Why Background Screening Companies Should Offer Drug Testing and Occupational Health

Background screening companies play an important role in helping employers make informed hiring decisions. Criminal background checks, employment verifications, motor vehicle records, and other screening services are often essential parts of the hiring process.

But for many employers, the screening process does not stop with a background check.

They may also need:

• Drug testing
• Alcohol testing
• Physical examinations
• TB testing
• Vaccinations
• Titers
• Respirator fit testing
• Hearing and vision testing
• Other occupational health services

If your background screening company does not offer these services, your clients are probably purchasing them from someone else. That represents a major opportunity.

By adding drug testing and occupational health services, Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) can increase revenue, strengthen employer relationships, attract larger accounts, and become a more complete workforce screening solution. And with the right technology partner, you do not have to build the entire infrastructure yourself.

Your Clients Already Need These Services

Think about what happens when an employer hires a new employee. The employer may order a background check through your company. Once that is completed, however, they might have to leave your platform and contact another company to order a drug test. Then they may need to contact another provider for a physical. Another clinic might handle TB testing. Another vendor may handle vaccinations or other occupational health requirements.

From the employer's perspective, that means multiple vendors, systems, invoices, contacts, and processes. Your background screening company has an opportunity to simplify all of it.

Instead of only asking:

"What background screening services does this client need?"

Start asking:

"What does this employer need to get their employee completely screened, cleared, and ready to work?"

That opens the door to a much larger business opportunity.

1. Increase Revenue From Clients You Already Have

One of the biggest reasons for a background screening company to add drug testing and occupational health is simple:

Your existing customers are already spending money on these services.

The question is whether they are spending that money with you.

Acquiring new clients can require marketing, sales calls, demonstrations, proposals, and months of follow-up. Selling additional services to an existing customer can be very different. You already have the relationship. You already understand their business. They already trust you with an important part of their hiring process. 

Adding drug testing and occupational health gives you an opportunity to increase the amount of business you receive from each employer account. Instead of earning revenue only when the client orders a background check, your organization can potentially participate in several parts of the employee onboarding process. More services per applicant can mean more revenue per client.

2. Become a One-Stop Shop for Employers

Employers want hiring to be easy. They do not want their HR team logging into several different platforms simply to get one candidate ready to start work.

Consider a healthcare employer hiring a new employee who needs:

Background Check + Drug Test + Physical + TB Test + Titers

Would the employer rather coordinate all of those requirements through multiple companies or work with one provider that can help manage more of the process? For many employers, convenience has real value. The more you can consolidate, the easier your company becomes to work with. Instead of positioning your business as simply a background check provider, you can begin positioning it as a workforce screening partner. That changes the entire sales conversation.

3. Make Your Background Screening Company Harder to Replace

Client retention matters just as much as client acquisition. If you only provide one service, it may be relatively easy for an employer to move that service to a competitor.

But what happens when your company manages:

• Background screening
• Drug testing
• Alcohol testing
• Occupational health
• Physicals
• Employee screening requirements
• Other workforce services

Now your organization plays a much larger role in the employer's hiring process. Your client has fewer vendors to manage, their team becomes familiar with your workflow, and your company solves more problems for them. That can make your organization significantly more valuable.

The goal should be for your customers to think:

"Why would we go anywhere else when we can manage so much through one relationship?"

4. Stop Sending Your Clients to Another Vendor

Every time you tell a client "We don't offer drug testing." or "You'll need to find another company for the physical.", you are sending that customer to another vendor. That vendor now has access to your client. They have an opportunity to build a relationship. And what if that company also offers background screening? You may have unintentionally introduced your customer to a competitor.

By expanding your services, you can keep more of your client's workforce screening activity within your organization.

Instead of referring business away, you can say:

"Yes, we can help you with that too."

That is a much better position for your company.

5. Attract Larger Employer Accounts

The larger the employer, the more complicated workforce screening can become. National employers, staffing companies, transportation organizations, healthcare companies, construction companies, and other large organizations may require several different screening services. When these companies evaluate vendors, they may prefer providers that can handle more of their program.

A CRA that only provides background checks may be competing for one piece of the account. A CRA that can also provide drug testing and occupational health can compete for a much larger portion of the business. That can make your company more attractive during requests for proposals, sales presentations, and contract negotiations.

Instead of offering one solution, you can offer employers an entire ecosystem of services.

6. Drug Testing Is a Natural Extension of Background Screening

Drug testing and background checks are often ordered during the same stage of hiring. That makes drug testing a natural addition for CRAs. The employer already has the applicant information, screening requirements, and a relationship with your organization. Why should they have to start over with another vendor?

The challenge for some background screening companies is that adding drug testing traditionally meant dealing with laboratory relationships, collection networks, Medical Review Officers, ordering systems, results, and multiple laboratory portals. That is where integrated technology can make a major difference.

US Gateway is fully integrated with the four major drug testing laboratories: Quest Diagnostics, Labcorp, eScreen, and Clinical Reference Laboratory (CRL). This allows organizations to manage ordering, testing status, results, and related workflows within one centralized system. That means CRAs can add drug testing capabilities without requiring their staff to manually operate separate systems for every laboratory.

7. Occupational Health Creates an Even Bigger Opportunity

Drug testing is only the beginning.

Occupational health can open additional revenue opportunities with employers in industries such as:

• Healthcare
• Transportation
• Construction
• Manufacturing
• Staffing
• Warehousing
• Education
• Public safety
• Industrial services

Depending on the position, employees may need physical exams, TB testing, vaccinations, titers, hearing tests, respirator testing, pulmonary function testing, or other medical screening services.

US Gateway's occupational health solution supports services including DOT and non-DOT physicals, TB and QuantiFERON testing, vision and hearing tests, respirator fit testing, pulmonary function testing, vaccinations, lift and agility testing, audiometric testing, titers, and more through integrated occupational health workflows.

For a background screening company, that can create an entirely new category of services to offer employer clients.

8. Integrate Services Into Your Existing Workflow

Adding a service is much easier when your employees do not have to learn a completely separate business process. Background screening companies already use technology to manage candidates, employers, orders, and results. Drug testing and occupational health should fit into that workflow, not create another administrative burden.

US Gateway integrates with background screening platforms including TazWorks and ACCIO, helping CRAs connect drug testing and occupational health workflows with their existing screening operations. The integrations are designed to reduce duplicate data entry and streamline ordering, status tracking, and results delivery. That is especially important when you're trying to grow.

The goal is to add revenue without adding unnecessary administrative work.

9. Reduce Duplicate Data Entry

Imagine completing a background screening order and then having an employee manually re-enter the applicant's information into another system for drug testing. Then doing it again for occupational health. Multiply that process by hundreds or thousands of applicants. That is a lot of wasted time. It also creates additional opportunities for mistakes. The more connected your systems are, the less work employees have to perform manually.

Ideally:

The technology should move the information, not your employees.

Better integrations allow your existing team to process more services and support more clients without increasing administrative workload at the same rate.

10. Give Your Sales Team More Reasons to Call Clients

Adding services also creates new sales opportunities. Your account managers and sales representatives can start having broader conversations with existing customers.

Instead of simply asking:

"How is your background screening program going?"

they can ask:

• Who currently handles your drug testing?
• Do you require pre-employment physicals?
• Do any employees require TB testing?
• Do you have employees who need vaccinations or titers?
• Are you managing several workforce screening vendors?
• Would consolidating those services make your hiring process easier?
• Do you have nationwide employees who need access to testing facilities?

Every question can uncover an opportunity. A customer who does not need another background check provider may still be looking for a better drug testing or occupational health solution. Now your sales team has something new to talk about.

11. Increase Revenue Without Finding Another Customer

Growth does not always require finding more clients. Sometimes the best opportunity is increasing the amount of value you provide to the clients you already have.

Consider a CRA with 500 employer accounts. What if a portion of those employers started purchasing drug testing? What if some also began purchasing occupational health services? The business can create new revenue without acquiring 500 additional customers. That can be a much more efficient growth strategy.

The key question becomes:

How many services are your clients purchasing from you versus how many are they purchasing somewhere else?

Every service being purchased elsewhere represents a potential opportunity.

12. Help Employers Reduce Vendor Fatigue

HR departments already manage enough systems. Applicant tracking systems, payroll, benefits, background screening, drug testing, occupational health, and more.

Every additional vendor creates more:

• Logins
• Contacts
• Contracts
• Invoices
• Reports
• Training
• Processes

Vendor consolidation can therefore become a meaningful selling point.

Your message to employers can be simple:

We want to make workforce screening easier for you.

If an employer can manage more services through your organization, you are not just selling another product. You are helping reduce administrative complexity.

Don't Just Sell Background Checks. Help Employers Get People to Work

The ultimate goal of workforce screening is not simply to complete a report. The employer is trying to hire someone and get that person ready to work. That may require a background check, drug test, physical, and/or occupational health testing.

The background screening companies that recognize this larger opportunity can position themselves differently. Instead of selling individual screening products, they can help employers manage more of the entire onboarding process. That creates more value for the employer and more opportunity for the CRA.

US Gateway Helps CRAs Expand Without Building Everything Themselves

US Gateway was built for TPAs, CRAs, background screening companies, and other organizations managing workforce screening programs. The platform connects drug and alcohol testing, major laboratory networks, occupational health services, collection-site access, reporting, and other workflows while integrating with background screening technology. US Gateway currently states that its network connects organizations with 20,000+ collection sites and all four major drug-testing laboratories.

For background screening companies, that means you do not have to start from zero. You can use technology and existing integrations to expand your service offering while keeping operations streamlined.

More services. More revenue opportunities. Stronger client relationships.

Stop Letting Other Vendors Serve Your Clients

Your customers already need drug testing and occupational health services. If you are not providing them, someone else is. That company is receiving the revenue, building a relationship with your customer, and may eventually offer additional services that compete with yours.

Expanding your offering helps keep more of the employer relationship within your organization.

The next time a customer asks:

"Can you also handle our drug testing?"

or

"Can you help us with employee physicals?"

you want the answer to be:

"Yes. We can help with that."

Ready to Expand What Your Background Screening Company Can Offer?

Schedule a demonstration of US Gateway and discover how your CRA can add drug testing and occupational health services, integrate them into your existing workflows, and create new revenue opportunities from the employer relationships you already have.