Australia has one of the world’s strongest economies and it offers many advantages to investors, exporters, and global companies. With a relatively simple barrier to entry, many top European companies like BP, BUPA, GSK, Siemens, and BOSCH, among many others, have branches in Australia. The same is true of smaller European businesses on a quest to tap into the vast economic opportunities the country has to offer.
But for any company to thrive, the right individuals must be hired. Due to cultural and societal barriers, many European, as well as foreign companies, have a harder time assessing applicants. That’s why we’re going to explore some pre-employment screening trends to bear in mind that can help such businesses hire the right people.
- Compliance is more important than ever.
In Australia, national and state laws cover equal employment opportunity and anti-discrimination during the hiring process. This means that employers must not discriminate on the bases of gender, race, disability, and more.
In the past few years, more stringent measures have been put in place to enforce that. Any form of discriminatory practice can lead to legal charges that can hurt businesses in terms of lost finances and damaging their public reputation.
- Background Screening Checks Should Be Continuous
Pre-employment screening checks are only a snapshot in time. The information they provide is only valid up to that point. The best way to stay on top of changes in employee’s lives is by including a routine pre-hire screening practice into HR policies. This way, if an employee engages in crime, or becomes a sex offender on the job, employers can be aware of it.
Moreover, it provides HR managers with the opportunity to catch employees that might have slipped through the cracks. Mistakes do happen in the hiring process, so a criminal history check may show no criminal record for someone with one. Many European businesses with operations in Australia are turning to online providers like the australian national character check whose website link is here: https://www.australiannationalcharactercheck.com.au/. By practicing recurring background checks, such mistakes can be rectified.
- Increasing Use of Social Screening
According to a survey by CareerBuilder, about 72% of employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process.
Social media can reveal lots of information about an applicant. Through their posts, likes, comments, and more, employers can get a sense of their personalities. For instance, applicants that post provocative photos, text discriminatory comments, or engage in online criminal behavior may not make the ideal candidate for the role.
However, care must be taken when using social media to avoid falling victim to discrimination lawsuits.
- Transformation to the gig economy
With the popularity of the internet in the past two decades, there’s been a tremendous shift in the workforce. Many people no longer envision working for a company throughout their career until they retire. Rather, many are now opting to be freelancers, contractors, independent contractors, and more. Research further suggests that this number is bound to rise.
Therefore, European businesses in Australia have to keep up to the trend by adopting a more robust background screening process to accommodate this inevitable change. In today’s world where the wrongs of subcontractors are extended to partnering businesses, a robust background check can help companies choose their partners or contractors wisely.
