How Can a Business Benefit from Physical Screening
Finding the right hire to handle a position in your organization can be taxing. You’ll screen their background, check their character, and see if they have what it takes to help you and your company achieve your goals. Furthermore, the recruitment process also asks you to do one more thing: verifying if the potential candidate is physically capable of taking on the role.
Our post on ‘What is a Physical Test for a Job?’ mentions what constitutes a physical exam — which are: psychological evaluations, medical examinations, and physical abilities tests. Moreover, drug and alcohol screenings, vision testing, and audiometry testing may also be added to the physical test if the position requires a candidate to have optimal health in these aspects. All of these are pertinent to gauging if a candidate can step up to their role, but physical testing goes further than that. In this post, we’ll discuss the other ways your company can benefit from physical testing.
Through a pre-employment physical exam, employers and human resource managers will be able to check if a candidate has any physical limitations that may deter them from stepping up to their role. If your company’s physical test is proven to be effective, this may improve the employee retention rate. This is because the physical exam can help employers understand how they can adjust for a candidate that shows high potential but does not physically fit the bill.
Other than that, substantial benefits like enhanced productivity rates and a streamlined hiring process can be credited to an effective pre-employment physical screening process. This is because pre-employment tests can validate your prospective employee’s physical skills and help managers adjust if a successful applicant has any pre-existing medical condition. For example, through a physical ability screening, you may be able to check if an applicant is physically limited from fulfilling a job that involves manual labor. However, it should be noted that physical ability screening should be reliable and valid to avoid discrimination. Furthermore, an adept physical screen can also give you valuable insight on how to take care of your employees’ physical and mental health.
It improves diversity and inclusivity in the workplace
The chances of having a candidate with a pre-existing medical condition are pretty high since the Center for American Progress estimates that at least 135 million people under the age of 65 have a pre-existing medical condition. Furthermore, Maryville University points out that chronic illnesses are on the rise in the United States and are predicted to affect at least 164 million Americans by 2025. For human resource managers, this means that they’ll have to adjust their physical tests to accommodate everyone, regardless of their medical condition. Doing so can make your company more inclusive — and appreciate every potential candidate based on their skills and willingness to commit to the position.
But in order to fully utilize the pre-employment exam, you should ensure that the physical ability screening isn’t discriminatory. An AARP article found that age discrimination is rife in the American workplace, something physical screening could further increase if not done properly. Be sure to show in your job description or company policy the physical requirements necessary for the job. Private Eyes can assist your company in defining a compliant program.
Human resource managers who are looking to make the most out of physical screening should do their part and take a hard look at the efficacy of their current pre-employment physical screening. And employ outsourced services if they deem their own screening to be insufficient.
Written by Susan Taylor for privateeyesbackgroundchecks.com
This disclaimer informs readers that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily those of Private Eyes or their affiliates.