Why Do Organizations Use The Applicant Review?
Most managers have hired individuals who interviewed well and seemed to have the necessary qualifications only to learn later that these “seemingly” qualified candidates were problem employees. The cost of making a poor hiring decision is greater than ever. The Applicant Review is designed to screen applicants who pose the highest risk of being dishonest or physically aggressive.
Employee Theft
Organizations with merchandise inventories face the unique challenge of protecting these assets against theft and shrinkage.
- According to the National Retail Security Survey, loss prevention executives cited employee theft as the single most significant source of inventory shrinkage costing companies more than $15 billion annually;
- According to the Hayes Annual Retail Theft Survey, dishonest employees steal approximately 4.8 times the amount stolen by shoplifters;
- According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, employee theft causes 30% of all business failures.
An employer is liable for negligent hiring if they hire someone who is incompetent or who the employer knows or should have known to be unfit, thereby creating an unreasonable risk to others. Here are two examples of negligent hiring claims due to physical aggression in the workplace:
- A national grocer was ordered to pay $1 million each to two children who were assaulted by an employee;
- A company salesman assaulted a potential customer and the court held the company liable for $960,000.
Organizations that use the Applicant Review generally realize a significant reduction in asset shrinkage attributed to employee theft compared to the cost of implementing the Applicant Review in their hiring process. This decline in shrinkage rates can be measured in actual savings from one year to the next and provides evidence of the true value or return on investment the Applicant Review is delivering to an organization.
Case Study
A US specialty retailer with approximately 70 stores began using the Applicant Review for applicant screening to reduce employee theft.
