Understanding the Role of Polygraph Services in Employment Screening
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Polygraph services have been proven to be very effective during these times, especially in the area of employment screening. To form a premise regarding honesty and integrity, these tests guide companies in their decisions to either hire or not hire employees. Knowing the work of polygraph services in employment screening will therefore help explain how such tests contribute to an even safer work environment.
Importance of Honesty in the Workplace
There is definitely no better statement than this to talk about whether it is about important information or sensitive tasks: “Employees should be truthful and trustworthy.” Whether it is an issue of discussing sensitive information or performing high-risk tasks, honesty among employees works like an ointment for many industries. From law enforcing agencies to private security firms, there certainly cannot be a better statement than this: “Employees should be truthful and trustworthy.” A polygraph test, popularly referred to as a lie detector test, is a sure shot means by which employers can check on the honesty of their applicants or even a current employee.
No test is 100% accurate, but the polygraph is generally considered to be one of the most effective tests for scrutinizing physiological response processes, such as heart rate and respiration and sweat gland activity. These are responses monitored during the questioning phase of the test, which assists polygraph examiners in determining the individual’s veracity or not.
How Polygraph Services Works In Employment Screening
Polygraph services, for instance, are often used in screening employment by including them as part of an overall selection process. That is, the employer first makes sure the candidate knows he or she must undergo a polygraph test and that he or she consents to such a test. Such a test is usually performed by a certified polygraph examiner strictly following a process or set of protocols in order to ensure that results obtained from the test are not compromised.
Questions asked in the test are normally prepared to address specific issues pertaining to the job at hand. An officer, for example, whose job involves the management of large sums of money will be asked questions involving theft or financial dishonesty by the examiner. These are questions elicited to elicit physiological responses that can enable ascertaining whether the person is lying.
Legal and Ethical Concerns
Polygraph services for employment screening are covered by the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of the United States. Most private employers are generally prohibited under this act from administering lie detector tests on their employees. Those usually exempt from this prohibition include government agencies, the police, and other connected industries such as security and more.
A polygraph test implemented by the employer must therefore, be strictly adhered to legal guidelines. Transparency, fairness, and respect for the privacy of the individual screened in a polygraph test are all the necessary elements as part of the ethical approach to using polygraph services.
Benefits of Polygraph Testing in Employment Screening
Polygraph testing provides many advantages in employment screening. It adds more security in the hiring decisions of employers so as not to hire those who may be dishonest or cause a threat to the organization. It may even deter potential wrongdoing when there are employees who are aware that they might be tested, and thus these would be the least likely to engage in unethical activities.
Probably, more importantly, polygraph testing would help large corporations avoid further heavy loss financially and reputational crisis caused by fraudulent activities or thefts before these happen.
Conclusion
Polygraph services prove to be important to an employer’s ability to hire reliable employees in most industries where security is high and critical. As much as proper standards of legality and ethics must be upheld, the value of polygraph testing in providing a safer workplace should not be denied. For quality polygraph services, companies like Proof Positive Polygraph assist its customers by providing top expert examiners to meet employment screening needs.
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