Updated: March 13, 2026
Key takeaways:
Hiring a new employee is one of the most consequential safety decisions you’ll make.
New hires make up 22% of the workforce, but according to MEM data, they account for 36% of work comp claims. They’re disproportionately likely to experience an injury, and it makes sense: They’re motivated, eager to prove themselves, and often reluctant to ask questions.
“Our new hires don’t know what they don’t know,” remarked Sheila Schmit, MEM Safety & Risk Services Manager. “That means we need to anticipate where problems may be, anticipate questions, and give them the comfort to ask any questions.”
That vulnerability starts before day one. Who you hire – and how thoroughly you vet them – sets the safety foundation for everything that follows. These five steps can help you build a hiring process that brings the right person on board and reduces the likelihood of injuries and claims from the start.
1. Conduct an in-depth interview
The interview is your best opportunity to understand how a candidate thinks, communicates, and handles challenges – including safety challenges. Don’t rely on yes/no questions or resume recaps. Ask open-ended, situational questions that reveal how they’ve actually behaved on the job.
A few examples to try:
- Tell me about a time you noticed a potential hazard at work. What did you do?
- Describe a situation where you disagreed with how something was done. How did you handle it?
- What’s the most physically or mentally demanding role you’ve held? How did you manage it?
The goal is to get a realistic picture of their judgment, communication style, and attitude toward safety before they ever set foot on your floor.
2. Do a thorough background check
A background check should go beyond basic criminal history. For most roles, you’ll want to look at prior employment records and safety-related incidents. The specific scope of what you can review varies by jurisdiction, so it’s crucial to confirm what’s allowed in your location and industry before you begin.
When using criminal or safety incident history, ensure criteria are job‑related, role‑specific, and applied consistently to avoid unintended disparate impact. If using a third‑party background screening provider, follow Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) disclosure, authorization, and adverse‑action requirements.
💡 Pro tip: Note with curiosity any gaps in employment history and patterns of short tenure. These don’t necessarily disqualify a candidate, but they’re worth exploring in a follow-up conversation.
3. Verify prior employment and contact references
References are often treated as a formality. They shouldn’t be. A call to a former supervisor can confirm whether a candidate’s self-reported experience matches reality. It’s an opportunity to get a candid read on their work ethic, reliability, and response to feedback.
Ask behavior-focused questions rather than “Would you rehire this person?” Many references won’t give a direct negative answer, but they’ll often tell you plenty through tone, hesitation, or what they don’t say.
📍 Read next: New Hire Onboarding: Setting New Employees Up for Success >
4. Administer a skills and personality assessment
Validated skills and personality assessments can help you evaluate whether a candidate is genuinely suited to the demands of a role – not just on paper, but in practice. These tools are particularly useful for identifying traits associated with safety-mindedness, conscientiousness, and coachability.
Capability and attitude together drive safety behavior. A candidate might have the technical skills to do the job, but if they’re prone to cutting corners or resistant to correction, that’s a work comp exposure hiding in plain sight.
Be sure to use validated, job‑related assessments, administer them consistently, and review results for adverse impact.
☑️ The bottom line: Skills tests evaluate what a candidate can do. Personality assessments help you understand how they’ll behave when no one’s watching.
5. Make a conditional job offer and require pre-employment screening
Once you’ve identified your top candidate, extend a conditional offer contingent on passing required screenings. These screenings typically include drug testing and, for physically demanding roles, a functional capacity evaluation.
Require post-offer drug testing for safety-sensitive roles where permitted. Be sure to consistently apply this practice.
Post-offer employment testing (POET) evaluates whether a candidate can safely perform the essential functions of the role before their start date. It also creates a documented physical baseline that can be referenced if a claim arises later.
Rocky Newsom, EHS Supervisor at US Tool Group, explained the value of POET: “If we have somebody that comes to me a couple of years down the road and says, hey, I’ve got these issues – if the numbers are the same, we’re pretty much done with the claim. If the numbers are higher, then obviously that gives them some validity.”
📍 Read next: Post-Offer Employment Testing: Prevent Injuries with This Proactive Program >
Don’t let urgency override process
When you’re short-staffed and feeling pressure to fill a seat, a thorough hiring process can feel like a luxury. Schmidt offered a clear-eyed counter to that thinking:
Now more than ever, while employers are in a hurry to get good people into those positions, this is the time more than ever to slow down. Make sure you get the right people in the positions, and make sure they are properly onboarded so you can avoid injuries from [starting work] before they’re ready.
Every step of this process reduces the chances of a preventable injury, a work comp claim, and the costly cycle of recruiting all over again. Taking the time to hire well isn’t just good people management – it’s loss prevention.
Once you’ve found the right person, the real work begins. A strong onboarding and training program is what turns a careful hire into a safe one.
Set your new employees up for success from day one. Read our complete guide to onboarding, training, and mentoring new hires.
Note: This checklist is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. All hiring practices should comply with applicable state and federal laws.
Frequently asked questions: Hiring for safety fit
New hires are unfamiliar with your specific workplace hazards, equipment, and safety culture – and they’re often reluctant to ask questions or slow down while they’re still trying to prove themselves. This combination of inexperience and eagerness makes the first few months on the job a high-risk period. A thorough hiring and onboarding process helps close that gap.
Hiring for safety fit means evaluating candidates not just on their technical qualifications, but on the traits that predict safe behavior – things like conscientiousness, receptiveness to feedback, and willingness to follow procedures even under pressure. Skills and personality assessments, structured interview questions, and reference checks all help surface this information before you make an offer.
At minimum, a background check should cover criminal history and prior employment verification. For roles with physical demands or safety-sensitive responsibilities, you may also want to review safety incident records and – where legally permitted – substance abuse history. Allowable background check elements vary by state and industry, so confirm what applies to your business before you begin.
Post-offer employment testing is a functional assessment that evaluates whether a candidate can safely perform the physical demands of a specific job. It’s conducted after a conditional job offer is made but before the employee’s start date. POET is most valuable for physically demanding roles and creates a documented baseline that can be referenced if a work comp claim arises later.
Yes. Because POET documents a new hire’s physical capabilities at the time of hire, it provides objective baseline data if an employee later claims a work-related injury. If a post-injury assessment shows the same physical limitations that existed at hire, that documentation can significantly affect how the claim is evaluated.
Ask situational and behavioral questions that require candidates to describe how they’ve actually responded to safety situations in past jobs. Examples include: “Tell me about a time you noticed a hazard – what did you do?” or “Have you ever disagreed with a safety policy? How did you handle it?” These questions reveal judgment and mindset more reliably than asking candidates to describe their ideal approach.
Drug testing requirements vary by industry and state, and some states have restrictions on pre-employment testing for certain substances. That said, pre-employment drug screening is a standard and legally permissible practice in most jurisdictions for most roles. Consult with an HR or legal advisor to understand what’s appropriate for your specific situation.
The short-term cost of a vacant position is real – but the long-term cost of a bad hire often exceeds it. A new hire who isn’t the right fit for the job’s physical or cultural demands is more likely to be injured, more likely to leave, and more likely to generate a work comp claim. Building a consistent, thorough hiring process is one of the most effective loss prevention strategies available to small and mid-sized businesses.