A newly released white paper has seen businesses admit the pandemic has made background and screening checks on potential and existing employees more crucial than ever.
A vast majority of businesses agree background screening is now a fundamental part of how a business is perceived by employees, suppliers and clients.
Also, criminal record checks have seen the greatest rise in number since the pandemic.
However, only three in five businesses are routinely screening 75 percent or more of their workforce and/or suppliers, according to a recent study by Vero.
Social media screening
Social media screening is also a vital part of background checks, especially for candidates during the recruitment process.
“Until now, social media checks have been something of a blind spot in the hiring process: globally, these amounted to less than 1 percent of all automated checks carried out on employees last year. But it’s quite common for HR teams to run their own manual checks on individuals to identify any offensive or inappropriate online behaviour in the public domain,” highlights Founder and CEO of Veremark, Daniel Callaghan.
However, such methods are far from rigorous or even reliable, especially given the ease with which online profiles can be manufactured and identities stolen. And the laws surrounding social media privacy may differ between countries,” adds Mr Callaghan.
The way we do business has changed
Rupert Emson, CEO at Vero, said: “The way we do business has changed in light of the global events we’ve all been faced with in recent times. Working from home on a full-time, hybrid, or ad hoc basis has become the norm and employers are having to rethink the way they attract new talent as a result.”
“And while our findings show that, right now, the vast majority of businesses say employment checks are key to maintaining their internal culture and credibility with clients, there is clearly still some way to go for businesses in realising the true importance of screening.”
Rupert added “Ultimately, we know background screening plays a vital role in supporting businesses to have complete confidence in the people they employ, and this is exactly why we commissioned this research.”
“We’re now living in a world where the potential to become disconnected from the people we work with, and the need to dig deeper in truly understanding others, has never been greater. So, it’s our intention and hope this report will enable us all as businesses, clients and colleagues, to do just that.”
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
