In today’s era of low unemployment, businesses have to compete harder than ever for top talent. The best job candidates can come and go in the blink of an eye. Hiring managers have to make decisions and act very quickly in order to secure the services of these top performers.
Have you ever interviewed the perfect candidate for an open position, only to have that candidate take another job while you waited for an agonizingly slow background check to come back? It’s one of the most common reasons employers lose candidates. Thirty-four percent of employers say this has happened to them, and with recruiting becoming more and more competitive, it will only become more common.
The biggest key to sticking to a short turnaround time for background checks is working with an experienced, reputable, and fast pre-employment screening company. However, there are important steps that employers and hiring managers can take to grease the skids for the fastest background-check turnaround times possible. Are you being proactive on this front? With a little effort, you can help reduce the time it takes to complete a background check to three days or even less.
Here’s how:
- Understand your internal process.
Do you really know what it’s like to experience your company’s background check process? Nearly half of all hiring managers don’t. If you’ve never put yourself through the process, do it now. You might not like what you find, but it will definitely tell you a lot about what your top candidates experience during your background checks and where there is room for improvement. Not only is it important for employers to experience the process firsthand to make sure it is easy and straightforward, it’s important to solicit direct feedback from your candidates, as well.
- Stay in touch.
Don’t leave your job candidates hanging! When job candidates aren’t sure what to expect or where they stand, that’s when they start looking for other opportunities. That’s why candidate engagement in the screening process is an essential component of creating a frictionless, efficient, program.
Remember to make sure that every candidate is clear on what he or she is supposed to do. Communicating to the candidate ahead of time their role in the screening process helps create urgency and is furthered by advising what information they will need available to complete the process. Reports get delayed when candidates wait to fill out forms, have to look for information, or skip critical steps in the process that limit the start of the screening process.
- Get the right package for your business.
There are different levels of background screening available to you, each with a different level of diligence (and yes, pricing). Speed, search coverage, and cost should all be critical elements in your screening strategy and align with program goals. It is important to analyze and understand the various searches available to evaluate the differences when aligning the search strategy with your desired program outcomes.
- Trim all the fat you can.
A smoother, more seamless user experience for your job candidates means a better chance of making a good hire. Research all of your software integration options to digitize the process as much as you can for a faster, easier response. The easier you make it for your candidates to do their part, the less waiting you’ll both have to do.
- Work with a screening company that can meet your goals.
While cost is certainly an important factor when selecting a background check provider, basing your decision solely on that could affect your turnaround time — resulting in higher costs. As our clients tell us time and again after switching to KRESS, the cheapest provider isn’t necessarily the most thorough or fastest provider!
The pre-employment screening experts at KRESS pride ourselves on our customer service. Part of that is providing industry-leading turnaround times for background checks, drug tests, and more. If you’d like a consultation on how KRESS can improve your background check turnaround times and improve the process from start to finish, contact our team today at 888.636.3693.