Benefits of Pre-Employment Background Screening Employers face various human resource challenges. Recruiting the right candidate for the right job is one of the most critical challenges, and this task has become more difficult with a growing global economy and a very mobile workforce. Employers can no longer rely solely on candidate interviews to make proper hiring decisions. Pre-employment screening is a process that gives access to employers to verify information regarding education, job history, and performance. Moreover, the pre-employment screening process reveals important information about a job applicant’s prior behavior which can help an employer access potential risk posed by an applicant. Prior behavior can include substance abuse, credit history, driving records, criminal convictions, and civil litigation. Employers who use pre-employment screening as a part of their recruiting process realize several important benefits. One of the basic advantages is a general improvement inside the nature of candidates which eventually prompts better workers, expand efficiency, quality, and lower employee turnover. Declaring to all candidates the aim to conduct background checks will discourage some job applicants from applying. At a minimum, a candidate will be more likely to represent themselves honestly. Factually 60% of all resumes contain inaccuracies in employment, job performance, and educational achievement. Altogether, the declaration will energize some high-risk applicants with criminal backgrounds to eliminate themselves, which may save time and money in the recruiting process. Conversely, the declaration does not discourage good qualified job applicants who know their background check will not reveal significant problems. A third-party background screening provider can help you plan a program specifically customized to your company requirements. Few of the greatest benefits you will experience when implementing fully comprehensive solutions are: Improved Quality of Hire If a candidate distorts their business history, education, certification, criminal history or employment eligibility, not only could it result in a poor hire, it could also potentially bring about budgetary, legitimate and regulatory risks for the hiring company. A background screening program can help uncover false or misrepresented information early on and prevent future risks and elevating hiring costs. Decreased Negligent Hiring Risks Negligent hiring claims may arise, for instance, when a worker causes’ harm to a co-worker or third-party within the scope of their job and the victim claims that the worker had a record of or inclination for causing this sort of harm that the employer should have discovered if it had conducted its due diligence. If this allegation is claimed, then the employer may be liable for negligent hiring damages.
A careless hiring lawsuit can bring about legal expenses, settlements and reputation harm. According to a recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the average settlement of a negligent hiring suit is close to $1 million, although some cases have resulted in settlements in millions of dollars. Enhanced Regulatory Compliance Compliance is one of the most important aspects of pre-employment background screening in the U.S. regardless of how good your background screening partner is if they don’t comply with all the laws and regulations you, as an employer might be in serious trouble. Employers must know that: -
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There is a law in the U.S. that enables background screening records to be preserved and referred to for a maximum duration of 7 years and 10 years in case of bankruptcies. Once this period is finished, the record will not be legitimate and any adverse action made dependent on such records will be illicit as defined in the Statute of Limitations. There are certain restrictions when it comes to screening information about issues of sex, race, disability, religion or age. For instance, an employer cannot ask for background information from candidates of a specific race solely because they belong to that race. In California, employers cannot demand criminal record checks of the candidate before an employment proposition is made except if you are from an industry that makes contact with the growing population. Several cases have been filed against employers for alleged non-compliance in background screening. The most common non-compliance example includes an employer’s failure to provide proper disclosure, authorization and follow the adverse process mandatory under the FCRA guidelines. Apart from the FCRA, various other compliance norms in the U.S. need to be followed by background check agencies. These include multiple compliances, FTC, State, and City Ban the Box laws and the newly updated EEOC guidelines.
A third-party background screening support with in-house screenings specialists can help your association properly make a screening solution that not only fulfills industry standards, but also local, state, and federal regulatory requirements, which vary from state-to-state and by type of the position you are recruiting. Without an effective pre-employment screening program, an organization could face costly fines, loss of privileges or legal damages. During each step of the pre-employment screening process, from background checks to completing an electronic I-9 employment eligibility verification, a background screening provider can help you implement a compliant screening program for your company. Ensures a Drug-Free Workplace
Alcohol and drug abuse can create a significant safety threat in the workplace and can result in minimizing employee productivity. Implementing a clear and consistent drug testing policy within the workplace deters employees from abusing alcohol, usage of drugs, and helps companies hire responsible job applicants. Make sure you screen applicants with the right consumer reporting agency. Advances Workplace Safety Pre-employment background screening helps greatly reduce the chance of future workplace violence by filtering out applicants that could present a threat to the workplace environment. Comprehensive pre-employment background screening will detail past incidents that may provide critical insight into behavioral habits that could pose a threat in the future. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, association with the American Management Association evaluates that 30 percent of all business failures are a result of employee theft and that threequarters of all employees’ steel at least once. An FBI study featured that about 355,000 organizations will encounter a workplace violence episode in any given year. Employers can conduct background screening to increase the quality of hire that better protect property and employees against damaging workplace accidents, violence and thefts.