A survey of workers in the United States by ResumeLab revealed that seven out of ten admitted to having lied on their resumes, with more than a third of them saying that they did so frequently. With the rising cost of living and more competition in the job market, there are more reasons why a job candidate may want to lie, and with more sophisticated technology and so many companies hiring remotely, it’s also become easier to lie. So, there’s no question about it: you need to do background checks before you sign on a new employee. If you know beyond a doubt who you’re hiring, it reduces the likelihood of making the wrong hire, having to fire the person, and then having to go through the hiring process all over again.
However, should you conduct background checks internally or should you outsource them to a third party? It may be tempting to do background checks yourself, especially if you want to save money, but you will find that it is time consuming and can actually cost you more.
Outsourcing background checks to a third-party company is often a more favourable approach. Here are six reasons why:
1. Bias Mitigation
In the process of looking for specific information about a candidate, you will most likely be exposed to other information that you weren’t looking for and shouldn’t affect your hiring decisions. However, once you’ve seen something, you can’t unsee it and it will remain in the back of your mind. The result is that it will influence your hiring decisions, either consciously or subconsciously. If you outsource your background screening to a professional third party, they will provide you with only the information you need, and this ensures neutrality in your hiring decisions.
2. Access to Advanced Technology
Professional background-screening companies utilize cutting-edge technology that your in-house systems might not have access to. This translates to time and cost efficiency in the screening process.
3. Legal Expertise and Compliance
Conducting a background screening isn’t simply a matter of googling the candidate or calling up their previous employers. There are privacy and data protection laws that you have to comply with, especially when it comes to checking someone’s criminal record or credit history, and these laws vary not only by country, but also by province or state. Outsourcing to a professional background-screening company mitigates legal risks, as these possess specialized knowledge of the relevant legislation, and conduct checks in a compliant manner.
4. Comprehensive Screening Scope
Depending on the job, the background checks you need can include identity verification, employment and education verification, reference checks, criminal record checks, credit checks, driver’s licence checks, and even global sanctions checks. Conducting so many checks is time consuming and becomes even more so when you have to do it across borders. Third-party providers, however, offer a wide range of checks that they can do in a shorter time period, ensuring a thorough assessment of candidates.
5. Social Media Screening Expertise
Social media checks are becoming a vital part of ensuring you know who you’re hiring. An employee’s activity on social media can reflect on your company and if a client finds a problematic post that you should have found, they may assume that you share the employee’s sentiments. Outsourcing social media checks is advantageous, as background-screening companies offering this service have developed effective strategies for reviewing online activities while navigating the complexities of privacy concerns and potential bias. They can efficiently determine the relevance of online behaviour to a candidate’s suitability for employment.
6. Cost Savings
Paying someone else to conduct background screening for you may sound like an unnecessary expense but it can actually be cost-effective. Third-party providers often have economies of scale, allowing them to offer services at competitive rates, compared to building and maintaining in-house screening capabilities. Because they comply with the legislation regulating background checks, you can avoid costly lawsuits too. In addition, your employees can spend their time more efficiently.