During the early stages of the pandemic, there had been significant delays in the processing of employment background screening. Background checks such as drug tests are extremely important in safety-sensitive industries, especially that there has been a surge of substance abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the same way, health screening is also a critical step to ensure every employer will only onboard hires that are not high-risk to others. With the closure of courts and the challenge of scheduling drug tests, many companies have had to come up with alternative background screening solutions when hiring new employees.
Now that we are adjusting to the new normal, many HR workflows have changed to address the concerns regarding employment background checks, especially as they regard health screening.
5 background check solutions you can expect in the new normal
Virtual drug tests
Virtual drug tests are one of the background screening solutions that many employers are adopting to expedite their return to business. A virtual drug test can be done by performing a simple mouth swab collection over video chat in the presence of the HR team to ensure that the collected sample is unadulterated and carefully sealed off to be shipped to a drug testing facility. Only when there is a need to perform lab tests will the candidate be asked to visit a facility. For the past few months, this innovative solution has allowed many people to get hired and get back to work quickly. In the new normal, we can expect that this process will continue in some areas of the United States until there is a further return to normalcy.
Remote onboarding process
Remote onboarding follows the same process of introducing a series of activities that allows newly hired employees to get to know the company’s culture, tools, methods, and more. This time, however, everything is done remotely rather than from the office. In the new normal, we can expect new methods and programs that allow employers to do this more seamlessly.
Mobile health apps
Many employers are now using COVID-19 health apps to check real-time data about the health of all employees. These apps allow health monitoring and tracking. More importantly, these apps allow employers to assess and come up with concrete steps to manage the ongoing health crisis in their workplace.
Social media monitoring
Social media has long been used to perform employment background screening. In the new normal, employers will continue to use social media to check the candidate’s behavior online or even past travel records to further check travel history in places with high COVID-19 cases.
Re-entry screening packages
Current employees who are going back to the office require a separate kind of screening as well. In the new normal, we can expect more employers to provide re-entry screening packages to address the pressure of health screening current employees.
The ‘new normal’ is most likely going to remain for some time and it can be quite a challenge to both employers and employees. Luckily, we now have advanced technology that has prepared us to adopt new methods and comprehensive background check solutions to address today’s workplace challenges.
