10 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Pre-employment Screening

10 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Pre-employment Screening.

What is Pre-employment screening?

Pre-employment screening is the process of verification of an applicant’s qualifications by performing background checks. In simple terms, pre-employment screening makes use of background checks to check if the information provided by an applicant is legitimate and if the applicant can be a potential liability to the company.

Click here to read about what pre-employment screening is.

Importance of pre-employment screening, 10 reasons you should be investing on it!

1. The quality of new hires will improve

Pre-employment screening checks the credentials of applicants and distinguishes the qualified ones from the unqualified applicants. This helps a company prevent legal and financial risks that might result from non-compliance.

2. Turnover rates decrease if you have made the right choices when recruiting

Not indulging in pre-employment background checks might result in hiring employees who are not a good fit for the company. They may end up resigning or being fired, resulting in an increase in the turnover rate and hiring expenses of the company.

With pre-employment screening, this can be avoided as it increases the quality of hires.

3. Better Regulatory Compliance

Regulatory non-compliance is one of the biggest issues faced by businesses. It leads to businesses getting fined or facing legal action for their non-compliance. This can be avoided with the help of pre-employment screening as it can eliminate applicants who are unqualified, have inadequate skills and most importantly who do not have the right to work the company.

In order to ensure that all regulatory requirements are met, it is usually preferred to hire proficient third-party screening providers for their knowledge and expertise in the field.

4. Limits liability risks on your company from employees with a criminal record

Not indulging in pre-employment screening can result in the company being liable for an employee’s past. With the help of criminal record checks, all applicants with a criminal record can be eliminated, avoiding any legal charges or fines.

5. Secures data from theft

Companies that handle customer data in high volumes can benefit from pre-employment screening, as it can provide information about the employee’s criminal records or charges and prevent potential data theft.

6. Helps in maintaining public image and prevents damage control expenses

Reports show that around 70 percent of customers were unwilling to indulge in business with a company after the occurrence of data theft.

Not only does pre-employment screening secure data from theft but in doing so it helps a business in avoiding defamation and maintains its image or reputation in public. It also helps in avoiding extra expenses since the cost of damage control is high.

7. Background checks give you peace of mind on your hiring decisions by knowing more about your candidates' pasts

With the help of background and criminal record checks, a company can check candidates’ past and eliminate those who are unsuitable for the job.

8. Candidate screening helps you detect and prevent identity and background details fraud

According to a 2017 report, eighty five percent of CVs contain exaggerated or false information. There is a good chance that these applicants may be hired in the absence of pre-employment screening which may affect other employees, the quality of work or service and the overall productivity of the company.

Performing background screening prevents fraud by verifying the data provided by applicants and pointing out false information about credentials, skills, previous employment, etc. in their CVs.

9. Helps in preventing violence in the workplace

Pre-employment criminal records and background checks enable employers to eliminate applicants with a history of violence, thus, ensuring safety and discipline at the workplace.

10. Helps employers exercise due diligence

Pre-employment screening helps employers exercise their due diligence of finding out about potential employee’s background before hiring them. Failure to do so may result in the employer facing penalties and legal charges.

Conclusion

Pre-employment screening is an essential part of the current recruitment process, and it should not be skipped. It is the responsibility of the employer to verify the information given by applicants before hiring them and failure to exercise this due diligence may result in penalties, legal charges and defamation of the company.

Pre-employment screening helps employers in hiring the right people for the job, avoiding liability, maintaining their public image, avoiding extra hiring expenses, preventing workplace fraud, etc. Furthermore, it helps employers fulfil their regulatory requirements. A company can choose to do the screening process internally (Click here to read our step-by-step guide to screening) or it can hire a third-party screening provider for better results.

Click here to read about what pre-employment screening is.