What Is the Best Company for Background Checks?

In 2023, more than 70% of employers are conducting background checks of some kind, and for good reason. Pre-employment background screening for candidates can help protect your business by minimizing risk, especially in this remote work world. 

Background checks can reveal pertinent information such as a candidates’ criminal history, identity, employment and education history, credit information, and more so that HR pros can spot any threats before making a bad hire

Consequently, pre-employment background screening helps HR maintain a safe and positive work environment and reduces other forms of HR risk. For example, employers can check to see if candidates’ certifications are up to date in industries that require them (like healthcare or education). 

Background screening is a chance to uncover potential dishonesty or misrepresentations and to get a complete picture of the candidate before making a decision—but not all background check companies are created equal. 

How to Spot a Great Background Check Service 

When choosing an employee background screening service, it’s important to consider the following factors: types of screenings available (level of detail), cost, ease of use, accuracy,  and turnaround times. 

Types of Screenings

The days of using a simple criminal background check and quick calls to references to vet a candidate are over. Now, background screening involves several additional layers designed to detect threats. 

A quality pre-employment background check solution—like S2Verify—can include the following services, tools, and data: 

• Social security number trace to confirm past address history. 

• 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 to get more detailed information from public and tribal registries not included in the national criminal file search. 

• County criminal/other public records search to get county-level access to information regarding felony and misdemeanor convictions, arrests, and/or pending cases. 

• Statewide criminal/public records search to get state-level access to conviction records. 

• Federal criminal/public records search to get access to federal-level crimes, including kidnapping, drug trafficking, bank robbery, embezzlement, counterfeiting, and other “white collar” crimes. Crimes involving the crossing of state borders should also be included. 

• Driving records and motor vehicle records search for applicants that will operate a motor vehicle, including a company car or forklift. 

• Employment verification to confirm a candidate’s references and work history. 

• Education verification to validate a candidate’s degree or GED earned from an accredited institution. 

• Credit reportto get insight for employment purposes.

• Professional license verification checks a candidate’s credentials for roles that require a license to practice the profession. 

• Drug screening services make it easy for candidates to schedule and complete a drug test at an official collection site. 

• International screening services and consultations to help you hire top talent from across the world and navigate variable international hiring/employment laws.

Cost 

Every business is unique, meaning that each employer has a different set of needs when it comes to screening candidates. For example, healthcare or education employers might need to run professional license verifications, while other organizations do not. The best employment background check service will allow you to customize your screening package to only pay for what you need, just like the pricing program at S2Verify. 

Ease-of-Use

Look for an employee background screening service that’s simple, straightforward, and backed by great customer service. After all, the best screening solutions reinforce their product with high-quality customer service so that employers can conduct screening without issue and make hires effectively and efficiently. When searching for a pre-employment screening solution, look for a partner that promises integrity, industry experience, innovation, and an unparalleled commitment to their clients at every step of the way—like S2Verify. 

Accuracy and Turnaround Time

Most employee background check services get results in 48 hours to five business days, but not all. S2Verify can provide faster-than-average 12-24 hour delivery times–and your background screening service should too.

Additionally, S2Verify is accredited by the Professional Background Screening Association for its commitment to excellence in information security, compliance, client education, researcher & data standards, verification services, and business practices.

Translation: S2Verify is accredited by the PBSA for the accuracy and thoroughness of its employment screening services. Be sure that whatever employment screening partner you choose provides accurate, thorough results—a PBSA accreditation on their website is a great place to start. 

S2Verify: Best-In-Class

Combining detailed screening with flexible costs, an award-winning customer support team, industry-leading accuracy, and record-breaking turnaround times, S2Verify is the best company for a background check. 

What’s more? S2Verify recently acquired New York-based Yale Background Screening, a highly reputable company with long-standing, multi-year relationships with Fortune-ranked enterprises. 

As a result, S2Verify customers will now benefit from an increasingly higher level of client service, support, and partnership–plus faster response times and better quality from their onshore support team, making S2Verify the clear leader when it comes to “best-in-class.”