Why Pre-Employment Screening is Critical and How to Do it Well

Is the candidate applying for a machine operator’s job at your warehouse who he claims to be on his resume? Run a background check, also called pre-employment screening to know for certain and clear him for the next round. If you skip the background check, you automatically take on various risks. Here’s why investigations into a potential employee’s background need to be a part of your industrial staffing process.

Bad hires cost too much

The cost of a bad hire can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars. Candidates who fudge their employment experience may not be the experts you hoped would boost your warehouse’s or manufacturing plant’s efficiency. Your team may feel burdened by compatriots whose work isn’t on par with theirs. In a worst-case scenario, shoddy work by bad hires may affect your brand image, and cause you to lose your customers.

If you failed to conduct a reference check on the candidate who wasn’t above board in his dealings at his previous employers, you’re inviting the risk of theft and fraud. You may discover the offender only after seeing red flags in your time sheets or missing items from your inventory. By then, you may have already incurred a financial cost.

Criminal record checks during industrial and warehouse staffing help protect your employees and your organization. A bad hire who has been convicted of a violent crime is a threat to your workplace safety. Any incident that results in physical or emotional harm to your employees can entangle you in a lawsuit and harm your reputation. You may also want to perform drug screenings for new hires to prevent on-the-job injuries, help boost productivity, and reduce workers’ compensation claims and premiums.

Engage a background screening provider

A company providing pre-employment screening can assist during this crucial hiring stage, helping ensure that you’re adding reliable people to your team. Background screening involves:

• Reference and employment history checks
• Education and certification checks
• Skills assessment
• Behavioral assessment
• Criminal record checks
• Credit checks
• Driving record checks

Conducting the series of checks and tests takes time, and, more importantly, calls for relevant skills and experience. Not knowing how to look up someone’s records online can protract your screening process. Not asking their reference the right questions can keep important information about the candidate hidden, and cause the rest of your industrial staffing efforts to go to waste.

Steps to take if the candidate doesn’t pass a background check

The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires employers to take certain actions if their candidate does not clear pre-employment screening.

1. Send the candidate a pre-adverse action letter, a written document informing them that some information in their background report has negatively affected their chances of employment. Include a copy of the report for their review and acknowledge their right to dispute the information.

2. Hear the candidate out. Some errors can occur due to typos or misspellings, which you can clarify with the candidate to make a fair decision.

3. Take the big picture into account. Evaluate all pieces of information in the candidate’s response, and weigh it against the position you’re hiring for.

4. Make your final decision.

5. If you decide not to move forward with the candidate, send a final notice of adverse action informing them about your final decision to not hire based on their background check report.

Everest Recruiting is a long-term industrial staffing and pre-employment screening partner for companies across the country. Drop us a line if you’d like to verify candidates’ work history and understand whether they’re fit to work for you.