Background Screening Blog

“What background checks are other companies searching?” This is a question we often hear from HR professionals like you when we begin consulting on the current state of background checks. The most up-to-date trends can be an easy and obvious starting point for evaluating your background screening strategy.

Topics: Employment Background Checks

Background checks seek the truth about your candidates’ and employees’ connections with potential crimes. Screening products, packages, scope, actual order product mix, and methodologies used all contribute to how comprehensive a background check is. When added up, you can get a good sense of how likely it is you’ll prevent relevant information about a candidate from slipping through the cracks.

Topics: Employment Background Checks, National Criminal Database Search, Federal Criminal History Search, National Sex Offender Registry, ID Trace, Social Security Trace, Driving Records, Background Check Scope

Nearly everyone knows the Forrest Gump quote about life and boxes of chocolates. But the classic movie features another gem of wisdom when Forrest explains, “My mama always said you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes, where they going, where they been.” This folksy observation holds an essential lesson for HR professionals. Do you know where your candidates have been in their careers? Because much like shoes, employment verifications can give you much insight into the candidate’s past. Verifying a candidate’s work history can confirm the information they provided or listed on their resume, give you a peek into how they perform as an employee, and even offer detail about their personality.

Topics: Employment Background Checks, Employment Verifications

When the weather gets cold, the best defense is to layer up with coats and sweaters to put as many barriers as possible between you and the frigid temperatures. If you don’t pack on the layers, you could leave yourself vulnerable to a cold snap. This is not unlike the criminal history searches in your pre-employment background screening program. A criminal record strategy relying on the thin fabric of limited information sources could miss important records. With the potential to lead to unintended consequences, many companies choose to take a layered approach instead. Here’s why you may want to consider layering up this winter to reduce potential risk to your company.

Topics: Employment Background Checks, National Criminal Database Search, Federal Criminal History Search, National Sex Offender Registry, Driving Records

Company culture is the personality of every organization, and so, your culture says a lot about who your organization is to candidates and employees alike. Signs from your culture can greatly influence how they expect to be treated and viewed in their professional lives. No matter if your culture is casual or formal, finding ways to remain consistent with it through your HR policies and procedures can genuinely benefit you. A recent Gallup survey even links well-established company culture to an increase in revenue.

Topics: Report Scoring, Employment Background Checks, Recurring Screening, Employment Verifications, Background Check Packages, Background Check Scope, Company Culture

When you want to vet job candidates thoroughly, those get-to-know-you validations may come by way of an employment verification. It can give you a look into how that candidate is as an employee — confirming that they may be a good fit, or not, for your organization. On-the-job insights can be a loaded with value, but you may experience hurdles on the way to find out if that candidate is experienced, qualified, and a cultural fit for your team.

Topics: Employment Background Checks, Candidate Self-Service, Employment Verifications

Business leaders are always eager to measure return on investment (ROI) for every aspect of their business. From marketing spend to office supplies, they want to know that every cost is producing a positive return. Proving ROI can be challenging for HR professionals who deal with the business of people. But it turns out, one of the most cost-effective processes in your entire organization might be your background screening program. 

Topics: ATS Integration, Report Scoring, Employment Background Checks

Reviewing background check results can sometimes feel overwhelming. Routing results to the right decision makers and knowing if someone objectively satisfies hiring criteria across hundreds and thousands of job candidates is no easy task. Enter the Marie Kondo-esque approach to evaluating background checks, known as Report Scoring or report auto-adjudication services. The “magic of tidying up” your screening processes can give your team a clear picture of evaluation criteria and neat and obvious paths forward to sort those job candidates into new hire categories.

Topics: Report Scoring, Efficiency, Employment Background Checks, Technology

The requirements and obligations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) can be challenging to navigate, even for the most seasoned employer. Any employer that uses a professional background screening company like Verified Credentials to get a background report (called a “Consumer Report” under the FCRA) on applicants or employees is likely subject to the FCRA.

Topics: Employment Background Checks, Compliance, FCRA, FTC

Today, the entire world is under review. People won’t step foot in a restaurant without first checking Yelp, they’ll only see movies certified “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes, and they give their Uber drivers a score as soon as they step out of the car. It seems we’ve applied a five-star scale to every aspect of our lives, including career opportunities. In fact, nearly 3 out of 4 job seekers admit to sharing negative experiences with their social connections. Job hunters begin judging companies and forming opinions even before starting the application process. That means employers and HR professionals need to provide the best possible candidate experience if they hope to attract top talent, and when it comes to background checks that might mean: Leveraging technology to make a seamless user experience Preparing candidates for what lies ahead Staying connected with applicants (No ghosting here!)

Topics: Employment Background Checks, Candidate Self-Service, Candidate Experience