Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/227268
Cover Story New Tweaks The interplay between employers and providers is improving. First Advantage, for instance, recently added a mobile feature to its background screening platform. "This way, a recruiter at a job fair away from his or her desk can check on the status of people going through the screening process," Franck says. "If a candidate moves from `in process' to `approve,' it's there for them to see, and thereby immediately extend an offer. It's just one more way to fill the job post faster." Global HR Research offers its clients that lack an ATS access to its own proprietary applicant tracking system, called Jobmatcher. The ATS is linked to the firm's background screening technology. "We also have a screening solution for volunteers—people who are independent contractors or other types of contingent workers," Phillips says. While the providers ease the hiring process, Bencivengo at Penn National points out that at the end of the day, the employer still has to make the decision of whom to hire. "It is great that we are gathering all this information when we need it, but if something is disclosed during the screening process it is our responsibility to dig into it," she explains. "While Orange Tree has provided hiring guides that assist us through the system that advise us to stop, proceed, or conduct a review, it is our responsibility to still carefully weigh this information to make the appropriate hiring decisions." Verification Value Background screening delivers some very influential information. Consider the following: • The ADP Annual Screening Index reports 41 percent of employment, education, and/ or credential reference checks revealed a difference of information between what the applicant provided and what the source reported. • Sixty-six percent of all job applicants say they have stretched the truth at least once in an effort to land a job. • The U.S. Small Business Administration reports for every dollar an employer invests in employment screening, the return on this investment ranges between $5 and $16. • The U.S. Department of Labor finds that the average employer expense for a bad hiring decision can equal 30 percent of the employee's first-year income. Alas, this part of the employment process cannot be outsourced. Russ Banham can be reached at www.russbanham.com Hiring Right: Get More From Your Background Screening Components of today's approaches to screening and hiring candidates are well beyond a mere background check and verification. Today's process includes: • Integration with applicant tracking systems • An elevated candidate experience • Analytics and reports to zero in on effective metrics • Employment branding in technology applications • On-the-go mobile applications NOVEMBER 2013 | www.hrotoday.com [13]