4 Best Practices for Pre-Employment Screening Target

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Construction Staffing

You spend months hiring for an opening before you finally find the right one. Only you quickly discover, just a few short months in, that the worker wasn’t the right fit at all. Now, you find yourself having to spend precious time and money to start the job search process all over again. Has this ever happened to you?

Finding good, reliable temporary tradesmen and permanent workers is essential for a successful construction site. That’s why turnover can be such a staggering problem. If you want an employee who will perform, you need to pre-screen your job applicant. A pre-screening process is an essential first step in the hiring process. Not only will you be able to narrow down your candidate pool, but you’ll also be able to catch on to any red flags right away.

4 Essential Candidate Screenings

Background Check

We know background checks can be costly, but can you really afford to not know a candidate’s whole story? You could be taking on some unnecessary risks if you accidentally hire an employee with a history of job site incidents or a criminal record.

Types of information in a background check: Driving records, criminal records, educational credentials, government records, reported illegal substance abuse issues and other legal records.

Reference Check

We know that a reference check is usually a given, but many candidate catastrophes can be avoided by asking the right questions. Past performance is a major clue to future productivity. First, take a close look at the variety of references: Are they all from the same place? Are they all really recent connections? Second, during the call listen for optimism and excitement or, on the more ominous side, pauses, hesitation or even hostility.

Questions to ask: Was the candidate offered or eligible for any promotions? Did he or she work well with co-workers? What are the candidate’s strengths and work habits? Most importantly, would the previous employer hire them again?

Personality Assessment

For construction job sites, having skilled workers with leadership traits means a safer and more efficient workplace. Assessing personality, an effective predictor of job success will clue you in to this person’s ability to think critically, manage stress and collaborate with others. You’ll also find out if he or she will have the right disposition for your crew.

Top Personality Assessment Tests: The Simmons Personal test measures stress, commitment, optimism, self-direction and courage. The Predictive Index test indicates how this person works within a team and the Caliper Profile measures 25 personality traits in relation to leadership.

Social Media Search

Social media sites are a hot button topic in the pre-screening process. Most companies admit to examining candidates’ social media profiles already, but should you make it an official policy?

Pros of a Social Media Pre-Screening: You can really evaluate professionalism and personality, especially if the candidate constantly posts comments about old bosses, expresses negativity or talks about excessive alcohol or drug use. On these sites, you can also see if a candidate is a creative, critical thinker with broad interests. You can also judge their communication skills.

Cons of a Social Media Pre-Screening: Much of the informationon social media cannot be used in the decision-making process. Any clues about sexual orientation, religion and gender can be prominent on social media, but cannot influence your hiring process. If the candidate feels that they were wrongfully discriminated against, they may pursue legal action.

Do you need a candidate right away, but don’t have the time for a proper pre-screening? Let CCS Construction Staffing do the work for you. All of our talent has been extensively pre-screened and examined, so we know exactly who is the right fit your specific needs. Don’t waste any more time or money hurrying the hiring process. Call us today and we’ll help solve your staffing needs.

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