7 Tips for Effective Background Screening of Hourly Employees
Hiring hourly workers, especially in high-volume sectors like retail, hospitality, healthcare, and construction, presents unique challenges. The demand for quick hiring can sometimes lead to shortcuts in the background screening process, but doing so can introduce risks to safety, compliance, and your company’s reputation.
In this blog, we’ll explore seven essential tips for effectively screening hourly employees, and helping you strike the right balance between hiring fast and being thorough.
1. Define Your Screening Criteria
The pressures of hourly hiring might tempt you to relax screening criteria, but doing so can lead to issues with high turnover from hiring unqualified candidates.
By clearly defining what criteria are necessary for the role, you can ensure that you are meeting compliance requirements and avoiding unnecessary checks that slow down the process.
2. Keep Up With Compliance
One of the most crucial aspects of background screening is compliance. There are several factors to consider with background screening compliance, including:
- Adverse Action: If you need to withdraw an offer based on a background check, make sure to follow through with the adverse action process.
- Obtaining Consent: You must inform candidates that you are conducting a background check and obtain their consent.
- Local, State, and Federal Laws: Stay up to date on regulations at all levels of government since they may vary depending on state or industry.
You should also make sure to implement regular reviews of your screening process for both compliance and efficiency.
3. Cast A Wide Net
To maintain the hiring standards and compliance requirements that you’ve outlined while still keeping up with the volume of hires needed– don’t limit yourself to the basic job boards.
Consider casting a wider net and utilizing niche and diverse job boards to access a large pool of qualified candidates. Using these job boards can also help reduce hiring bias and improve retention, especially for hourly hiring.
4. Use Candidate Friendly Screening
Many candidates complain about a long, annoying, and complicated screening process. If this sounds familiar, you may need to evaluate whether you have a candidate-friendly screening process. To know if your screening process is considered “candidate-friendly,” you’ll want to look for:
- Mobile Optimization: Screening that utilizes text alerts and allows candidates to complete a background check easily from their phone.
- Fast Turnaround Times: Streamlined processes that maintain compliance without losing efficiency.
- Clear Communication: Having quick and clear communication between the screening provider, employer, and candidate.
5. Be Transparent With Candidates
In the speed of hourly hiring, don’t sacrifice transparency with candidates. Candidates are anxious to know where they stand at every stage of the process, so providing them with regular updates on their screening status and explanations for any delays will help build trust and reputation while also improving your chances of retaining qualified candidates.
6. Optimize Other Areas of Your Hiring to Match
Technology can significantly accelerate hourly hiring. By optimizing each step of the hiring process alongside your background screening, you can benefit from both a faster speed to hire and a better candidate experience. When finding ways to optimize your process, look out for:
- Integrations: Finding tech that integrates with what you’re already using makes utilization even easier.
- Automation: What manual tasks are you doing that can be automated?
- Support: Check reviews to see the quality and level of support offered.
7. Partner With A Screening Vendor Who Can Meet Your Needs
Oftentimes, the easiest solution is the simplest. Working with a background screening vendor that can scale to your needs without fear of delays while also maintaining a high standard for compliance and safety is absolutely crucial to successful hourly hiring.
To learn more about choosing the right vendor for your organization, check out our guide on “Choosing the Right Software for Background Searches: Key Features to Consider.”
How Can We Improve Candidate Experience while Using Background Checks?
Candidate experience is crucial in attracting and retaining top talent. Even when background checks are necessary, it’s important to minimize any negative impact on the candidate’s experience.
Strategies to Improve Candidate Experience
- Clear Communication: Keep candidates informed throughout the screening process. Provide regular updates on the status of their background check and any next steps. Transparent communication helps alleviate anxiety and builds trust – even if checks take a few business days to return.
- Minimize Wait Times: Streamline the background check process to reduce wait times. This can involve using efficient technology and ensuring that all necessary information is collected upfront. A quick turnaround time demonstrates respect for the candidate’s time and helps maintain their interest.
- Offer Convenient Screening Options: Provide candidates with convenient options to complete background checks. This might include online portals, mobile applications, or in-person appointments. Flexibility allows candidates to complete the process on their own terms, enhancing their overall experience.
Your Industry Matters When It Comes to Employment Screening
Background screening requirements can vary significantly depending on the industry. Understanding these specific requirements is crucial to ensure compliance, protect your organization, and maintain a safe and productive workplace. With every offer of employment, every group of job candidates, you’ll need to think through these.
Here are some of the common considerations for types of background checks within some of the most common hourly hiring industries:
Healthcare:
- Criminal Background Checks: Conduct thorough an applicant’s criminal history, court records, and criminal records (all public records) to identify potential risks to patient safety.
- Drug Testing: Implement pre-employment and random drug testing programs to maintain a safe and drug-free workplace. Note that you will need to have a drug screening policy for this type of screening.
- Education Verification: Ensure you do enough record checks and validation to ensure someone can work with patients.
Retail:
- Theft and Fraud Checks: Conduct checks to identify previous instances of theft, fraud, or dishonesty.
- Credit History (for certain positions): Consider conducting credit checks for positions that involve handling cash or financial transactions.
- Past Employment: Get reference checks and employment history as part of your employee background check.
Hospitality:
- Alcohol and Drug Testing: Implement alcohol and drug testing programs to ensure the safety of guests and employees.
- Criminal Background Checks: Conduct criminal background checks to identify potential risks to guest safety and security.
Construction:
- OSHA Compliance: Ensure that screening processes align with OSHA regulations to protect worker safety.
- Drug Testing: Implement pre-employment and random drug testing programs to prevent accidents and injuries.
- Specific Certifications (e.g., licenses, certifications): Verify that candidates possess the necessary licenses and certifications for their roles.
- Driving Record: Ensure that someone is safe behind the wheel when driving on a site, has a driver’s license, can operate a motor vehicle, and has any professional licenses necessary.
Addressing Ethical Considerations For Employment Background Checks for Hourly Employees
Background screening, while essential for ensuring workplace safety and compliance, can also raise ethical concerns. To maintain a fair and equitable hiring process, addressing issues such as bias, privacy, and adverse actions is important.
This section will discuss key ethical considerations and best practices for responsibly conducting background checks.
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA):
When using credit checks as part of your background screening process, it’s essential to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This federal law protects individuals from the misuse of their credit information.
- Obtain Consent: Before conducting a credit check, obtain written consent from the candidate.
- Provide Notice: Inform the candidate that a credit check will be conducted and provide them with a copy of the FCRA summary.
- Adverse Action: If you take adverse action (e.g., denying employment) based on credit information, follow the FCRA’s adverse action procedures, which include providing the candidate with a copy of their credit report and an opportunity to dispute any inaccuracies.
Bias Mitigation:
To ensure a fair and equitable background screening process, it’s important to take steps to mitigate bias.
- Blind Screening: Consider using blind screening techniques to remove personal identifiers like names and addresses from applications, reducing the potential for unconscious bias.
- Standardized Criteria: Develop standardized screening criteria that are job-related and free from discriminatory factors. This could be things like employment verification, social media screening, or an entire process. You just want to standardize how you use background checks on job applicants and how you use them to make a hiring decision.
- Regular Training: Provide training to hiring managers and HR professionals on best practices for conducting unbiased interviews and assessments.
Always be sure to follow all applicable laws when using screening services to make employment decisions. A background check company can help you there.
Adverse Action:
When taking adverse action based on background check information, it’s crucial to communicate effectively and provide opportunities for rebuttal.
- Clear Communication: Clearly explain the reasons for the adverse action, citing specific information from the background check. (You’ve seen this repeated a lot and that’s because it’s important!)
- Provide Documentation: Provide the candidate with a copy of the background check report and any relevant documentation.
- Opportunity for Rebuttal: Allow the candidate to provide additional information or explanations to contest the findings of the background check.
Background Screening for Hourly Hiring Shouldn’t Take Hours
Background screening for hourly workers doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. By using these seven tips and finding what works best for your organization’s needs, you can significantly reduce the time it takes to screen hourly employees.
If you need help creating an efficient and compliant screening process, don’t hesitate to schedule a demo of our background screening services today and see how we can transform your hiring.
