Applicant background screening has become the norm in today’s business environment, with nearly every business using some sort of background screening process in its staffing process. It’s easy to see why. A well designed background screening program will almost certainly reduce your cost-per-hire by providing visible, measurable ROI from the start.
With the job market being as weak as it is, a greater percentage of applicant’s will not be as truthful as they should, as they could be in a desperate situation trying to obtain employment. Background screening will help your company identify candidates with troubling flags in their past and sift through the large number of applicants often seen with job listings today. Recent studies show that up to 60% of candidates have lied on their resumes or job applications in an effort to make themselves look more appealing to employers.
A third party background screening provider can help you design a program specifically tailored to your company’s needs. Six of the greatest benefits you will see immediately when implementing a fully comprehensive solution are:
1. Improved Quality of Hire
The first thing you will notice when using a comprehensive background screening program, is a greatly increased quality of hire in your staffing efforts. Talent acquisition is a struggle in nearly every business, and qualifying candidates with accurate information is a great portion of that struggle.
2. Improved Safety and Security
Employment background checks help greatly reduce the chance of future workplace violence by filtering out applicants that could present a threat to the workplace environment. Comprehensive screening will detail past incidents which may provide critical insight to behavioral habits that could pose a threat in the future. FBI statistics show a large percentage of incidents employees/managers have to deal with on a daily basis include minor assaults, domestic violence, threats, harassment (to include sexual harassment), stalking, and physical and/or emotional abuse.
3. Improved Regulatory Compliance
A third-party background screening provider with in-house compliance expertise, can help your company properly create a screening solution that not only satisfies your industry standards, but also state and federal regulatory requirements, which vary from state-to-state and by type of position you are staffing. Without this type of background screening program in place, your company risks fines, and ongoing legal issues.
4. Decrease in Negligent Hiring Risks
There is a high degree of risk in negligent hiring, which often times leaves your company directly liable for your employees’ actions. It has become increasingly commonplace to see a company that neglected to check the backgrounds of employees prior to hiring, and have consequently been liable because of it. When incidents occur that a company could have prevented knowing an employee’s past, lawsuits are filed, and companies often suffer immeasurable damage to their reputation because of it.
5. Decrease in Employee Turnover
Background screening new employees will dramatically reduce your rate of unwanted turnover. The more you know about a new hire before an employment offer is ever made, the more you will reduce your chance of making the wrong hiring decision.
6. Reduced Drug/Alcohol Abuse
Substance Abuse Screening can reduce the harmful effects of drug and alcohol abuse including absenteeism, tardiness, employee turnover, attitude problems, embezzlement, low productivity, crime, violence, and more.
There are many other benefits you will realize when implementing a properly designed program within your organization. If you would like a demo of how Active Screening can help you design such a program, please give us a call at [main-phone] or email us at sales@activescreening.com to schedule.