Choosing the right person for the job is a process and it can be a challenging one for any company who are looking to fill a position. If your employer value proposition isn’t obvious, the issue is that many candidates won’t be interested in the job you’re offering. If you do manage to wrangle a list of candidates for a position, the next step is to run the pre-employment checks that matter to your organization.
Depending on the position, you might need a range of different checks before you offer a role to someone. One of those may be health assessments to ensure fitness for the role. Not every position requires a physical, of course, but you need to know that the outcome of the health assessment will ensure that you choose the right person for the job. Conducting medicals as an employer can help you to analyze the health of your chosen employee and avoid any issues which could interfere with the job in a negative way – a way that makes you liable.
What Does A Health Assessment Involve
Medical testing as part of a pre-employment screening can involve a range of things. The outcome should be that you are confident that their health will remain intact for the level of performance you need for a role. Medicals could be completed annually to be sure that ongoing fitness is the outcome, but the tests you conduct vary depending on the job description. Some of the things that could be included in medicals are:
- Urine tests
- An in depth health questionnaire
- Height and weight records
- Blood pressure, pulse ox and ECG tests
- Respiratory system and lung function
- Vision checks for nearsightedness, distance and colour
- Skin checks – these are important if the employee will be working outside on site
- Audiometry testing for hearing
- Additional tests such as:
- Drug testing
- Alcohol breathalyzers
- Fitness tests such as a bleep test
- Chest X-ray
- Full blood counts
Choosing the right company to undertake these tests are important – but why should you bother in the first place?
- You need to know that the candidate you choose is the right person for the job. If you have a role where someone will be working at a height, then they need to be mentally and physically fit enough for that role and the tests are going to make a big difference.
- The identification of existing health conditions could make a difference to the position and whether you decide someone is mentally fit enough for that role. If there are issues that require longer term care and management, then you’ll need to decide whether it will impact the job done.
- You need to ascertain their suitability. If you have someone being promoted to a role above their current station or you are transferring them from an office to a site job, then a medical assessment will make a difference as to whether you say yes to that.
These are assessments that will change the game with your hiring process, so it’s something you should look into as soon as you can.