If you own a business, you quickly learn that to be truly successful you will have to fully staff your organization and have managers dedicated to taking care of core business disciplines. You will need a Human Resources department to handle all the payroll and personnel related tasks, and an Administrative group to take care of accounting and business finances. Sales and Marketing experts will help you create just the right company branding and messaging, and keep the revenues flowing in. Depending on your exact business, you will also need managers well versed in operations, warehousing and perhaps even manufacturing.
In the course of running your business, you will also find that there are times when you need to retain specialists who can help protect your business. Private investigators (PIs) who specialize in working with businesses can provide a variety of valuable services to a firm. They will help by conducting employee background checks and can look into suspected incidents of fraud or embezzlement. Their skills will be invaluable when it comes to protecting intellectual property and guarding against corporate espionage. If your company is considering a merger or acquisition, they can also uncover liabilities or risks during due diligence. When you are considering hiring an investigative company, there are several things to keep in mind.
Verify Their Licence and Experience
The first step you will want to take is to see the license of the investigator or investigators who will be assigned to your company. You will also need to confirm that the licenses are valid in the states they will be operating in.
As you go through the selection process, you will also want to focus on similar work that the investigative firm has done for other clients. It’s also helpful to probe their knowledge of privacy legislation, and other applicable rules and regulations.
Make Sure to Ask for Proof of Insurance
Insurance is a requirement for PIs to work and provide services to clients. You will need to make sure they are carrying the proper coverage so you are fully protected if they were to be injured or hurt during investigative work they are doing for your company.
If there was an injury, you will be able to file an insurance claim against the investigative company that is handling your case. This gives your firm an extra level of protection.
Ask for Relevant Testimonials and Read Reviews
Before you hire the investigative firm, you will want to get references and customer testimonials that are relevant to the type of work they will do for your company. Be sure to call those references, and seek feedback on the firm’s professionalism and type of work provided.
It’s also a good idea to spend time looking for and reading online customer reviews. As you look through the reviews, you can get a good sense of the quality of work done by the PIs and how satisfied past customers were. Looking over reviews may also give you insights into additional questions you should ask your potential PI firm.