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Employment Screening: A good policy is half the battle

Screening Policy

There are several reasons why you, as an employer, have all new employees screened. Reasons may depend on the sector in which you operate. For example, healthcare institutions, but also banks and insurers, have legal obligations to carry out certain checks before someone is allowed to start in a new role. Other employers are already acting as a precaution. After all, prevention is better than to cure; The people you work with ultimately determine how well your organisation is performing, so this form of risk management is very important.   

Regardless of the reason or basis on which you want to screen someone, as a client you have to start somewhere. It is precisely that beginning that is often the most difficult. Validata takes care of a large part of the screening process, but the screening process is only really effective when you, as an employer, also have things in order. One way to do this is by drawing up a screening policy. Every employment screening is then properly communicated and set in motion and privacy is better guaranteed. By including the following elements in the screening policy, you are assured of a good start. 

Werknemer aan het werk

Element 1: Privacy and purpose definition  

Screening is, by definition, an invasion of someone’s privacy. That is why it pays to first check whether you can achieve your goal of risk management without opting for employee screening. This is called the principle of subsidiarity. Can the goal be achieved by, for example, creating different user roles in the software system that is being used? Or by using access cards for certain departments?   

Can the goal only be achieved by applying employment screening? You also have to take the principle of proportionality into account. How ’tough’ is the screening? Is everyone screened for exactly the same parts? Or should one be screened more extensively than the other?  

By thinking about the objective, the principle of subsidiarity and proportionality, you already form an excellent basis for a good policy aimed at employment screening. By making the right considerations, the final request for certain personal data and the verification thereof is well-substantiated and justified. 

Element 2: Communication  

With this solid foundation, you will need to think about the communication part of the screening process. Validata safeguards the operational part of the entire screening, including associated reminder processes. But when a candidate has been insufficiently or poorly informed about the upcoming employment screening prior to the screening, the first experience is often poor and there is even a chance that they will not start or complete the screening. 

  •  Recruitment and hiring
    To prevent this, it is important that you, as an employer, indicate in good time that a screening is part of the start of employment. Of course, this can already be done on the website in a general sense, but also more specifically when recruiting for certain roles that are also made visible on many other sites. 
  • Application procedure
    Prior to the actual selection, there will of course be interviews. It is also wise to mention the screening within these interviews and, if necessary, explain it further. The candidates who come for an interview attach great importance to this. In practice, there is already a significant understanding of the increasing amount of screening being done, especially in this day and age when remote work is becoming more common. A good explanation of the screening and transparency about the entire process helps in a positive way in making the right choice; for you but also for the candidate.  

The better the communication, the more efficient the entire employment screening process will be. 

Element 3: The screening process 

There is now a solid basis in the form of a screening policy and there is also good communication about the employment screening in advance. The final element that matters is the screening process itself. The following five questions will help to ensure a good screening process: 

  1. Who commissions the employment screening?
  2. Who sets it in motion?
  3. Who provides the information?
  4. Who takes care of the implementation and monitors the progress?
  5. Who evaluates the result? 

A number of these questions will be addressed in policy. For example, it is advisable to determine in the policy who assesses the result, and in particular who may deviate from it if there is an unexpected note in the report. The more complex work stems from questions three and four. All relevant personal data must be provided and processed securely. The execution of various checks means that various sources are contacted where information can be verified. 

Employment screening by Validata 

It goes without saying that Validata plays a major role here. With the latest software platform Valluga, we now serve approximately 1000 customers with the secure processing of all data of their candidates and employees. Verifications of certain checks are set up safely and quickly and the service is aimed at a quick delivery of the result. The assessment of the result lies with you, the client and (future) employer. Because even if unexpected information arises from the screening, it may still be the case that you end up hiring candidate in question. As a future employer, you want to consider all the information from the entire application process, including the interviews you’ve had with the candidate. And that’s exactly how it should be. In the end, it’s all about the people you work with, and employment screening plays a key role in supporting, and often confirming, the right decision. 

Read more about our employment screening services

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