The Value of Effective Screening:

How smarter screening delivers a demonstrable ROI

With cost-per-hire, time-to-fill, and retention rate requirements more demanding than ever, it can be tempting to cut some or all of the screening process for potential new hires and simply eliminating rescreening requirements for existing or long-term employees.

However, there’s all kinds of data demonstrating that thorough screening of new hires, combined with ongoing rescreening of existing employees actually delivers a demonstrable ROI. In other words, you should be thinking of screening costs as an investment in your workforce.

Here’s how:

Spend less time on the wrong candidates

(and more time on the right ones) There’s nothing worse than ‘saving’ the screening process until you’ve made a conditional offer to one candidate, only to find that candidate doesn’t meet the minimum screening requirements, and that the hiring process has to start all over again. Screening the top 5 or even 10 candidates for a role earlier in the process ensures that less time is wasted – and may even reveal a hidden A-lister or two that you might have missed otherwise.

Decrease turnover & increase retention

The right screening package can ensure you’re getting an employee who’s the right ‘fit’ for your organization: A reference check can help determine whether a potential employee is as ‘entrepreneurial’ as they claim; a criminal check can determine whether a candidate is as much of a rule-follower as they said in their interview; a credentials check can determine whether the job-seeker is an experienced public speaker who will be comfortable in the sales position they’re applying for – all of which can be informative when it comes to making the right hire.

A larger talent pool means better access to A-list performers

Many employers are reluctant to recruit international talent because they can’t be certain of their qualifications, education and certifications – leaving them with gaps in hard-to-fill roles and higher recruiting costs. International credential and educational screening allows you to tap into a larger talent pool and fill those gaps.

Reduce legal exposure/consequences

We don’t have to tell you that engaging legal counsel for an employee-related issue can get expensive and time-consuming – much more expensive and time-consuming than ensuring a full background screening check (employment, references, educational, criminal) prior to the new hire’s first day of work. Risk mitigation is also at the heart of annual rescreening: Ensuring that employees continue to meet high standards can reduce your risk of being surprised by legal exposure in long-term employees as well.

Reduce onboarding & training costs

Investing hours of time onboarding and training new employees, only to find out within a few months that they don’t have the skills and experience they claimed to have, or that they’re simply not the right fit, can be a huge cost for employers. No employer gets it right every time, but screening can reduce incorrect hires dramatically, which in turn reduces the money wasted onboarding and training employees who don’t stick around.

Screening can set the right tone for productivity & professionalism

When employees see that management is willing to invest in comprehensive screening for potential new hires and for longer-term employees (including management), it sends a clear message: We have high standards, and we’re holding both old and new employees, including management, to those high standards. This tends to manifest itself as an organization with a high level of professionalism and productivity, both of which show up on the bottom line.

Want to know how better screening can deliver an ROI for your organization? Click here.