4 Benefits of Background Checks in Construction - Kwant.ai

Employers within construction face a large dilemma when it comes to workforce screenings. There is a high turnover rate in construction because there is a level of skill necessary to be able to complete a job. Below are a few stats to chew on that surround workplace issues for construction employers in 2022-23:

• The U.S. Department of Labor found that drug abuse has been the leading cause of severe effects and damage on construction sites. 35% of injuries and 40% of thefts
• Substance abuse is on the rise with employees within construction
• Employees in the construction industry have nearly twice the rate of substance abuse as the national average
• Construction Executives are accruing personal liability for negligent employment decisions

The demand for quality workforce employment is rising and shows no signs of slowing down. Generally, it is challenging for leadership to screen employees while managing multiple background checks. The safer a job site can be, the fewer accidents will occur if the right employees are in place on-site. Below are four examples of why background checks are so important.

1. Drug testing your workforce and reducing workplace accidents

Background checks are a great way to safeguard and reduce risks in the work environment, especially within construction. Drug testing for employers is very important because their workforce is handling heavy machinery, let alone working in a dangerous environment.

Drug testing in a background check can also help improve workplace productivity, indirectly improving the “peace of mind” mentality around the job site. It can be difficult, at times to gauge if a worker is under the influence of substances on the job, this reason is why routine drug testing is necessary.

When employees witness other employees under the influence on a job site, the standard of the working environment is then lowered. We want to keep a positive influence around the workplace, and that excludes any drug use.

2. Screening workforce candidates for criminal background

The demand for quality workers within construction is increasing at an alarming rate. Many potential candidates cannot be verified or pass background checks due to their previous criminal history.

Employers can identify each potential employee for any criminal records before selecting them for work.

There are always outliers to work situations, so background checks allow the employer to determine if the candidate is eligible for work or not. Various parameters provide, i.e., SSN, County Criminal Records Check (7 years), Motor Vehicle Records (MVRs), National Criminal Database Check, Sex Offender Registry Check, and Drug Screening.

Background checks also provide the transparency that can help your company mitigate negligent hiring and wrongful termination lawsuits.

3. Verify skilled workers for quality work

Safety is arguably the number one priority for a construction job site. There is no room for error when it comes to safety in the workplace, hence the many compliance and safety training requirements workers have to go through to enter a job site or tackle a task. For example, OSHA training relates to hazards, confined space, and demolition.

The goal is to ensure that workers are trained properly before performing the task needed. Site employees need to have the necessary experience and knowledge to handle construction equipment safely. A background check can help you to verify credentials or licenses.

4. Centralize and manage employee documentation on a macro level

It is challenging for a project lead to be responsible for record-keeping, monitoring thousands of workers on a job site, let alone complying with multiple types of training requirements. Imagine verifying thousands of workers and doing their paperwork every day.

It would be a struggle and waste of time keeping up with training or verified background checks. This is where a management platform should be your efficient tool to manage documents efficiently.

Most construction companies are gearing toward the help of technology to manage their documents and other tasks that can be automated. Being able to digitize documents and centralize them in one location is a very large benefit to digital background checks.

Simplifying the hassle of background checks with a workforce management platform

A management platform provides leadership with a hyper-focused dashboard for an overview of worker data, background checks, training, trade companies, and wearable badges for location awareness.

When a project has multiple employees, multiple locations, and multiple documents that need to be gathered, utilizing a management platform is the best way to go. When leadership has a pulse on the progress within any construction project, productivity rates will rise.

Many construction companies currently utilize Kwant ai’s workforce management platform to improve productivity rates, mitigate risk, and provide background checks to their workforce.

Kwant recently partnered with Checkr to streamline background checks and provide clarity to customers when it comes to having the right staff in place for the job.

The Checkr background check takes only 1-2 days after, that whether you intend to hire or not to hire the candidate, you can send a simple email within the platform of their status.

This is why we have decided to integrate Kwant 2.0 and Checkr, the leading technology to provide modern and compliant background checks for more than 3,000 global companies.

The team at Kwant ai ensures reliability of the verification process that would not violate the data protection laws by written consent from the applicant/employee.

Kwant helps mitigate risk, proactively improves safety, and increases productivity rates with actionable data within the construction industry.

Find out how to implement background checks for your company.

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