Unemployment is lower than it has been in decades, and while that’s great for the economy, it makes for more complicated hiring processes. The smaller talent pool has led some businesses to rethink, or even remove, the background screening and verification part of their hiring process. While considering changes to a background screening program, companies have to balance these changes against their requirements to conduct a non-negligent hiring process. Allowing the pendulum to swing too far in favor of getting candidates into a position could damage a company's’ brand while creating undo risk for fines and lawsuits.
The Effect of Low Unemployment Rates on Hiring
The unemployment rate has been below four percent for months, which makes recruiting qualified candidates a challenge. In this kind of candidate-run market, it can be easy to look at whether you want to open the position to a broader candidate pool. This could mean adjusting the qualifications for the position such as reducing education or experience requirements or it could mean opening the job to people who have criminal records.
Adjusting your candidate criteria can increase the number of applicants and make recruiting easier. However, it’s essential to think beyond getting a job opening filled and consider the long-term impacts of adjusting your employment standards.
Verification Serves a Purpose
To say that the background screening and verification processes serve a purpose might seem like stating the obvious. However, it’s good to take a closer look at what purpose these processes serve and why businesses rely on them to stay in compliance and avoid lawsuits.
Employment verification cross-checks the candidate’s resume against their documented work experience. This will weed out candidates who may be embellishing, or even misrepresenting their past employment. Hiring someone without verifying their employment could mean that you’re employing someone without the knowledge, training, and skills to do the job, which could leave you vulnerable to legal action.
Education verification confirms a candidate’s degree, educational institution, the field of study and graduation date. The results will highlight the difference between attending Harvard versus the Harvard Extension School, which has different application criteria.
Professional license verification can ensure that the applicant has the correct license, that it’s valid, and has not expired or been revoked. Verification can also identify any disciplinary actions which may be on file against the license. Hiring or employing someone without the necessary license can put your business out of compliance and at risk.
Verification Has a Place in Hiring
If you decide to open up your job to include more candidates that may include those with less education, experience or even a criminal conviction in their background, verification remains incredibly important. Being confident that the person you’re considering for a job has the education, license, and employment record creates an environment of trust and can protect your organization from risk.
Not All Verifications Services are Made Equal
The hunt for a thorough background screening service can be a long one. Not every background screening company takes the time to conduct efficient verifications, so when you’re seeking a background screening company, conduct due diligence to ensure you’re getting what you’re looking for. Pay particular attention to their procedures and success rates to gauge their effectiveness.
Not all companies take the same approach to completing verifications. You should explore the number of attempts that will be made and inquire about what constitutes a valid attempt. You will want to know the cadence and time that is used. Not all candidate experiences are the same. Does the provider make it easy for a candidate to capture and submit supporting documentation to the standards that you set? And finally, does the background screening company show all of this work to you?
At Orange Tree, we take verifications seriously. Our clients are paying us to successfully conduct a service on their behalf. We believe that we have the best processes that produce industry-leading results and we show every annotation in our easy-to-use ClientConnectTM portal.
Learn more about Orange Tree’s verification services by scheduling a meeting with one of our representatives today!
