A good candidate, still not on the rota
You recruited a guard three weeks ago. Licence in date, good interview, keen to start. But the screening file is not complete. The applicant gave five years of history, but there is a four-month gap in 2022 with no explanation. One previous employer has not replied to the reference request. Another replied with the wrong dates. The applicant says they were self-employed for a period and needs to send something to show it.
The HR or compliance administrator has twelve files like this, tracked in a spreadsheet and her inbox. Each needs a slightly different chase. Meanwhile the operations team is asking when the new starters can go on the rota, because the new contract starts next week.
Why screening files take so long
Screening in guarding is thorough by design, and the standard many companies work to asks for a continuous history and verification of it. The work is slow because it depends on other people replying: former employers, schools, referees and the applicant themselves. Chasing that by hand, for many files at once, is where time is lost.
| Part of the file | What slows it down |
|---|---|
| Employment and education history | Collected on paper with gaps and vague dates |
| Employer references | Emails ignored, wrong contact, slow replies |
| Gap evidence | The applicant has to find documents |
| Identity and right to work | Documents copied in the office, sometimes twice |
| Other checks your process includes | Separate systems, results not joined up |
What your screening must include and how it is decided is for your company, your standards and its advisers. We do not advise on it. We build the chasing and tracking around the process you already follow.
What the delays cost
New guards wait unpaid and take other jobs, so you lose good candidates. Contracts start short-staffed, pushing existing guards into overtime. The administrator's day is spent chasing. And because the file lives in pieces, a file that looks complete may have a hole, which is uncomfortable if a client or auditor later asks to see it.
A screening tracker that does the chasing
- The applicant fills in their history online, month by month for the period your process requires, with contact details for each employer or referee. The form highlights gaps before they submit.
- Reference requests are sent to each employer by email with a short form to confirm dates and answer your questions. Reminders follow at intervals you set.
- Replies are recorded against the history, and mismatches in dates are flagged for the administrator.
- Gaps are listed with what your process accepts as evidence, and the applicant uploads documents through a link.
- Identity and right to work documents are captured once, with the check recorded by the person who did it.
- Each file has a status: complete, waiting on referee, waiting on applicant, or needs a decision. The administrator sees all files on one screen.
- When the administrator signs off a file, it is recorded with the date and name, and the guard becomes available to the rota.
- The operations team can see when each new starter is likely to be ready.
- Every reference request and reply is kept on the file.
- Files can be exported for a client or an audit.
What the administrator's week looks like
New applicants complete their history online the day they accept the offer. Reference requests go out automatically. The administrator opens the tracker each morning, sees which files moved, which referees need a phone call, and which gaps need evidence. When a file is complete, she signs it off and operations can roster the guard. Late referees are chased without her writing each email.
The judgement calls stay with her: whether a reply is sufficient, whether evidence covers a gap. The tracker only removes the chasing and the spreadsheet.
Are your screening files stuck?
- New guards wait weeks to start because of paperwork.
- References are chased by email one at a time.
- Gaps are discovered late.
- Files are split between paper, email and a spreadsheet.
- Operations cannot see when new starters will be ready.