The HR Guide to Save Money on Background Checks

Considering the costs and time involved with running pre-employment background checks, some organizations are hiring without them. Sure, the hiring process may be a bit quicker but not screening means increasing the risk of negligent hiring claims or simply hiring someone unqualified for the job. Instead of opting out, opt in to running fewer screens. Yes, you read that correctly.

Read on to learn how your company can lower the cost of screening new hires.

HR Guide to Save Money on Background Checks

Are You Running ALLLLL the Available Background Checks?

Where some companies are opting out of employment screening, others are playing it safe by running all background checks, regardless of the job description. What do "all" the background checks entail? Let's review available employment screens and how much they cost:

• Identity Checks (Price range $2-4)
• Financial History / Credit Reports ($5 - 10)
• National Criminal Searches and Sex Offender Search ($7 - 20)
• Federal Criminal Searches ($8 - 15)
• Statewide Criminal Searches ($9 - 15)
• County Criminal Searches ($8 - 16)
• International Watch List ($0 - 5)
• Employment Verification ($7 - 15)
• Education Verification ($7 - 15)
• Professional License Verification ($7 - 15)
• MVR (Driver's) License Records ($3 - 10)
• Drug Screening ($25 - 55)
• E-Verify, Form I-9 Verification ($5 - $10)

Imagine that cost per new hire and you're not only spending lots of money, you're potentially wasting resources. 

How to Run Fewer Pre-Employment Background Checks Per Hire

Now consider how HR would go about reducing the number of background checks or using their resources more efficiently. Running fewer pre-employment screens means that money is spent on the necessary background checks suited for a particular job description. Another tip to reduce spending, especially when hiring lots of employees at once, is to invest in volume pricing to screen more new hires at a lower cost. Running select screens to help reduce the number of applicants for a job can also be a good use of background check dollars.

An HR Guide to Save Money on Background Checks

Identify Daily Tasks for Job Related Background Checks

Every position within the organization has a job description. The duties associated with the job description will help to uncover the necessary background checks for that position. For assistance with conducting job-related background checks, download this quick guide. 

Screen As Your Applicant Pool Gets Smaller

Instead of screening all of the potential candidates for a job, consider starting with a criminal background check only to determine who gets to move on to the next round. As the candidate pool gets smaller, this waterfall approach limits the number of screens that are being ordered and saves HR from spending too much money in the process.