How to Save Money in Your Background Screening Budget

April 11, 2024 by Verified First

How to save money in your background screening budget

You know that background screening is essential to efficient hiring in today’s competitive job market. However, these checks can be time-consuming and expensive when not done properly. 

HR budgets were cut by 25% in 2023, but bringing on new hires costs more than it did last year with the average cost per hire increasing to $4,700. With increased wages and increased cost of tools needed to properly recruit and hire a candidate, organizations are facing a steeper cost-to-hire with every new employee.  

Every organization’s budget is unique, and several factors must be considered when determining your background screening budget. Here are five ways your organization can save on your background check budget without compromising efficiency, accuracy, or quality. 

Use Comprehensive Background Checks

Thorough background checks help HR leaders like you make more informed hiring decisions, which saves you time and money while improving efficiency. Some employers opt to skip the screening process or cut corners in order to save money. However, this can actually end up costing your organization more money in the long run. Here are a few ways comprehensive background checks can help your organization save money: 

  • Improve your quality of hire 
  • Increase employee retention 
  • Reduce HR workload 
  • Mitigate risk 

Thorough background screening identifies potential red flags, such as criminal convictions and false credentials, before an applicant joins your organization. By hiring more qualified candidates the first time around, you can improve your organization’s employee retention and turnover rates while saving money on lost income and hiring costs. 

Manage Your Organization’s Risks

One of the best ways to save money on your background screening budget is by using efficient screening to manage your organization’s risks and build a resilient workforce. You know that background checks empower you to make more informed hiring decisions that align with your organization's values and goals. While it may seem obvious, when you properly budget for comprehensive background screening, your investment is returned through a reliable, quality workforce. 

Accredited, compliant screening also helps you mitigate risks and costs associated with negligent hiring lawsuits and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) violations. If your organization is suspected of negligent hiring or FCRA noncompliance, your screening process will likely come under intense scrutiny. Using a reliable, accredited screening provider can help you avoid costs and reputational damage. 

Customize Your Screening Packages

No matter how large your background screening and hiring budget is, every organization can reduce background check costs by customizing and tailoring screening packages to specific job roles and requirements. Certain positions may only require a basic background check, while others may need more in-depth searches to verify professional qualifications and financial history. 

Another way your organization can customize its screening packages is through industry-specific screening. Some examples include transportation, healthcare, and nonprofits. Verified First consolidates all of your pre-employment and recurrent screenings under one roof. This allows you to eliminate the need to deal with multiple vendors and order industry-specific screens. 

Bundle Your Pre-Employment Screening Services

Opting for a comprehensive screening program that includes multiple background check and pre-employment screening services can help you reduce your background screening costs. Housing all your pre-employment screening efforts in one place can significantly impact cost savings over time. Consider a screening provider that lets you integrate background checks, drug testing, I-9, and more into your chosen recruitment or hiring technology. 

Automate & Simplify Your HR Tech Stack

Applicant tracking systems and other HR software leverage technology to streamline the hiring process to allow quick and efficient screening and onboarding. Choosing the right tech partners is essential to saving money in your background screening budget. If you are already working with an ATS, consider streamlining your tech stack by incorporating a screening provider that integrates with your chosen technology. 

Automating and simplifying your HR tech stack can reduce your manual workload and give more time back to your team to focus on people-centric and organizational initiatives. An experienced screening provider will also improve accuracy and speed, improving your turnaround times and ultimately reducing hiring costs. 

Partner With An Experienced Screening Provider

Recruiting top talent in today’s competitive job landscape is challenging enough without the right tools and processes in place to support your needs. Partnering with an experienced, reliable background screening provider, specifically one that already integrates with your HR software, can help alleviate the manual work and heavy costs associated with background checks. 

A background screening provider like Verified First will work alongside your organization to facilitate your pre-employment screening needs, maintain compliance, and streamline your recruitment and onboarding efforts, ultimately saving you time, effort, and money. 

Cost-Friendly Background Screening with Verified First

Failure to properly and effectively screen your workforce can end up costing your organization more than just money. Verified First has revolutionized the background screening experience, allowing you to efficiently manage your hiring process without breaking the bank. 

Typical screening integrations are time-consuming, expensive, and oftentimes cause delays in recruiting. Verified First’s award-winning solution integrates with 100+ recruitment and hiring platforms, so you can streamline your hiring process in minutes. We know your company is unique, so we offer background check packages specific to many different industries, including a la carte products like drug testing, verifications, I-9, and more. 

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About Verified First
Verified First is known for delivering streamlined background screening backed by the best client support, and for developing the easiest, fastest HR system integrations, for free. Our client support team is U.S.-based, answers calls in seconds, resulting in hundreds of positive testimonials and a 96% customer satisfaction. Verified First's patent-pending, award-winning integrations include over 100 applicant tracking systems, and provide clients a turn-key experience.

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