If you're a business owner, you've probably had to hire and fire employees in your time. You know how hard it is to find good people, especially when the job market is where it is today. But what happens when you don't take the time to conduct pre-employment screenings? You could end up with an employee who can't do the job or isn’t a good fit, or worse, someone who steals from your company.
In this guide, we'll discuss the importance of pre-employment screenings, as well as how to implement them into your hiring process so that you can ensure that every employee is a good fit for your company culture.
What Is Pre-Employment Screening?
Pre-employment screening is an assessment of a potential employee's background. This typically includes information including their personal history and education level but can also include criminal record checks or drug tests. The goal of pre-employment screening is to make sure that you're hiring someone who will be a good fit for your organization. They can also help you avoid lawsuits, prevent employee theft, and protect your brand's reputation.
Screening is an essential part of hiring a new employee, but it can be tricky to navigate. With so many options out there, it can be challenging to know where to start or what kind of testing is right for your business. That’s where GMS hopes to help!
Why Is Pre-Employment Screening Important?
There are many reasons why an employer would want to perform pre-employment screening on candidates before hiring them. Employers must ensure that their employees are safe at work, which means they must be confident in their abilities and behaviors. In addition, they need to make sure that their employees are not going to cause trouble for the company or otherwise disrupt operations. It's essential that employers do not hire anyone who might bring negative attention upon them.
In addition to checking a candidate's criminal record, they may check their credit score and history of employment. This can help determine if they have been fired from previous jobs or if they have had any financial problems in the past.
It’s important to keep in mind when doing pre-employment screening that it should be designed to protect both parties-the company and the applicant.
To protect yourself, you need to make sure that you clearly understand what information you're legally allowed to request from candidates, and how much of it they are required by law to disclose. You also want to make sure that all your questions are appropriate for an employment setting—not too personal and not too invasive—and that they conform with any laws or regulations related to confidentiality in your state.
If you're concerned that pre-employment screening may violate an applicant’s rights or privacy, that’s where HR professionals can step in.
Types Of Applicant Screening Tests & Methods
Pre-employment screening includes a variety of methods, including written tests, interviews, background checks, and drug tests. They're used when you want to find out more about an applicant's skills and qualifications. They help you determine whether the applicant will be able to perform the job well. Pre-employment screening also gives you additional information about a candidate before making an offer. If there are any red flags in their background check or pre-employment screening report (such as criminal records), then this must be addressed before moving forward with an offer. If there are zero red flags, these tests can simply be used to tell whether a candidate will fit in with your company culture and get along well with your team.
The following are different types of screening methods and where you can use them in the hiring process:
Before the interview:
Application and resume screening
Many employers know this as the first step in the hiring process, but it’s important not to stop here. Application and resume screening allow you to weed out the right candidates through work experience and education requirements. You can also add job-related questions on applications to see how your applicant feels about the role.
Aptitude tests
Aptitude tests are a great way to assess whether applicants have what it takes to succeed in their roles. They can be used as a stand-alone tool or as part of a larger screening process. These tests measure a person's ability to perform specific tasks, such as solving problems or working with numbers.
The aptitude test typically consists of two types of questions: those related directly to the job duties and those that are more theoretical in nature. For example, if you're applying for an administrative assistant position at a law firm, one type of question might be, "What is the difference between 'trial' and 'appellate?'" Another type might be, "How many people work in our billing department?"
Personality tests
Personality tests are a popular pre-employment screening tool. They help employers make sure that the person they hire will be a good fit for their culture by assessing their traits and personality type. Commonly used personality tests include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test, DISC assessment, and the Enneagram.
During the interview:
Phone or video interview
Once your candidates make it through the initial stages, it’s now time for the official interview. Depending on your process, you may wish to conduct several interview rounds. Some, if not all, of these can be conducted over the phone or via video. This is especially useful if your candidate lives in another state or is being considered for a remote position.
In-person interview
While in-person interviews aren’t always necessary, they can be useful if your candidate will be working in a set location or office. In-person interviews give you an opportunity to observe a candidate’s communication skills, personality traits, and behavior in social situations. In addition to these observations, you can also ask questions about previous employment experiences and future career aspirations during an interview. This can also be a great opportunity to give a tour of the office location.
Interview methods
In today's economy, it's more important than ever for companies to make sure that their employees are happy in their roles. That means that you need to be able to interview effectively and make sure your potential hires will be a good fit.
If you're looking for help with the interviewing process, here are some tips on how to ensure you're attracting the right people:
1. Start by asking questions that are relevant to the position they're applying for
2. Ask open-ended questions ("What do you think about this?" or, "How would you handle this situation?", rather than yes and no questions)
3. Make sure there's time in your interview schedule for both parties to ask each other questions—this gives everyone a chance to gain a better understanding of each other and how well they'd work together.
4. Find out about their experience. What did they do at their last job? What did they like about it? What could they have done better?
5. Make sure your applicants know what kind of company culture you have (if there are any specific perks or benefits), so they can decide whether it suits them before accepting an offer from you.
After the interview
Verifications
As much as we’d like to take someone’s word for their background and experience, it can be beneficial to verify just in case. A few different types of verifications you can perform are:
- Reference checks
- Employment verification
- Education/degree verification
- Licensing and professional certification verification
- Military services records
Background checks
If you’re hiring someone, it’s important to know if they have any criminal history. This will help you decide whether they are suitable for the role. A criminal background check can also reveal if they have a history of drug use and alcohol abuse, as well as other personal issues that could affect their performance at work.
Legal Considerations During Pre-Employment Screening
The legal considerations of pre-employment screening are important to consider when conducting the process. There are various industries that require extensive screening and background checks, such as careers in healthcare, government positions, education fields, and working with children.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the federal agency that oversees compliance with federal discrimination laws, but many states also have their own laws that must be followed. As employers, you may be responsible for any damages awarded due to a lawsuit brought against your company by an employee who feels they have been treated unfairly in the hiring process.
It's also important that employers know what they can legally ask during pre-employment screening. For example, if an applicant has been arrested but has never been charged with or convicted of any crime, employers should not ask about their arrest record on an application form—but they do have the right to ask about convictions (and even arrests) during in-person interviews.
Pre-Employment Screening Tools
There are various tools and programs that can make the screening process much easier, including assessment programs and tests. You can also use free methods for pre-employment screening. This can include double-checking the candidate's professional LinkedIn account for experience and awards and asking for a portfolio of their work.
Assistance With Pre-Employment Screening
The results of your employee screening process should give you a good idea of whether this is the right candidate for the job. If they check all the boxes, then you can feel confident that they will contribute positively to your company. If not, you'll know that you need to look elsewhere for someone who is more qualified for the position.
Does all of this sound overwhelming? What if you don’t know where to start in the pre-employment screening process? GMS can help. Our human resources experts work closely with you to offer guidance on hiring and training, along with supporting the administrative burdens associated with all aspects of the employee life cycle. You retain complete control over hiring decisions, we just simplify the process. Contact us for more information!