3 Ways Background Checks Can Support Employee Retention

Companies love to talk about making “investments for the future.” Whether opening a new sales office or purchasing new equipment, each move is meant to advance the company's long-term goals. The same is true for hiring new employees.

Hiring managers hope the person they’re hiring will stay with the organization long-term. More importantly, they hope the hire is a lasting contributor to the company’s success. Achieving strong employee retention is more important than ever in today’s challenging hiring market. In fact, the cost of replacing a departing employee can be up to 200% of the position’s salary.

Pre-employment background checks can help improve employee retention by offering insights into who will be a good addition. Here are three ways background checks can support employee retention and improve the ROI of the hiring process.

1. Finding the Right Cultural Addition

Reviewing a candidate’s resume to ensure they have the right skills for a position can be pretty straightforward. Potential culture impact, on the other hand, is much harder to quantify. It can be difficult to gauge from looking at application documents alone. But it’s just as important for finding the right candidate who will turn into a long-term employee. Thankfully, different types of background checks can potentially offer insights into a candidate’s personality. You may also be able to learn if they might be a good addition to the company culture.

For example, reference checks are widely used to learn more about a candidate’s work habits, ability to collaborate with coworkers, and more. Sometimes that information can prove critical. One survey showed that 34% of candidates are ruled out of consideration following a reference check.

Employers may use academic and job verifications to assess whether a candidate may be a good fit. Over half of all resumes include a discrepancy, so verifications may be able to help ensure the hiring manager’s view of a candidate is accurate. By layering these types of background checks, employers can potentially get a more detailed look at a candidate and find the right culture add that will benefit both the organization and the employee.

2. Providing a Positive Experience

Employee retention efforts often involve things like bonus programs, office perks, and professional development programs. These initiatives are designed to boost engagement and job satisfaction. But that sense of satisfaction — or dissatisfaction — can start forming before an employee even accepts an offer.

The experience a candidate has in the screening process can create a lasting impression. And it could potentially influence how long they stay with the company. Providing the best screening experience possible can be pivotal to starting new employees off on the right foot. Some ways HR professionals may be able to elevate the screening experience could include:

• Providing strong candidate-focused support. A way to answer any questions and alleviate stress throughout the screening process.
• Creating a candidate portal so candidates can easily submit data on their own and monitor status independently.
• Offering mobile experiences to meet the needs of modern candidates.
• Communicating clearly about expected turnaround times and background check status. Candidates might feel included in the process and up to date on where they stand.

By developing a screening program promoting positive candidate experiences, employers build trust with candidates and lay the foundation for strong, lasting relationships.

3. Ensuring a Safe and Welcoming Workplace

People generally want to work in a place that makes them feel welcomed, valued, and safe. Conducting thorough criminal background checks may demonstrate a company’s commitment to workplace safety. Plus, it potentially gives all employees peace of mind that the people they work with were vetted.

A screening program that provides that sense of security may involve multiple types of criminal background checks like:

• county
• state
• federal
• international screening solutions

A Social Security trace can also help identify names and addresses that a candidate did not disclose. Those newly discovered names and locations can then be used to search for more potential criminal records.

While not criminal, social media checks can also be helpful to identify potentially risky content.

Layering different types of criminal background checks together can close gaps and help employers find records that could have been missed. This provides a greater sense of security for the entire organization.

Looking Backward to Build a Better Future

Employee retention has never been more important for companies. That means finding ways to promote positive employee experiences. But that experience truly starts with the application and background check process. By developing a background check program that reflects company values and prioritizes the candidate experience, companies can improve retention rates and invest in a workforce that will pay dividends for years to come.

Looking for ways to improve employee retention for your organization? Contact Verified Credentials and we can help you design a background check program that helps you achieve your long-term goals.