Industry Best Practices: Proven Methods for Effective Background Screening

The average negligent hiring case costs businesses 1.6 million dollars, sometimes in the billions. Not to mention the major negative brand hit companies take as a result of a bad hire gone wrong, which can further hurt profits, company growth, and the ability to attract (and keep) top talent. 

Consequently, more than 90% of employers conduct pre-employment background checks today. Thirty-eight percent of those companies perform background checks to help minimize the risk of future criminal activity, 27% to fulfill regulatory compliance and limit compliance risk, 17% to ensure the applicants have the right skills for the job, and 6% to protect their brand reputation. 

But, in today’s hiring landscape, where upwards of 78% of candidates lie or stretch the truth on their resumes and employee risk is higher than ever before, running simple, set-it-and-forget-it background checks is not enough to protect a business from bad hires. 

Instead, HR leaders need to develop a comprehensive, strategic background screening program to reduce hiring risk and partner with a leading professional background check service that can help them do just that. Keep reading to find out how. 

The Foundation Best-In-Class Background Screening 

The goal of any background screening program is to collect as much information as possible about a candidate without slowing down the hiring process or affecting the candidate’s experience. After all, first impressions are everything when it comes to hiring employees that are more likely to stay. 

A quality candidate experience through the background screening process prioritizes speed, simplicity, and transparency, ultimately keeping potential employees engaged and informed. Below are the primary foundational elements of a background screening program that prioritize the candidate experience (while also protecting the business): 

Partner with a Professional Background Screening Service

While there are some free background check search tools, getting results back takes a long time, which can drastically slow down hiring cycles. Additionally, these tools don’t provide the same level of vetting and verification as a professional background screening service, meaning they don’t guarantee the same level of accuracy in results. 

The most effective way to provide a professional and efficient screening experience is by partnering with the best third-party screening service for your business—a reputable service that offers faster-than-average turnaround times, ensures accurate information and is backed by knowledgeable people that can help you navigate compliance.  

Create an Automated, Integrated, Paperless Process

To provide a more convenient and efficient screening experience, more and more employers are integrating their Applicant Tracking System (ATS) with powerful employment screening products like S2Verify. 

Seventy-five percent of recruiters and hiring professionals use an ATS to manage recruiting activities—to keep track of candidates, where they came from, and where they are in the hiring process. An integrated ATS helps HR teams improve their background check workflow (since candidate information goes directly to the provider and results are delivered right back to the ATS platform), improve accuracy (since there’s less room for human error like double entry or misentry), and reduce return time (since it skips the need for human interaction). 

From there, HR professionals should look to automate other areas via the ATS—like digital consent forms and adverse action notices. Designing a paperless, convenient candidate experience will help employers stand out as a forward-thinking, tech-enabled organization from the start—a critical move for attracting today’s young talent.  

Go Mobile

On that note, in today’s mobile-first world, it’s also in employers’ best interest to partner with a background screening provider that offers top-notch mobile communication solutions, like Swifthire Mobile, which helps employers keep applicants informed throughout the entire process, without lifting a finger, by sending notifications to candidates about real-time progress. Taking a mobile-first approach allows candidates to provide relevant background data instantly, schedule drug screening from their phones, and more—cutting down on the time it takes to complete a check. 

Prioritize Efficient Data Collection

When applying for a job, candidates are already required to submit applications, resumes, and other employment forms online—making this early-stage step the perfect time to gather necessary background check data. Using an integrated ATS to collect all necessary information upfront, employers can cut down on overall time-to-hire and create a convenient candidate experience since applicants won’t have to complete double data entry, and employers won’t have to send data to their background screening partner manually. 

Design a Clear and Informed Consent Process 

Background screening requires thorough and timely communication at several stages of the process. Most notably, in order to stay compliant, employers must get signed candidate consent before completing a background check (which requires back-and-forth communication that might eat up some precious time) and must notify candidates about any adverse action (plus the reasons behind it) prior to eliminating them from the running. In fact, based on the tenets of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, employers should take the following steps to mitigate compliance risks when conducting background checks: 

1. Disclose that a background check is required upfront. Employers must give applicants a heads-up—in the form of a written notice—of their intent to complete a background check.
2. Obtain consent to perform a background check. Once an applicant has received and reviewed the written notice, employers must obtain the candidate’s written, signed consent to complete the background check.
3. Inform the CRA of obtained consent. Employers must certify they’ve obtained written consent and that they will not misuse any information received in the report.
4. Provide applicants with pre-adverse action notice. If an employer decides to eliminate a candidate from the running based on information received in a CRA background check, they must provide the applicant with a pre-adverse action notice, a copy of the background check report, a notice of their rights under the FCRA, and “a reasonable amount of time” (five business days) to dispute any of the information in the check before the employer can make a final employment decision.
5. Provide applicants with a final notice of adverse action. After the pre-adverse action process, the employer can make a final decision. This notice must include the name, phone number, and address of the CRA that completed the report, language around the fact that candidates have the opportunity to dispute the results, and confirmation that the CRA did not make the employment decision. 

As such, employers should think through these communications ahead of time—outlining when and how candidates will be contacted about consent to maintain efficiency, convenience, and compliance. A general best practice: all communications to candidates should be pre-templated and programmed to send if a certain trigger is flipped (i.e. if a background check is requested for a candidate, a consent form should automatically be sent to their email with the appropriate supporting message) via the ATS. 

What’s Included In Best-In-Class Background Screening

Once the foundation is set with the necessary technology partners onboard, efficiencies unlocked, and regulatory compliance factored in, the next step is to select the requisite background screening components that protect the business and prioritize the candidate experience. 

According to industry best practices, employers should conduct the following screenings (and should ensure that their background screening partner offers these screenings as well): 

Social Security Number Trace

A social security number trace confirms past residential address history, up to seven years, and takes the guesswork out of background checks—since it helps direct employers to the right local courts and databases for digging into the applicant’s criminal history.

National Criminal File Search 

A comprehensive background screening program always includes a national criminal file search to parse through criminal data from local, state, and federal repositories–including the Sex Offender Registry and government watch lists. 

Sex Offender Criminal Search

Although a national criminal file search includes some sex offender data, employers can find more detailed information (not included in the national criminal file search) from public and tribal registries via a sex offender criminal search—a key screening step for organizations everywhere, especially those that work with kids. 

County Criminal/Other Public Records Search

This screening is key for getting county-level access to information regarding felony and misdemeanor convictions, arrests, and/or pending cases—the information that could save an employer from an expensive negligent hiring case. 

Statewide Criminal/Public Records Search

Some conviction records are housed at the state level, and this search accounts for criminal activity that might not come up on a county-level or federal-level search. 

Federal Criminal/Public Record Search

To design a truly comprehensive screening program, employers need access to criminal records at all levels––including federal. To get access to federal-level crimes, including kidnapping, drug trafficking, bank robbery, embezzlement, counterfeiting, crimes involving the crossing of state borders, and other “white collar” crimes, employers must conduct a federal criminal/public record search.

Employment Verification 

A crucial step of the background screening process, employment verification confirms where and when a candidate worked at a previous employer. By checking the references and details listed by the candidate on their resume against what previous employers have in their records, the employment verification process gives hiring managers a quick and objective way to evaluate the authenticity and accuracy of an application—and a candidate’s integrity. 

Education Verification

Another way to evaluate a candidate’s honesty, reliability, and integrity: validate a candidate’s degree or GED earned from an accredited institution. Education verification is also a great way to confirm that the candidate has the knowledge, training, and expertise to do the job well without putting others at risk. 

Credit Report 

Employees account for 90% of all significant theft losses, and businesses lose $50 billion each year as a result of employee theft. Credit reports help provide insight into a potential hire’s financial situation and might indicate risk of theft or fraud. 

Drug Screening 

The Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reports that employees who use drugs are 2.5 times more likely than co-workers who do not use drugs to be absent for 8 or more days each year, 3.6 times more likely to be involved in an accident at work, and 5 times more likely to file a workers’ compensation claim. Drug screening helps employers maintain workplace safety and reduce the risk of making a negligent hire. Thankfully, reputable background screening services make it easy for candidates to schedule and complete a drug test at an official collection site. 

Additional Background Screening to Consider 

To stay compliant, background checks should be relevant to the specific job requirements and responsibilities. Beyond compliance, tailoring background checks to job requirements is generally good practice, since it cuts down on turnaround times and overall time-to-hire. 

As such, employers should only request information that is directly related to the position in question to evade any unnecessary information that could fuel bias, but sometimes extra information is needed to ensure that all bases are covered: 

Professional License Verification 

For roles and industries that require a license to practice the profession (think: healthcare, finance, or education), professional license verifications confirm that a candidate’s certifications are up to date—protecting the safety of the business and its customers. 

Driving Records and Motor Vehicle Records Search

If the open role requires operating a vehicle, it’s in the employer’s best interest to run a motor vehicle report or driving record check on a candidate’s driving history to dig up traffic violations, license status and type, and vehicle-related criminal charges (like DUIs). These searches help employers identify a history of unsafe driving practices or a suspended license, red flags which could put the business at risk. 

Continuous Monitoring and Periodic Re-Screening

Recently, rideshare giants Lyft and Uber went public with their plans to conduct continuous background screening on gig workers, looking for regular updates on driving records, including new criminal violations and license suspensions. 

Even the U.S. Government’s Office of Personnel Management has proposed a new rule under which all federal employees would be subject to continuous screening. 

Continuous monitoring and periodic re-screening—a new trend in HR and risk management—allows employers to monitor employee records in real-time so employers can flag internal threats, increase workplace safety, employ remote workers more confidently, and grow a positive brand perception through that diligence. 

Ongoing background screening acts as a security system for the workplace. It provides up-to-date alerts on employee incarceration and other early indicators of risky or criminal activity, so employers can intervene quickly to ensure ongoing compliance with safety requirements. 

Today, rolling background checks are a key component of any comprehensive background screening program—a solution that can save companies from costly and time-consuming crises. 

Confidentiality and Data Security

To maintain a positive candidate experience and stay compliant during the background screening process, employers must outline strict data privacy and data security protocols that put applicants first. Beyond obtaining written consent at the start of the hiring cycle, employers should also make sure that they partner with a reputable background check service that adheres to data protection regulations and standards. 

A great way to confirm that a service really provides accurate results in line with data laws is by checking the status of its Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) accreditation. PBSA accreditation is a nationally recognized achievement earned by U.S. consumer reporting agencies (CRAs). It confirms that a background check service complies with all FCRA requirements and recognizes a screening company’s commitment to excellence in information security, legal and compliance, client education, researcher and data standards, verification service standards, and business practices. 

Additionally, access protocols should be put in place to ensure that collected candidate data can only be viewed by authorized personnel and stored securely, preferably encrypted, to prevent unauthorized access. Regular audits and reviews of the data handling processes can further ensure compliance and security. 

Finally, once the background check is complete and the necessary decisions have been made, any personal data that is no longer required should be securely disposed of or deleted. By adhering to these practices, employers can maintain the hiring process’s integrity while safeguarding their potential employees’ privacy and rights.

Training and Education for HR Professionals

After laying a solid strategic foundation for the background screening process, selecting screening components, setting up a continuous screening program, and implementing data privacy and security measures, HR leaders should then take that information and train the team on the updated process. 

Employers must ensure that all HR professionals and hiring managers know the proper procedures for conducting background checks at the organization, including how to work with the background screening partner, communicate with the candidate, maintain confidentiality, and adhere to legal requirements. 

This learning should be ongoing to keep up with changing laws and processes and ensure that the business is always protected from the disastrous consequences of a bad hire.