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4 Ways That Employee Screening Boosts Employers’ ROI

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In this tough economy hiring good employees who are both efficient and well-qualified can play a significant role in boosting an employer’s ROI. On the other hand, a bad hire can have a major impact on a company’s bottom line. It’s not uncommon for one poor hiring decision to result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. Today, you’ll discover 4 ways in which employee screening and background checks can translate into a higher ROI.

#1 – Avoids Negligent Hiring Lawsuits

If one or more of your staff is injured at the hands of another employee, there may be grounds for a negligent hiring lawsuit. If an employer failed to properly screen the offending employee, that employer can be sued. Keep in mind that the average settlement for this type of lawsuit is over $1 million.

#2 – Minimizes Employee Turnover

Hiring and training a new employee is expensive. If an employer discovers that the employee has a substance abuse problem, criminal record, or history of violence, there may be a need to replace that person. By conducting pre-employment background checks, employers can avoid bad hires, reducing employee turnover costs in the process.

#3 – Increases Staff Productivity

Along with reducing staff turnover, hiring competent employees increases your staff’s overall productivity. There’s less likelihood of a disruption in the workplace caused by a bad hire. Plus, by limiting turnover, an employer can allocate fewer resources to redundant training.

#4 – Reduces Employee Theft

A bad hire is more likely to commit theft in the workplace. Even small, seemingly benign incidents (for example, stealing a box of pens) can signal the beginning of a habit. Eventually, the employee may begin pilfering valuable assets. Employers can limit employee theft by thoroughly screening applicants before hiring them.

Protecting The Bottom Line

A company’s bottom line involves more than merely revenues and the costs of doing business. Hiring a bad employee can have a devastating effect on an employer’s profitability. Negligent hiring lawsuits, employee turnover, low staff productivity, and employee theft can each have a significant impact. By performing comprehensive background checks and conducting pre-employment screening, employers can protect their staff while boosting their ROI.

Photo Credit: AMagill

Employee Screening Articles For October

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In case you missed any of our employee screening articles for October, here’s a quick recap:

Sex Offenders and Halloween Safety Tips- Part 2

Sex Offenders and Halloween Safety Tips

Pre-Employment Drug Testing For Teachers

Background Checks For The Education Industry

Background Checks For Temporary Employees

Do You Have a Sex Offender Working For You?

Immigration Crackdown – HR Director Indicted

Drug-Free Work Week

Why Gaps In Employment Are A Red Flag

$100 Million For E-Verify

Hiring For Hotels: Why Screening Is Essential

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Sex Offenders and Halloween Safety Tips

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This morning I received the following Updated Sex Offender Notification via email alert from the Franklin County Sheriff’s office:

You have registered the following address to be monitored for the presence of registered offenders in your area. Our records indicate that the offender (s) shown below have registered a home address within the indicated distance of your address. This email serves as your alert to be aware of the presence of the noted offenders.

It turns out I’ve got a Tier II Sex Offender, that was convicted of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, living within 1 mile of my house.  What’s even scarier…according to Watch Systems, which developed an offender management and community notification tool, “80 – 90% of citizens have a registered sex offender living within a one mile radius of their home, children’s school, or place of work.”

Do you know who the sex offenders are in your area?

I did some research and found quite a bit of useful information on sex offenders.  Normally I write about sex offenders in the workplace, but I wanted to share these Halloween Safety Tips from SheriffAlerts.com:

“Halloween can be great fun for our kids, but unfortunately there are people out there who may harm them.  Being prepared is the first step in assuring all goes well.  Make a plan for the night and talk to your kids about how to stay safe.  You can make the difference.”

To keep kids SAFE during Halloween follow these simple rules:

  • BE AWARE of sex offenders in your area.  Use your state sex offender registry or the National Sex Offender Registry. Register for automatic email alerts if available.
  • NEVER let children trick or treat alone
  • ONLY trick-or-treat if houses are well lit
  • NEVER let kids enter homes without parent’s permission

I’ll post more on sex offenders later this week.

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Do You Have A Sex Offender In Your House?

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When was the last time you had a service person in your house? Could this person have been a sex offender without you knowing it?

sex offender

The Consumer Awareness of Unsafe Service Employment (C.A.U.S.E.) Certification campaign was launched today on the seven year anniversary of the death of Sue Weaver, who was raped and beaten to death in her Orlando home by a worker sent to clean her air ducts. Although a twice-convicted sex offender on parole, the company did not do a criminal background check before hiring him.

Sue’s sister Lucia Bone founded The Sue Weaver C.A.U.S.E. in her memory. “Tragically, Sue’s murder is not an isolated case. Many consumers are assaulted and murdered each year by people whose jobs allow them access to their victims.”

“C.A.U.S.E. leads a national nonprofit campaign to educate employers and consumers to the necessity of criminal background checks and to promote C.A.U.S.E. Certification,” she said. “The C.A.U.S.E. Team has spent two years developing the certification program and has already received applications from several service providers employing more than 650 in-home workers.”

“We have to educate the public about hiring practices. Bonded and insured does not mean a criminal background check has been performed on the workers. C.A.U.S.E. Certification is designed to offer safety conscious consumers a means of identifying service companies that take their safety seriously. It also offers service providers a means to hire and promote safer employees, contractors, and subcontractors. As a result, it will better protect both consumers and businesses,” Bone added. “C.A.U.S.E. Certification is a program that very well may have saved Sue’s life!”

To find out more about C.A.U.S.E. go here.

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Employee Screening Through Social Networks

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As recently as 10 years ago, screening your job candidates meant picking up the phone and calling their past employers and references. Sometimes, making these phone calls yielded valuable information. Other times, candidates’ relationships with the people you called would influence their opinions.

Over the past few years, social networking websites such as MySpace, LinkedIn and Facebook have provided employers with an opportunity to look at potential employees in a different light.

The beauty of social networks is they invite people to share their lives, thoughts and opinions…all in public. I’ve noticed social networks are blurring the line between “business” and “pleasure”. This can get tricky for employers. Federal and state laws prohibit employment discrimination based on age, race, color, religion, sex or disability. Employers need to be careful when using information from a social network in making a hiring decision. There are no lawsuits yet but I think it is just a matter of time until an employer is sued for using a social network to screen candidates.

Here are some suggestions for employers:

1. Consult with your attorney and develop written policies and non-discriminatory procedures for using social networks to screen candidates.

2. Obtain written consent from applicants so they are aware you will be looking at their online profiles and personal information.

3. If a website is searched by a background screening firm on behalf of an employer, then consent and disclosure are required under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

4. Employers should never use fake identities or engage in “pretexting” to gain access to information on social networks.

5. The safest approach is to perform a social network search after there is consent and a job offer is made contingent upon completion of a satisfactory background check.