, Jason, without a doubt, anytime anyone talks about background checks in a Facebook group, your name always comes up—and in a positive way. I appreciate that. That’s really how it started. I met Sarah about six or seven years ago when I first moved to Houston. We became friends, and two years later our service agreements started getting new clients signing up. We were like, “What in the world? Pet sitters?” Sarah called and said she recommended me in a Facebook group. Two days later, my phone was ringing nonstop. It’s just grown from there. We’re really blessed to be part of this profession. That’s so cool. Let’s break it down. When I was first starting my company, I thought a background check was as simple as submitting a name and social security number and waiting for it to come back clean. Explain why it’s not that simple. It goes much deeper. Background checks are only pulled by name and date of birth—most people think they’re tied to a social security number or driver’s license, but that’s not true. That’s why it can be so difficult, especially for people who’ve changed their names due to marriage. For example, if someone was Jane Doe and had a record, then married and became Jane Smith, you’d miss everything if you only ran her new name. We check aliases and nicknames, too. For instance, Cathy might go by Cathy, Catherine, or Katie. If you don’t check them all, you miss information. Plus, there’s no one standing behind the accuracy of most online databases. If you take an inaccurate record and deny employment, you open yourself up to a lawsuit. That’s where having a third-party, unbiased source comes in—you can say, “We didn’t pull this ourselves, contact Accutrack to dispute it.” That takes the liability off you. Exactly. So when I get a background check back, sometimes you’d tell me, “Hey, it looks clean,” or, “You might want to dig deeper.” Can you explain that? Sure. We verify results for accuracy. For example, the national database scrapes county records, but it might not reflect expunged cases. So if something shows up, we verify with the county to confirm the final disposition—was it dismissed, sealed, or convicted? The county records are the most accurate, since that’s where the judge’s final decision is stored. That’s amazing. It almost sounds like you offer a concierge-style service. We try to. That’s what makes us different. We’re not a big company where you’re just a number. Our clients can reach me anytime—our staff will even give you my cell number if you ask. We send actual court runners to pull physical records instead of relying on databases, which can be wrong. That’s why some searches take a few days—it depends on county turnaround times. That’s incredible. I remember a pet sitter posting in our group once—her applicant’s background check came back with a manslaughter conviction. She was shocked and didn’t know what to do. Yeah, that happens. If that person used a random website, they’d have no one to call for help. In this case, she had us, and we verified the information so she could handle it correctly. Let’s talk about job ads. How important is it to include “must have a clean background check”? Very important. You’re liable if something happens. If you hire someone dangerous, people will ask who gave them access. There’s even a case—SueWeaver.org—where a company failed to run a background check on a convicted sex offender who committed a terrible crime on the job. It could’ve been prevented. So yes, always run background checks. Even if someone seems nice, it’s a business practice that protects everyone. We’ve seen everything—kidnapping, drug trafficking, theft. It reminds you that the world isn’t all sunshine. Exactly. When something comes back, we help with the legal steps. You send a pre-adverse action letter informing them of the finding and allowing time to dispute it. If it’s accurate, you send the final adverse action letter denying employment. The report gives our contact info so you’re not bothered with disputes—we handle it. That’s amazing. Honestly, why wouldn’t anyone want to work with you? You save us from so much risk. Jason, would you say it should be mandatory for every hire? Absolutely. Don’t get emotionally involved in someone’s story. Look at facts. Team members are the face of your company. The cost of a background check—about $29.95—is nothing compared to the damage a bad hire could do. Exactly. When we come back from the break, let’s talk about the legalities—what we actually need before we run a background check. Want to get yourself or your staff Pet First Aid CPR certified but don’t know how? Gone are the days of taking a full day off for a classroom. Take it online with Pro Pet Hero—a veterinary-trained program with knowledge checks and certificates you can show clients. Sign up today at jumpconsulting.net/cpr and use code CPR-PETSITTER for 10% off. And we’re back with Jason Wagner from Accutrack. Jason, I learned a long time ago that I couldn’t just have a simple “yes or no” question on my application about background checks. You sent me a three-page disclosure form. Tell us why that’s necessary. Anytime you’re dealing with someone’s background, you need proof that you had the right to run it, that they knew what they were being screened for, and that they had our contact info. Some states, like California and New York, require additional consent boxes or legal text. These disclosures protect you from claims of unauthorized screening. Our process emails applicants the disclosure directly for e-signature. That captures their IP address and signature so if they ever deny it, we can prove it was them. We’ve never had anyone successfully challenge it. Even if you’re not using Accutrack, I’m happy to look at your process and make sure it’s compliant with the FCRA—the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It outlines how employment background checks must be handled legally. That’s so important. Most business owners don’t have time to deal with this, so having you handle it makes life easier. Jason, before we wrap up, tell us what new projects you’re working on. Sure! Besides Accutrack, I launched the You Meet You Movement last year—a free motivational project helping people rediscover their potential and happiness.