How do you know it is time to switch background screening vendors?

Background screening is essential to every business. Background screening emerges as employers emphasise the provision of a safe workplace by ensuring the accuracy of candidates’ qualifications, and their job and life experiences. 

It is vitally important to select the right blend of checks that will help your business in a certain industry, with the seniority of the hire, and the location of the prospective candidate around the world. The range of checks is not only limited to employment gaps, financial background checks and qualification to work checks, but also includes global sanctions checks, credit checks and social media checks.

A survey conducted by the PBSA and HR.com discloses the top three reasons why companies do background checks: 

1. protecting employees and customers, 
2. improving the quality of hires,
3. protecting company reputation.

There are discrepancies that companies could hardly detect without background screening software, primarily when recruiting talent from around the world - for example verifying an essential record, such as global sanctions, criminal records or financial history for candidates. Making the wrong hiring decision may have a very negative impact on a business’s ability to grow. 

Choosing the right background screening software vendor is therefore vital for any business. When a background screening provider cannot offer a service that brings greater productivity and performance enhancements to your company, you should consider switching to a vendor who values driving new speed, innovation and value, to help contribute to your company’s future prosperity.

When is the time to switch background screening vendors?

So what are the signs that tell you it is time to replace the background screening vendor with a new one?

The PBSA survey also pinpointed what companies deem most significant when choosing background screening providers: quality and accuracy, speed, cost, and customer service. 

Traditional pricing

‍For some businesses, it may be a waste of money and resources if you have paid for a locked-in 12-month service, however you cannot fully reap the benefit of it if you only need to conduct 1 to 2 checks in 3 months. Traditional long contracts may ensure a well-rounded service, although if the service has not been designed around the hiring frequency of your business you may be locked in, and paying far too high a price per candidate hire. There are alternative flexible payment options for those businesses that need them.  A pay-as-you-go background check service may be a more cost-effective option.

Limited types of checks

‍To avoid a risky hire, you need a vendor that provides a comprehensive range of pre-hiring assessments. If your existing vendor fails to provide a suitable breadth of background checks, you may not notice important  inconsistencies in your employee’s resume. Veremark includes automated reference checks, credit checks, bankruptcy checks, updated Covid-19 Vaccination Proof, and many more vital checks, to ensure your business will hire and onboard the right person. 

Lack of up-to-date knowledge in compliance

‍Pre-employment background checks entail getting private information about individuals. Your business needs a reputable background checks vendor with expertise in screening for compliance, rather than retrieving a candidate’s information by breaching privacy regulations. Without a credible source of up-to-date personal data, some vendors may fail to have accurate and recent data. It is crucial that you may simultaneously ensure that you make both the right hiring choices, and you provide an excellent compliant candidate experience.

Slow turnaround time affects your productivity

‍When you encounter excellent candidates, you want them to be immediately onboarded so that they may contribute to your business. Yet if your current background checking vendor takes a number of weeks to process check results, it is likely that your candidates may slip away to a competitor or an alternative offer of employment. To create a positive candidate experience, your business should partner with a trustworthy provider that notifies you of the check results with speed and accuracy, and one that can conduct concurrent checks on multiple candidates at the same time. Furthermore, if your vendor fails to provide you with real-time reporting, you should switch to a vendor who offers a solution that will directly improve your productivity and performance. Veremark offers a quick and straightforward user interface, which may be customised at every step to help you manage hiring risks and boost your hiring accuracy. 

Limited customer support

Receiving an excellent experience from the background checking vendor is essential, and it should be the top concern of your chosen vendor. A professional and proactive customer support team will help you safeguard your company's interests and user experience. For example, if the customer support you receive is merely limited from  8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in a specific time zone, it would be a great inconvenience in solving your day-to-day hiring, screening and onboarding problems across multiple global time zones, hindering you from recruiting the best talent, wherever they may be.

Conclusion: Invest in the right background check software

Pricing, compliance, turnaround time and customer support should all be considered when choosing a background screening vendor for your current and future needs. To make the best hiring decisions, a business should prioritise investing in the best background check software and service vendor as a key aspect of hiring new talent. 

New people are the most important investment your business will make to help drive future competitiveness, growth and success. Verifying their background authenticity with the vitality and veracity of Veremark is vital. 

Find out more about Veremark’s high-performing background screen services. Start your free trial today.