10 incredible facts about employment screening

In a follow up to our blog post in the latter part of last year - 10 background check facts all employers should know – we’ve found some additional, incredible facts surrounding hiring, employment screening and protecting your business. With contributions from the Paycor Resource Center webinar on safe hiring, here’s our latest list of shocking employment check facts:

1. 40% of resumes contain material lies or omissions about past jobs, education or qualifications.
2. 10% of all background checks have at least one serious red flag.
3. Evidence shows that if a person is dishonest in getting the job, they are likely to be dishonest while on the job.
4. The turnover cost for one bad employee can be as much as 2-3 times their salary (an employer’s average cost of a second-level manager bad hire is $840,000.)
5. Contrary to popular belief, there is no national database available for private employers to check criminal records or false credentials.
6. Workplace drug and alcohol use costs U.S. businesses an estimated $100 billion each year.
7. The EEOC now forbids employers from automatically disqualifying an applicant who has a criminal record—you have to prove you have a “business justification.”
8. Using social media to screen your applicants is not a good idea. As Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan noted, this practice does not just violate the “privacy expectations and security” of the job applicant, but also that of everyone with whom the applicant is friends on the social network.
9. Applicants can  purchase a career history, complete with employer references and a fake company website. And many do.
10. The ROI of a bad hire can be as awful as -298%.

If those don’t open your eyes to the potential pitfalls of making bad hires, then nothing will. For more information on how to protect your business, contact us today. We’ll help to discuss a program and process to suit your resources and needs.