Five Ways Background Screening Boosts Your Bottom Line

Savvy HR professionals understand that, in business, every road eventually leads back to the all-important bottom line. While there are other tasks and initiatives that require attention, each and every employee should ultimately focus on holding and increasing company revenue and profit.

Operating with any other goal will take you off course quickly, wasting company time and money.

While there are obvious efforts that directly tie back to increased revenue, saving on materials and landing new clients, for example, there are just as many indirect actions and decisions that have a big impact. Running a background check may seem like just another task you must check off the list to fill that open position, but it's much more. Background screening processes and the resulting information can end up weighing heavily on the company's bottom line.

The C-Suite pays attention to positive and negative fluctuations in the company’s revenue and profits, and HR professionals can strive to move the needle by effectively hiring quality employees.

Sounds easy when we put it like that, right? We all know recruiting, interviewing, and selecting the right person for the job is anything but easy. However, there are a variety of tools to help make the best decision, and background screening is one of them.

Here are five ways a thorough background screening boosts your bottom line, and garners positive attention from the C-Suite: 

#1: Reduces time wasted on hiring tasks.

When a position opens up, HR and hiring managers must spend a significant amount of time selecting, interviewing, and choosing a candidate to fill the role. A thoughtful background screening process can 'weed out' unqualified or unsafe applicants. For example, if the position requires operating a motorized vehicle, a Motor Vehicle Registry Search will guide you to interview the applicants with safe driving records and active licenses. This way, hiring managers aren’t spending time and resources interviewing those applicants who cannot operate a vehicle. These specific screening reports assist HR professionals in paring down the applicant pool to only the most attractive candidates, building a more thorough hiring process, and saving time and money. 

#2: Lessens the chance of hiring mistakes. 

Hiring the wrong person can end up costing companies roughly 25% of that person's annual salary. There are direct expenses such as the time to train, benefits, and the cost to fill the position yet again. Indirect costs sometimes add up to be even more costly, such as lost productivity, decreased industry reputation, and high performing employees becoming frustrated and leaving. Conducting a pre-employment screening background check before a person is hired can circumvent these losses, and protect the business's bottom line. 

(Check out our Infographic "Cost of a Bad Hire")

#3: Mitigates the risk of losing clients.

The last problem managers want to deal with is an inept employee who mishandles customer accounts. Losing just one customer because of a bad hire can take years to recover from. A thorough background check can uncover issues in an applicant's history that can warn you up front that they may not be a good choice. For example, criminal convictions may show an applicant’s impulse control issues and violent tendencies. An employment verification could uncover his or her inability to get along with customers, or other problems with performance that could end up diminishing client confidence. The bit of time and money it takes to perform a simple background check is covered several times over by retaining just one good client.

#4: Decreases the chances of expensive negligent hiring lawsuits.

Unfortunately, today’s news is full of people who have been injured or killed because of an employer's shoddy background check processes. These instances fall back on the employer, opening them up to lengthy, expensive litigation by the injured party and their families. Performing a full background check on job candidates safeguards your company from falling victim to negligent hiring lawsuits by providing documented evidence as to the company’s due diligence. Being able to defend your hiring decisions goes a long way toward thwarting the impact of negligent hiring lawsuits.

#5 Increases the hiring process's productivity. 

Checking an applicant's criminal history along with previous employment verification and education history is a quick way to gain lots of valuable insight into that person. Background checks paint a clearer picture of the candidate than a resume, as almost half of resumes contain some type of mistruth or exaggeration. The same goes for interviews, as any candidate, no matter how unqualified or dishonest, can buy a new suit and charmingly offer the “correct” answers. Background screening provides definitive information that allows HR professionals the ability to forge ahead faster and with greater confidence.

Conclusion:  Little else demands the C-Suite’s attention like the bottom line, making protecting it a top priority for HR professionals. A thorough and complete background screening process will build a solid foundation toward minimizing the risk of a bad hire for the safety and productivity of your workplace, and achieving a high-performing, qualified workforce. Commit to a thorough hiring process that includes a thoughtful background screening plan to make this happen. Your C-Suite will thank you for it!