Employers struggling with first-year injuries, high turnover, or repeat claims often have something in common: a reactive hiring process. They’re moving fast, skipping steps, and taking on avoidable risk. But what if hiring was treated like risk management?
The 6-step hiring system gives employers a practical, proactive framework to screen, test, and place the right people—before the first shift even starts.
Here’s how it works.
Step 1: Integrity Testing – Start with Values, Not Skills
Before you consider a candidate’s experience or interview answers, you need to know who they are at their core. That’s what integrity testing reveals.
An overt integrity test uses direct questions to screen for:
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Substance use
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Hostility
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Dishonesty
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Theft
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Likelihood of absenteeism
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“4-Step Sequence For Effective Employee Screening, Hiring, & Placement”
Why does it matter? Because up to 25% of candidates fail these tests, exposing values misalignment that can lead to immediate problems on the job. These are the individuals most likely to contribute to workplace friction, safety violations, or early-stage injuries.
Integrity tests filter these high-risk candidates before you invest time in interviews. And the results are telling: applicants who pass are 10x more likely to also pass background and drug screenings, saving time and money down the line.
Step 2: Structured Interview – Validate Skill and Fit
Once you’ve filtered based on values, it’s time to evaluate skill sets and communication abilities. Interviews remain a crucial step—but too often, they rely on gut feelings and unstructured dialogue.
Instead, use a structured approach that links:
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Past experience to essential job duties
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Problem-solving scenarios to real-world situations
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Communication style to company culture
At this point, you’ve narrowed your applicant pool significantly and are selecting candidates worthy of a conditional offer.
Step 3: Conditional Offer of Employment – The Gate to Risk Mitigation
A conditional job offer makes it clear that employment depends on successfully completing job-specific testing. This step is especially important for compliance with the ADA and EEOC.
You’re not selecting who gets tested based on individual traits—that would be discriminatory. Instead, you’re applying the same testing process to everyone applying for a specific job title or function.
With this step in place, you now have legal protection and a process that objectively determines whether someone can safely perform the role.
Step 4: Post-Offer Testing – Physical and Background Screening
Here’s where the rubber meets the road. After the conditional offer, candidates undergo a series of objective assessments:
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Background checks (criminal history, driving records, etc.)
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Drug tests
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Physical ability tests matched to the job’s essential functions
This isn’t about discrimination—it’s about safety. If the job requires lifting 75 pounds or repetitive twisting, your testing should reflect those demands.
With accurate, validated job descriptions in place, employers can safely assess whether a candidate is physically and mentally able to perform. This also ensures compliance and reduces liability for wrongful injury claims.
Step 5: Baseline Testing – Protect Your Claims and Documentation
One often-overlooked opportunity in hiring is establishing a baseline health record. Without it, every new hire is assumed to be at 100% health, and if they get injured, your workers’ comp program is on the hook for a full recovery—even if pre-existing issues were present.
Baseline testing allows employers to:
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Identify pre-existing conditions
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Document physical capacity at the time of hire
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Limit liability and treatment costs if an injury occurs
For example, if a new employee enters with a 20% shoulder impairment but there’s no baseline record, you may unknowingly pay for treatment to restore them to 100%—instead of their original 80% capacity.
Step 6: Onboarding – Reduce First-Year Injuries with Gradual Exposure
Even the best hire needs training and support. Onboarding is your final line of defense, especially considering that first-year employees account for 35% of workplace injuries.
To prevent early claims:
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Provide gradual exposure to hazardous tasks
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Assign mentors or trainers for shadowing
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Reinforce job-specific safety procedures
A well-structured onboarding process reduces confusion, builds engagement, and gives new hires time to adjust before they face peak job demands.
Start Small: Apply the System Where It Matters Most
You don’t need to roll this system out company-wide on day one. In fact, the most effective approach is to start with job titles or departments that generate the highest number of injuries.
Begin with integrity testing and job-specific physical assessments for those roles, then build out your system as you track results. Over time, this structured approach becomes a predictive hiring model that reduces claims, lowers turnover, and improves workforce quality.
Hiring Isn’t Just HR—It’s Risk Management
This 6-step hiring system isn’t just a recruitment strategy—it’s a workers’ comp prevention tool. It transforms hiring into a proactive, protective process that aligns the right people with the right roles—and avoids the wrong hires before they become costly claims.
When you treat hiring as your first safety strategy, you don’t just reduce risk—you build a better, stronger workforce.
Contact: [email protected].
Workers’ Comp Roundup Blog: http://blog.reduceyourworkerscomp.com/
Injury Management Results (IMR) Software: https://imrsoftware.com/
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