Updating your background check can help you hire faster and smarter

As the saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures — and for some employers, the increasing need to fill vacant positions is pushing them to forego certain safety precautions.

In the wake of the pandemic — which prompted record breaking unemployment rates — the job market is faced with 10.9 million vacant jobs as of July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and there aren’t enough employees to fill them. And in an effort to fast-track the hiring process, companies are considering cutting corners when it comes to background checks, according to Brian Matthews, president of Appriss Insights, a nationwide source for background screenings.

“We’ve seen companies bypass background checks at the preliminary level to get more people in the door,” Matthews says. “These businesses believe that eliminating interviews, drug and criminal background checks are beneficial and give more opportunities for those in the community to find work.”  

And while some states, including New York, have allowed employers to amend their background check process during COVID to speed up the hiring process, Matthews warns this policy spells trouble.

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“Companies are responsible for their employees’ well-being and the safety of their customers,” he says. “Knowing an employee’s history can mitigate company risk, keep the workplace safe, and still allow companies to hire efficiently.”

According to statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20,790 workers in the private industry experienced trauma from nonfatal workplace violence in 2018, and findings from the Journal of Management and Marketing Research has shown that crime may be a factor in 30% of all business failures. And while not all of these discretions could show up on a pre-employment background check — which typically screens past employment, education, criminal records, credit history, motor vehicle and license record checks — without one, the outlook will only worsen, Matthews says.

“Companies need to ensure they aren’t inviting bad actors into the workplace or increasing any insider risk,” he says. “Both to protect their employees and keep the reputation of their business strong.” 

So although getting rid of background checks altogether isn’t a sustainable option for employers, it may be the beginning of the kind of conversation that can lead to change. Updating the current background check process can not only help employers hire faster, but it can also find more diverse and qualified candidates. For example, applicants with a conviction on their criminal record are 50% less likely to be called back for an interview, according to the National Employment Law Project.

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New innovations to background check programs, like relying on artificial intelligence and implementing continuous post-hiring monitoring, have helped update outdated and antiquated processes. With a better system, employers have access to a wider and more diverse hiring base and speed up the screening process from weeks to just hours or days, Matthews says. And once hired, regular risk assessments can protect employees from potential workplace harm.

And although the prospect of shilling out thousands of dollars for new systems and processes are the leading causes behind the hesitance to do so, the payout — for both employees and employers — is more than worth it.

“Rehabilitated, continuous monitoring really allows an employer to hire somebody that may have historically filtered out and give them a second chance,” Matthews says. “It's leveraging new technology and new data to make [hiring] it more equitable.”