Electronic Health Reporter

The process of screening applicants is extremely important for employers and must be carried out before recruiting for a position. This is because hiring the right people can make all the difference to a company’s success, which is why it’s crucial to find any drug issues or past criminal history via DNA and Drug Testing Clinics Nationwide – Health Street in a possible employee before hiring them. As John Maxwell said, “Teamwork makes the dream work.”

On the other hand, the wrong ones can sink the company.

That’s why screening checks are increasingly becoming important among HR professionals in Australia. This post will explore five of the top reasons why screening employees should be adopted by every company.

The Ugly Truth …

Many job candidates are guilty of inventing degrees, referees, and accomplishments on their resume. Peter Wilson, the Chair of the Australian Human Resources Institute attributes it to the branding culture that has emerged out of social media. As a result, many people are likely to embellish their CVs with lies just to get ahead of the game.

A study from Australian revealed that a bad hire can cost a business up to 2.5 times the salary of the employee. Here are the top five reasons for screening employees:

• Ensuring Job Competence

Since many job applicants lie about their education, accomplishments, qualifications, skills, and even previous job titles and responsibilities, it’s very easy to employ a candidate who does not have the competence to effectively execute their tasks.

If this happens, it can have a severe impact on productivity levels, quality of work, and service. These inefficiencies, in no time, affect your customers and even cause you to lose some of them. Undertaking background checks can help employers avoid regrettable mistakes, thereby saving time and money.

• Fraud Prevention

Employee theft and fraud are costly problems for employees. For a bit of perspective, Australia retailers alone lose about $2.7 billion every year due to employee theft. Moreover, approximately 75% of all fraud perpetrated within a business are committed by its employees or officers. This costs the average business about 5 % of the total revenue.

When screening employees, credit history checks can help identify candidates that are financially stressed and may not be suited for a finance-related role due to the temptation. Moreover, a police check like an afp police check used in Australia or a criminal history check can help identify candidates with a history of fraud. All these help to minimize the risk of hiring a potential fraudster.

• Maintaining Data Integrity

In today’s technologically advanced world, companies store a large amount of customer data. Customers trust that their data will be well protected. That’s why companies take several security precautions to prevent the possibility of data breaches.

Surprisingly, more than half of all breaches come from compromised employees. Once news of data compromise gets to the public, people become wary of doing business with the affected company. As much as 70% would not consider doing business with a company after a data breach. This will harm the brand’s reputation. Doing adequate screening checks and criminal history checks will drastically improve your chances of hiring people you can trust.

• Protecting The Workforce

Part of the HR manager’s job is ensuring that the workplace is safe for all workers. That’s why fraud and criminal background checks are imperative. Imagine hiring a candidate who is a sex offender or has a long history of violence. Such an individual places other employees at risk. Due diligence will safeguard the workplace from bullying, acts of violence, discrimination, or sexual harassment.

• Ensuring Legal Compliance

Before hiring a candidate, the employer must find out if they’re legally permitted to work. Knowingly employing illegal workers is a criminal offense. According to the law, if one is found employing illegal workers or referring illegal workers for work, the person might be criminally liable under the Migration Act 1958 and face up to $13,200 and two years imprisonment (as an individual) or up to $66,00 per illegal worker for the company. Adequately screening employees will prevent such from happening.