What Is A Background Check?
A background check is a service that provides future employers with the ability to check data on their candidates from a variety of public databases.
While companies could do this themselves, the best people search engines offer to do so in an efficient and convenient way by producing a report on each candidate. The hiring firm can then use this information as they wish, but they need to be aware of any improper use of information, particularly when it comes to their final hiring decisions.
For example, if they find out a candidate is gay, they cannot discriminate against hiring them for this reason.
Why Use A Background Check?
Background checks are useful because they are a means of weeding out candidates that are not suitable for a role.
So what do employers look for in a background check that enables then to filter candidates out in such a way?
Well this depends on the industry and individual company. Each industry has different requirements that their employees may have to have as standard.
For instance, in teaching, teachers have to have a clear criminal record and obviously no misdemeanors when it comes to being inappropriate with children. In the financial world, would be accountants can never have been director of a bankrupt company.
It is important to remember that candidates with flaws on their record should not apply for jobs for which they are not suitable, but they still do. Using a background check from a people search engine is, therefore, a manner of confirming that those that you do employ are safe to have working in your company as well as having the experience and skills you require for the individual role.
All companies should manipulate and tailor their end requirements from a background check to suit their individual needs. This is because all companies and job roles are different, but almost all companies will benefit from hiring the person they think they are hiring – as opposed to someone who has performed well in an interview or wantonly misled future employers on a CV. Many companies use a pre-screening employment check as a means of confirming their final decision.
How Does A Background Check Verify Employment and Past History?
So how does a background check really verify employment? And how long do background checks take for pre-employment?
When we live in an increasingly public world with the advent and explosion of our lives on social media, it may be comforting to know that employers aren’t actually allowed to make employment and hiring decisions based on what they have gleaned through a Facebook page or Instagram posts.
Instead, background checks have to search public databases for information that is deemed as crucial to hiring decisions – like past convictions, financial history or past employment. In fact, anything that you should rightfully disclose on your CV is what they can check – anything else is unusable by HR departments.
People search engines simply amalgamate all the information needed by employers that are available on public databases. They then produce a report that employers can cross reference against a candidate’s CV to ensure the candidate is telling the truth. Companies who use people search engines in this way find that the employment verification process is a great deal quicker and easier than if done in-house.
What Makes The Best Background Checks For Employers?
To be a useful search system, the best background check companies have to have the following features as standard:
- Compliance
If a search engine firm is not compliant with the Fair Credit Report Act, or the FCRA, don’t use them. It’s as simple as that. Without having compliance, you are opening yourself up to lawsuits by using a company that does not have the correct legislation in place.
- Speed
Background checks simply can’t take an indeterminate time to be returned to us. If they take too long, they simply become redundant to use. The best background checks will be quick therefore and the quicker the better.
- Search Options
We don’t all want the same sort or type of information when we are conducting background searches on would be employees. Sometimes all we want to do is run a simple few queries, while other jobs will demand a far deeper search to ensure that the candidate is suitable for the role. The best background checks for employers will have a variety of options available to its customers.
- Price
While getting the best background check is important, it still needs to be affordable as well as not charging companies and employers for information that can be found in a basic Google or Facebook search. To make it onto our best background checklist, the amount and the quality of the features that a background check company have to need to be charged at a suitable price so that value for money can be achieved.
- Accuracy
This is an essential requirement for a background check run by employers on would be candidates. Without accuracy, running a background check becomes a pointless and expensive exercise. Accurate information, therefore, becomes paramount to the success of a background check.
- Customer Service
For a background check firm to make it on to our best of a list, they need to provide the very best customer service. This can come in a variety of guises – for starters, a thorough FAQ page on its website is always helpful, but they should be coupled with contact numbers and emails that are easy to locate so that customers can have their queries answered promptly.
The Best Background Checks For Employers
We rate the following brands as excellent ports of call if you are looking for the best background checks for employers.
#1 Hireright
HireRight is a reputable background check company that is suitable for almost all companies and employers. It can more than comfortably cope with pre-employment screen tests and does so within the letter of the law so that firms do not have to worry about opening themselves up to any form of liability in their hiring decisions.
A great feature that sets HireRight apart is the fact that it can carry out its background checks in over 240 countries and in 20 languages – which in this ever-connected world is imperative.
#2 Checkr
We like Checkr owing to its price and, though a new company, it can still handle projects from large companies and small businesses. It has a user friendly online interface that can conduct people searches for all types of employment – from zero hours contracts to full time workers.
The online portal has a number of modern tools that help users analyse and digest information so that they can make the best hiring decision for them. The only bad point is that, when compared to other firms, their report return time is slightly longer. However, most HR departments would find their turnaround time more than satisfactory.
#3 Onfido
Onfido markets itself as the world’s best identity verification engine. They’re a capable company who can cope with businesses who are in need of running several verification checks at one time due a huge spurt in growth.
While still a startup, with its main business being people searches, it can also help US and UK companies with the onboarding process owing to the automation it has built into its online platform. It’s a very slick operation.
#4 Verified Credentials
With over 30 years in the business, if you want to run some pre employment screening tests in your business, you’ll do well to choose Verified Credentials. They can offer both personal and commercial background check services, so they are easily adaptable to a company’s needs.
Past customers have noted that the personal background check was helpful to see what info was available on themselves for potential employers to find. This does not mean they necessarily had anything to hide – simply that information on social media or less regulated sites may be misleading.
#5 Infomart
This American company, based in Georgia, is a good go to background check company that is happy to tailor its reports to the individual firm it is working for. This is fantastic news for firms that work across a variety of industries and the experience that Infomart has had shines through in the reports it produces.
Infomart is able to run verifications, background reports and credit history checks and does so quickly and efficiently.
The Best People Search Engines For Pre-Employment Screening
Pre-employment screening is an imperative and helpful tool that many HR departments and hiring employers have at their disposal. With their increased use and increased popularity, they are becoming easier and easier to use. The easier they are to use, the quicker the information found on employees can be assimilated and employed in any hiring decisions.
However, HR departments need to be incredibly aware of the legal ramifications of using people searches. The information found in a search can be used, but they absolutely have to be used properly with no resulting discrimination.
Ultimately, however, there is no denying that in our ever more connected world where our lives are increasingly recorded online, a people search engine is invaluable in the hiring processes of any company.