Two Sides: Preemployment Checks – Do or Don’t?

Employers are looking for ways to expedite the hiring process and get around some of the things that will help them hire more quickly. One area of focus has become RBI, or reference and background investigations—drug, alcohol, criminal, and employment. What considerations are there to doing them, or not doing them?

Do them

• They tell you about the individual you are hiring, from employment history to education to financial information, and officially allow employers to verify required items such as degrees or certifications.
• They confirm a candidate meets the qualifications of the position and can comply with the policies of the organization, as with a clean drug test.
• They are a no-doubt way to determine if a candidate meets the standards of the position and organization.

Discontinue them

• Employers can broaden the candidate pool if they eliminate some screenings, or even just a portion of them, such as removing marijuana from the drug screen.
• Eliminating prescreening can open up the candidate pool to help get talent onboarded.
• Sometimes employers are provided information that is difficult to verify in a time frame where they won’t lose the candidate to another offer.

Whether you do them or discontinue them

There are important factors employers should consider before revising the screening process.

Drug testing.
Drug use and abuse is on the rise. This has increased during the pandemic. Companies may want to consider revising policies rather than eliminating them. For example, although marijuana has become legal in several states, it is not legal to use in the workplace. Consider tests that use saliva or blood to detect drugs that have not been metabolized instead of removing the test completely.

Criminal background checks.
There is new legislation each year that makes it more difficult to get criminal results. COVID-19, workplace violence, and the talent shortage are all reasons employers need to push through the challenges tied to getting criminal background checks and make sure that each hire is a good hire.

MRA stays closely attuned to legislative decisions that may affect an employer’s ability to obtain criminal background information. Contact the RBI team to learn how we can help you find the information you need to make great hiring decisions.