Employee Background Screening

Global Market Outlook on Employee Background Screening

Buyers across the US prefer consolidation of screening services to one provider that eventually strengthens the hiring process, increases efficiency and eliminates the burden of HR teams

• Bad hires cost a company an average of nearly $17,000, excluding damage to employee morale, re-training, productivity and revenue per FTE loss
• Employers face legal risks involved in background screening, due to complex FCRA
• The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the US economy added 235,000 jobs in February 2017, and it is expected to grow by predicting a median unemployment rate of 4.5 percent
• In the UK, a large number of companies prefer to use screening services, majorly to meet the regulatory compliance and improve the quality of hire
• A vast majority of companies use screening services for Executive, Directors and Manager levels. Half of the companies screen hourly wage employees and contingent or temporary workers, while one-fourth of companies also screen volunteers

Technology Trends

• Employers are developing pre-employment screening metrics to minimize the lead time to improve candidate experience and achieve compliance by leveraging the technology
• In the UK and the US, the adoption of mobile-enabled pre-employment screening technology by clients is low even though two-third of UK adults and 90 percent of youth population have a smartphone, while emerging markets are steadily improving an adopting their service capability

ATS Integration

• Integration of screening technology platforms with companies' ATS to automate candidate data capture enables candidates to enter their own data from any type of device and provide text and e-mail alerts to track the status to candidate and hiring manager

Virtual Tools

• Tools, such as Candidate-facing, which include video interface are gaining momentum to educate the candidates about the screening process and its importance
• This tool also helps to set candidate expectations, which in turn improves the candidate recruitment experience

Mobile Centric

• To improve the candidate experience, both clients and service providers are leveraging the mobile application technology, which is responsive in design, to deliver the information at candidate's finger tips and to improve candidate experience

Background Verification: Regulations and Laws

UK

• The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 applies, save in respect of certain exceptions (e.g., working with children or vulnerable people and certain other occupations, including professions, such as the medical and legal professions and particular financial sector occupations)
• The Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 and the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 require that certain prescribed background checks be conducted and information be kept, prior to employment commencement (and thereafter on the expiry of an employee's limited leave to remain) to ensure that the employee may lawfully work in the UK
• Some key background screening checks that are also followed in Sweden:

Credit Default | Check Bankruptcy | Check National | Identity Check | Employment Check | Education Check | Basic Criminal Disclosure

Sweden

• Generally, an employer cannot process personal data regarding an applicant's criminal record. The Swedish Personal Data Act (1998:204) specifically prohibits bodies other than authorities from processing personal data
• An employer's possibility to carry out background checks is to some extent also limited by the Discrimination Act (2008:567)
• Permission to Work: EU/EEA citizens and Swiss citizens can work in Sweden without a work or residence permit. Citizens of countries outside the EU/EEA and non-Swiss citizens must, however, obtain a work permit
• Restrictions on Managers and Directors

-Nationality restrictions: Founders/Managing Director/Board Members linked to a company must reside within the EU/EEA. However, it is possible to file for an exemption from these restrictions at the Swedish Companies Registration Office

-They must not be declared bankrupt, banned from trade activity and a legal custodian