5 Pre-employment Screening Mistakes That Cost You Time, Talent and Trust

From prolonged clearance delays to missed hires and poor candidate communication, many organisations don’t realise just how much is going wrong behind the scenes. And when screening is treated as a tick-box admin task or left to automated black-box systems, it’s not just candidates who lose confidence - it’s your projects, your timelines, and your brand. We sat down with Jayne Lee, Head of Candidate Services at Rullion, to uncover the five most common screening mistakes she sees every week. Plus, what a better, faster, human-led approach really looks like. Why Screening Is More Than a Tick-Box Exercise Too many employers treat pre-employment screening as a box-ticking chore, something to be automated, outsourced on the cheap, or buried within already-stretched HR functions. But the stakes are far higher than most realise. "Candidates are left hanging for 40 days, sometimes six months. Clients can’t get people on-site. Everyone’s frustrated, and nobody wins." — Jayne Lee Screening is not just about compliance. It’s about trust, operational readiness, and safeguarding your organisation’s brand. When mishandled, it can stall entire projects, drive away top talent, and leave teams critically understaffed. What Happens When Screening Goes Wrong In Jayne’s world, horror stories abound: candidates ghosted by automated systems, clients left to chase their own references, and six-month clearance times that sabotage even the best-laid hiring plans. From a compliance perspective, that’s risky enough. But the real cost comes in the form of: Delays to mobilisation and project timelines Lost candidates, who accept faster offers elsewhere Frustrated hiring managers, stuck in limbo Reputational damage, as candidate experience deteriorates Jayne describes a common tale: a company chooses a low-cost provider based purely on price. Within a year, they get burned by red-amber-green status updates and incomplete checks, but still charged full fees. It’s a classic example of how lower-cost options can lead to higher costs over time. What seems cheaper upfront often results in greater expense later. — Jayne Lee Top 5 Screening Mistakes to Avoid Choosing a provider based purely on price Relying on automated systems with no human oversight Treating screening as an afterthought in the hiring process Failing to update candidates during delays Underestimating the reputational cost of poor candidate experience The Four Pillars of a Good Screening Process So what does good look like? According to Jayne, the best pre-employment screening services share four key traits: 1. Speed Rullion averages just 7–8 days for full clearances. That’s no accident. It’s the result of a dedicated team, proactive communication, and structured workflows. 2. Accuracy Accuracy isn’t negotiable. Cutting corners increases risk and invites compliance breaches. 3. Candidate Experience Each candidate is assigned an advisor who guides them through the process, no faceless systems or ticket queues. This human-led approach builds trust and keeps things moving. 4. Compliance Especially in safety-sensitive sectors, clearances like BPSS must be handled to exacting standards. "Our advisors don’t just send emails - they know who to call, when to push, and how to escalate." — Jayne Lee Trends and Challenges in Screening Today Screening is evolving, and fast. Jayne highlights three major shifts: Growing regulation: in sectors like nuclear, utilities, and transport Automation that helps: but can’t replace - human expertise Rising candidate expectations: for fast, clear communication Many organisations are entering regulated sectors for the first time, unaware of what secure screening services really involve. Others rely on overburdened HR teams, hoping for the best. "Screening is often a homeless task. Nobody owns it, and it bounces from admin to HR until something breaks." — Jayne Lee How to Choose the Right Screening Partner If you’re in a high-stakes environment, the right screening partner isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s essential. Here’s what to look for: Specialist knowledge: of your sector and its compliance demands Technology that supports: not replaces, human interaction Transparent processes: clear SLAs, and real-time tracking Full ownership: so you’re never left to finish an incomplete check And most importantly, speed and service shouldn’t be trade-offs. Jayne’s team delivers both. "When I speak to ops teams, they get it immediately - they’re living the nightmare. Procurement? Not always." — Jayne Lee Screening Is a Strategic Advantage Screening isn’t a formality. It’s the critical bridge between offer and start date. It’s one that protects your operations, ensures compliance, and strengthens your brand. As Jayne says, when done right, pre-employment screening isn't just faster and safer, it’s smarter. So if you're still stuck in the red-amber-green trap, it might be time to rethink your approach.

When Background Screening is Nobody’s Job, Everyone Pays the Price

Why Ownership Matters in Screening In critical infrastructure industries like nuclear, utilities, and transport, starting a project without the right people cleared for site access is like trying to run a race with your shoelaces tied together. Background screening isn’t just an administrative task. In regulated sectors, it’s a legal and operational requirement that can directly impact your ability to deliver. Yet, for many companies, especially those new to regulated work, screening becomes what Jayne Lee, Head of Candidate Services at Rullion, calls a “homeless task.” “It gets shuffled between HR and admin, squeezed in around other priorities, and often starts too late. That’s when confusion, bottlenecks and missed deadlines start creeping in.” The result? Delays, lost talent, and in some cases, workers walking to competitors who can get them on site faster. If you want to keep projects on track, someone must own screening from day one. Why Screening Gets Left Without a Home Companies entering regulated sectors for the first time often underestimate the complexity of screening. Jayne sees it often: “HR or admin teams end up doing screening on top of their day jobs, with no dedicated vetting team, so it gets passed from pillar to post.” With teams already stretched, screening is squeezed in alongside other priorities, often without the right tools, processes, or authority to drive it forward. No one has a complete view of progress, meaning delays go unnoticed until it’s too late. This is especially common when screening is a brand-new requirement. For example, a construction firm winning its first contract on a nuclear site. BPSS on Regulated Sites One client Jayne worked with was contracted to build roundabouts and access roads for a nuclear facility. They were experts in roadworks, but they’d never operated on a regulated site. Because the site was controlled by the nuclear regulator, every worker - from site managers to tarmac crews - needed full BPSS (Baseline Personnel Security Standard) clearance before stepping on site. BPSS includes: Right to Work check Identity verification Employment reference check (last three years) DBS check (criminal history record check) At first, the client tried to manage it themselves. Reference requests went unanswered for weeks, workers grew impatient, and some left for other suppliers who promised faster starts. Project milestones began to slip. With Rullion’s background screening services in place, clearances were completed in days rather than weeks. Communication with workers improved, and the client could focus on delivering the project instead of chasing paperwork. The result? A workforce cleared, compliant, and on site, ready to get the job done. Why This Challenge Is Growing The UK’s nuclear industry is expanding rapidly. The government plans to quadruple nuclear capacity by 2050, aiming to generate 24GW, enough to power around a quarter of the country’s electricity needs. This means thousands more workers needing clearance each year. And it’s not just nuclear. Energy, utilities, and transport projects are facing similar compliance pressures. With more suppliers feeding into large, multi-year projects, the competition for skilled labour is intense. If your clearance process is slow, you risk losing workers mid-project to faster-moving competitors. The Risks of No Ownership When no one owns screening: Delays multiply – Requests for references or documents sit in inboxes without follow-up. Workers walk – Contractors move to other suppliers who can clear them faster. Costs rise – Idle staff, delayed starts, and potential penalties from clients all hit the bottom line. Reputation suffers – Clients notice when you can’t mobilise on time. Why Outsourcing Early Works For companies with constant churn, high contractor volumes, or no dedicated vetting team, outsourcing screening isn’t a “nice-to-have”, it’s a strategic move. The benefits include: Dedicated resource – A team whose sole job is to get people cleared, fast. Faster turnaround – Rullion averages 7–8 days for BPSS compared to the 30–40 days typical in the market. Compliance confidence – Every check is completed, documented, and ready for regulator review. Scalability – Processes that can handle 20 or 2,000 workers with the same consistency. Worker retention – Keeping candidates engaged through proactive communication. You can read more about the impact of slow or incomplete screening in our related article: 5 Pre-Employment Screening Mistakes That Cost You Time, Talent and Trust. Give Screening a Home from Day One Whether you outsource or build an internal team, the key is ownership. That means: Assigning a responsible person or partner before contracts are signed. Building screening into mobilisation timelines, not starting it after workers are recruited. Tracking progress in real time so delays can be fixed immediately. Screening as a Competitive Advantage In regulated sectors, background screening is more than compliance, it’s a competitive edge. When you make it someone’s job from the start, you keep projects moving, workers engaged, and clients confident in your delivery. For high-volume, high-pressure projects, outsourcing to a partner who lives and breathes screening frees your team to focus on what they do best - while ensuring your workforce is cleared, compliant, and ready to go This article is part of the Confessions of a Screening Expert series, where Sibel Akel, Marketing Director at Rullion, speaks with Jayne Lee and other industry leaders about the realities of screening in regulated sectors.