Evaluating an Investigative Service

• How long has the company been in business?
• What is their license designation - is the company an established investigative firm?
• Does the company have a state-issued Private Investigator (PI) license?
• How big is the firm? Can it scale with you as your workload volume increases?
• How long will it take the agency to "ramp up" to your volume, without impacting quality, accuracy and service?
• Can the company do background investigations in all 50 states? Has it established a national network to easily and legally conduct investigations?
• Can the company conduct international investigations?
• Is the criminal conviction research limited to database services, or are physical record searches conducted at each courthouse in each and every relevant jurisdiction?
• Are databases reviewed prior to searching the courthouse records? (A database search is far less accurate than reviewing actual court records-often 70% inaccurate.)
• What are the credentials of the agency's management?
• Are criminal records being checked in a legal manner?
• What sources of information is the investigator using?
• Is the company willing to readily state its sources of information?
• Is the company limited to conducting only public record searches?
• Who runs the business and/or division? (Type and depth of experience is important)
• Ask for an example of the typical background investigation report. Is the report detailed enough? Are the facts easily found in the report?
• Does the investigator have hidden charges (i.e. for telephone calls, faxes, checking criminal cases found, etc.)?
• What portion of the work is guaranteed?
• Does their turnaround time include the written report?
• How long does it take to receive a written report? Is it a realistic timeframe-or will the criminal data be obtained from a database when the timeframe cannot be met (read the fine print)?
• What percentage of the time are reports delivered on time?
• Do they provide statistics about the job applications that are incorrect or have criminal histories?
• What ongoing training programs exist for the staff?
• What percentage of the investigative staff have an undergraduate degree?
• Are you comfortable with the firm's ability to conduct reference interviews in a way that is compatible with your corporate culture?
• What is the litigation history-has the company been sued?
• How does the company audit its work?
• What quality controls are utilized to ensure accuracy?
• What is the company's business philosophy?
• How do they measure the accuracy of their work?
• What types of clients does the agency have?
• Are they familiar with your industry and its requirements?
• Do they understand your corporate culture?