A Comparative Look At Employment History Can Net A Nearly 50% Improvement In New Hire Retention Rates

ST. LOUIS, June 19, 2019

The Equifax analysis, conducted by the Workforce Solutions business unit, revealed that for some employers, verifying employment history could lift one-year retention rates as much as 45 percent higher on average than their peers that don't. The analysis shows notable increases in one-year retention for employers that use pre-employment verifications in traditionally high-turnover positions and industries including hospitality (25.1% improvement in one-year retention), administrative (26.9%), retail (18%) and manufacturing (17.1%).Gains were also seen in positions that often require certification and training, such as healthcare (7.6%) and transportation (6%).

"Many HR and Talent departments rely on applicant-reported information and don't have an automated way to easily or discreetly fact-check work histories," said Jan Johnson, VP for Talent Solutions Product Management at Equifax Workforce Solutions. "With the data available in our Pre-Employment Verification solution, we're able to help increase the accuracy of the applicant information so they can make better candidate decisions, improve the quality of hires and focus on growth."

With low unemployment, recruiting teams can be hard-pressed to deliver a viable candidate pool. A verified work history helps provide a more thorough view of relevant experience for open positions and helps employers compare information to identify candidates that are better suited for the position and the business' culture. It also helps hiring managers spot red flags in a sea of auto-populated and manually uploaded resumes and social media profiles.

The cost benefit of making better hiring decisions can also be significant. In high turnover industries, stretching tenure even a few weeks can net significant savings. For example, one national retailer with nearly 175,000 new hires each year estimates a savings of $3.9 million annually using employment verification during the recruiting phase. With verified work history to help optimize the candidate pool, the retailer saw an improvement in length of tenure from 4.5 months to 4.7 months. That 2-week improvement in retention created big savings over the course of a year.

The Equifax analysis sampled 1,800 organizations across 18 industries with at least 500 new hires over a set two-year span and compared those that use Pre-Employment Verifications data and those that did not.