What if you could predict which employees would cost your company more in workers’ comp?
A recent article in the Journal of Business and Psychology reports use of integrity tests was shown to reduce workers’ compensation losses.
These tests are used by businesses to weed out applicants with a variety of negative behaviors such as
- drug or alcohol abuse
- violence
- lying and deception, and
- theft.
Example: AT&T uses integrity tests to weed out applicants to its retail stores who might be more likely to steal high-priced cell phones and equipment.
But the authors of the newly published study wanted to see if using integrity tests with job applicants would reduce the cost of workers’ compensation claims.
The study was huge, following more than 33,000 employees in four industries. The employees were divided into two groups: those hired using an integrity test and those hired who didn’t take the test.
In all four industries a higher percentage of the unscreened group of employees made workers’ comp claims than in the screened group. Of those who made comp claims in both groups, the dollar value per claim was higher in the unscreened group.
The cost of the tests are relatively inexpensive: $7 to $20 per applicant, depending on the volume (higher volume, less per applicant).
In other studies, companies achieved a return on investment in a few months to two years.
