Largest Online Screening Company Finds More than One in 10 Candidates Screened in 2022 Engaged in Misconduct
Los Angeles, CA – August 22, 2023 – Fama, the innovator in online screening that makes hiring great people easy, is releasing its annual study on workplace misconduct. The Fama State of Misconduct in 2022 Benchmarking Report found the state of misconduct in the workplace problematic – seven of the nine
industries failed the industry’s 5% rule. The Fama report shows that the industry standard states that 5% of the workforce engaging in misconduct can hinder a company’s ability to attract and retain talent, maintain a positive brand reputation, remain compliant, and avoid costly legal fees. In addition, the report finds an alarming candidate data point – on average, the percentage of screened candidates participating in misconduct is more than double the acceptable standard. With the staggering costs of misconduct topping trillions of dollars per year for businesses, Fama’s research is aimed at helping companies, particularly those in failing industries, get a better understanding of the types of misconduct impacting them and what can be done to improve it.
“Having built a business on supporting other businesses by helping them hire great people, we know the ultimate cost companies spend navigating workplace misconduct, and our goal in issuing this report is to share our insights on the prevalence of candidate misconduct, along with advice on how to avoid it,” Ben Mones, CEO and Founder of Fama. “Now more than ever, cultivating a supportive and healthy work environment is critical for retaining talent but also for developing successful, scalable businesses, which is why comprehensive screening ahead of hiring should be commonplace to avoid costly misconduct issues. In fact, Harvard Business School finds that when a company avoids the hiring of or terminates a toxic employee, organizations experience twice the value to the company than hiring a superstar performer.”
For EMEX Magazine, the CEO and Founder of Fama also quoted:
Fostering a healthy workplace environment is an essential company function, uplifting employees to feel confident and safe. Contrarily, when workplaces do not take measures to avoid misconduct, they can experience financial, reputational, and personnel and morale losses.
Ben Mones
The data from Fama’s State of Misconduct report supports this and re-emphasizes the importance of screening candidates to make good hires, which sets everyone up for success, creating a strong business and healthy culture.
Fama analyzed eight types of misconduct and found that overall, the most common types of issues identified were harassment (37%), sexual misconduct (24%), and intolerance (19%). And the 11% of candidates with misconduct appear to be habitual abusers, showing an average of 10 instances of misconduct.
Industries with the highest levels of misconduct were Media and Entertainment, Consumer Services (retail and hospitality), Education, and Technology. Only healthcare, non-profit, and government industries passed the 5% test. Media & Entertainment saw the highest levels of misconduct of any industry – more than a quarter of candidates screened in that category last year showed signs of misconduct. The most common misconduct issues were for harassment, sexual misconduct, and intolerance.
Fama’s research shows the positive impact of additional candidate screening. The two industries that met the 5% threshold are also two industries with higher screening standards. The study also found overall levels of misconduct decreased from 2021.
Fama’s solution compliantly searches 10,000 online public sources to help companies avoid workplace misconduct by screening candidates in the hiring process – similar to a background check – for job-relevant misconduct that they engage in online. Over the past decade, Fama has helped over 2,500 companies screen over 45 million candidates for workplace misconduct to reduce risk to organizations. The company recently acquired its most significant competitor, further solidifying Fama’s status as the largest online screening company in the world.
To view the full Fama State of Misconduct in 2022 Benchmarking Report with more insights and tips on how to combat and prevent misconduct, including a short quiz to assess the risk factors in your organization, visit https://fama.io/resource/the-state-of-misconduct-at-work-in-2022.
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