About Pre-Employment Screenings
Pre-employment screenings are now an important part of the employee-selection process for many companies. Employers want to be sure that they are hiring quality employees who meet the requirements for the position, and who are not abusing illegal substances.
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Function
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Pre-employment screenings can be used to assess an employee's ability to perform essential functions of the job. They can also be used to screen an employee to determine if he is currently under the influence of alcohol or has used drugs within a certain time frame prior to the screening. Pre-employment screenings help employers select the best candidates, as determined by the results of the assessment process.
Time Frame
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Many companies choose to put candidates through a rigorous interview process, then send only a few highly qualified candidates through the pre-employment screenings. Other companies choose to use a brief assessment tool at the beginning of the interview process, to avoid wasting precious time interviewing candidates who are not really suited for the position. The type of assessment being made can determine when in the hiring process it is implemented. For example, medical screenings can be quite expensive, so they are typically conducted at the end of the interview process, for candidates who will be hired unless the results are not favorable. Extensive personality assessments can be quite expensive, so they are often done at the end of the interview process as well. Simple skill tests and less advanced personality profiles might be used at the start of the interview process, to eliminate a large portion of the candidate pool.
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Significance
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Even after a perfect series of interviews, a failed drug screen or questionable results on an assessment test can disqualify the candidate. Many companies are implementing pre-employment drug and alcohol screenings to reduce the risk of work-related injuries and lower the losses from employees coming to work under the influence. Employees of some companies may be required to make use of company vehicles or operate heavy equipment. For these companies, pre-employment screenings are part of a larger work-safety mission.
Benefits
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Pre-employment screenings can help companies hire the best candidates for the job. Software companies, for example, are able to test the skills of job seekers and hire the most efficient software developers who can, in turn, make the company millions of dollars by creating award-winning software applications. Pre-employment screenings may also help candidates prove themselves when they don't have a great deal of experience with which to impress potential employers.
Considerations
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While pre-employment drug screenings are usually fairly accurate, personality assessments and skill assessments may have questionable validity. If the assessment materials were not designed by scientists and psychologists who know how to construct questions that accurately measure a certain trait, the results may not be completely accurate. When screening potential candidates, it's best to consider the entire picture, including their skills, experience and interviewing skills, as well as the results of the pre-employment screenings.
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