JODI MATHY
Post Loss Specialist, HNI
The market is flooded with great individuals that possess the qualifications your organization needs. In order to fill a vacancy you find yourself wading through a sea of applications. You narrow the search down to a several candidates but you can only hire one. You need to make a solid decision and acquire the right talent that will help your business grow and not fail.
So, you cross your fingers and make your offer. Your offer is contingent on the candidate passing a background check and a drug test. You feel confident in your decision but ask yourself if you are doing enough to weed out any potential problems.
Many businesses have experienced that one workers compensation claim that just sticks with them forever. You know the one. The great candidate who never conveyed that he had permanent restrictions from a prior work injury and re-injured himself after you hired him. When it comes to workers compensation you hire your employees “as is” and you end up stuck with the major claim that may have been avoided.
How can you avoid hiring that one individual who will plague your experience rating and loss experience for years to come? Consider adding a pre-employment strength test or fitness test to your post offer process. There are different types of tests that can be utilized but many can provide objective quantitative evidence that an individual is just not capable of doing the job you have offered them. It is one more step in the process to help employers avoid hiring their next workers compensation claim.