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January 27, 2015

Is Your Background Screening Process Doing What You Need?

If you are a normal HR professional, you have a hundred projects on your plate, and most of your time is probably not focused on background screening

resume_liesWhile it's easy to push your company's pre-employment screening processes issues aside, you must remember the amount of time and resources hiring takes, and how much a hire who doesn't work out ends up costing. 

It's critical that you take the time periodically to make certain your background screening process is doing what you need, which is minimizing the risk of an unqualified or unsafe hire. 

Here are 4 simple ways to make certain you are getting what you need from your current screening processes  : 

#1: Relevant information. Background checks should be geared toward the nature and position of the job, and unnecessary screening products could set you up to be sued. For example, a janitor position does not require pulling a credit report. Fine-tune your pre-employment screening process so that it fits with the job description.

#2: Data that directly assists in hiring decisions. Ask yourself "Has the background check report helped make my hiring decisions easier?" If the answer if yes, you are on the right track and your background screening process is serving you well. If you answer no, you need to dig deeper into the background check report and see if you need to add more screening products, or change the ones you are currently utilizing, to gain the information you need. 

lady_with_clock#3: Timely information. Acessing an applicant's history only benefits the hiring process if it is received in a timely manner. Otherwise, the background screening process can hold up the entire hiring decision! Analyze the time it takes to receive a completed background check report from your current vendor. If you are waiting more than a few days, you may want to consider finding another employment screening company. 

#4: Proper support. Conducting a thorough background check is not an exact science, and questions are going to come up. In order to minimize the time you waste with this process, you need to work with a professional, responsive background screening company. If you are experiencing communication issues with your current screener, your time is being wasted and your processes are being held up. That's no way to do business! Make sure your employment screening company is a partner that will take your calls, answer your questions, and promptly troubleshoot any issues with your screening process.

A top priority for HR professionals is to reach sound hiring decisions that provide productive company employees. By taking the time to follow these 4 tips, you will go a long way towards maintaining a pre-employment screening process that is fair, effective, and successful.  

 

 

 

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