3 key risks of poor background screening

“Background screening should be an important part of a company’s overall talent management strategy. Industry reports consistently show that having the right person in the right job increases a company’s bottom line.” – Jim Collins

Many employees believe that they can simply rely on their “gut instinct,” trusting their intuition over what a candidate’s document says. To impress HR at the first opportunity, candidates line up for the selection process wearing professional attire and holding a handful of records.

According to Employment Screening Resources, employers should hold to the notion,“trust but verify,” and use a combination of their gut instinct regarding a candidate and the individual’s background while making a final hiring decision. Additionally, regardless of whether businesses are filling a managerial role or hiring a new janitor, all background checks must remain consistent across the board.

When background checks are not given importance, the employer is exposed to three key risks:

·        Loss of potential employee: 

Drawing reference from the Career Builder survey, approximately 38 percent of employees have lost a candidate because they had a negative experience during their background screening process; however, 44 percent of HR managers who conduct background checks have tested their background check experience themselves. They identify a less-than-ideal candidate experience, with around 14 percent rating their background check candidate experience as fair or poor when employers do test their process.

As background screening plays a vital role in talent acquisition, it should be a necessity to make sure about not losing a potential candidate for a job.

Employers are aware that conducting background checks is an important business process, but few invest time to evaluate the candidate's experience, ease of use, simplicity, and impact on the hiring process. The longer the background-checking process, the higher the risk of losing a quality candidate to another employer. Employers should test their application and background check process and ensure candidates have a positive experience.

·        Unsafe conditions for customers and employees:

Employers have a legal obligation to create a safe workplace for employees. But according to an SHRM study, 36% of employers reported workplace violence incidents. These incidents result in physical or emotional harm to employees and customers as well as negative repercussions to the company.

The study further suggests that to reduce the risk of workplace violence, it is important to conduct background checks before hiring a candidate. When it comes to reducing on-the-job injuries, drug screening can play a role too. Implementing new-hire drug screenings at companies across numerous industries can reduce worker’s compensation claims by about 50%.

·        Negligent hiring

Negligent hiring occurs when the employer takes on an employee who proceeds to cause a problem for the company, another employee, or customers.

For example, if a company hires a delivery driver who gets into an accident that causes an injury that leads to a lawsuit, the company would be in a much better position legally if it had run a background and motor vehicle records check on the driver and if that had come back clean. On the other hand, if the company had failed to do a background check, and if it was later found that the driver had earlier faced license suspensions or two, the company could be found liable for the injury.

An employee can easily avoid negligent hiring claims by performing a background check, drug test, and medical exam before hiring a new employee.

Background checks should be a mandatory part of a company’s onboarding process to mitigate the risks mentioned above. It also ensures that your company hires the best candidates who would guarantee perpetual success apart from the obvious benefits that background screening offers.

The #ITUS framework offered by ScreenXchange is designed to examine applicant resumes beyond what is laid out on paper. The #ITUS framework consists of a simple yet powerful platform coupled with a myriad of checks delivered by highly skilled verification specialists.

Learn how SceenXchange leverages its strong global presence backed by its powerful proprietary Verification Management System to help its clients in need. Reach us at amy.james@screenxchange.com

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