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Safe Hiring Solutions Blog
Top 10 Reasons to Choose Safe Hiring Solutions
When searching for a background check company for your business or organization there are many different factors to consider. These can range from knowing exactly what a background check is to learning how helpful the company’s client services are when you are in need of assistance. So here are the Top 10 reasons to choose SafeHiring Solutions to conduct your business’ screenings.
We know what a background check entails and what is important to search. Background screening relies heavily on incomplete public record sources. Our background screening program consists of multiple checks and balances that include identification, multi-state databases, county criminal searches and federal courts.
Our background checks are thorough. There is no such thing as a dependable instant database search. If a background check is “instant”, then it is a database only search. There is no single database, not even the FBI’s NCIC, that is comprehensive enough to stand as a single-source screening program. Using only a database for employment purposes can open up FCRA violation issues. It is not even a viable option for volunteer organizations because most databases have a high failure rate even for convicted sex offenders. We use multiple databases when we conduct our background checks.
Cost of our background checks. You cannot do quality background checks for $5, but at the same time, it should not break your piggy bank. Comprehensive employee background checks range from $20-$40 for a core national criminal background check. Volunteer checks can range from $10- $20 for a core criminal check.
The depth that our background checks go to? A thorough background check should go back as far as allowed. We believe it is critical for our clients to have all the information they need to make informed decisions. Even so, there are strict guidelines from the EEOC, FCRA as well as state and local laws that must be followed. Consequently, what factors can impact how far back a background check extends? a. Convictions vs Non-Convictions. The federal FCRA restricts reporting of non-convictions to no more than 7 years unless the salary for the position is $75,000 or more. Some state laws further restrict convictions or do not allow their reporting. b. Individual state. Several states have further restricted the reporting of adverse information. c. How far back court records go. Some states maintain criminal records that extend 30 years or more. Other states purge misdemeanor records at 10 years.
How our software searched alias names. Alias names are any other name your candidate has been known by in the past. With name-based background checks, it is critical to include any possible alias names to ensure your candidates do not have a criminal history under a former married name, maiden name, birth name, etc. Many screening firms do not include this service in their pricing and then, clients are unpleasantly surprised when hit with additional fees because a candidate has 3 different names. We do not charge extra for searching other names. We consider it an important part of a thorough search. It is included in the original quote.
Our employees of the screening firm are screened regularly. This is important because these are the people who you will be trusting with very sensitive information. Some screening firms “offshore” parts of their screening process like verifications. How do you ensure that none of your sensitive data on your employees, vendors, volunteers are not being sent to another country with little to no quality control? We re-screen our employees on an annual basis.
Security of Data. We mentioned in #6 that some screening firms “offshore” data which creates security issues for how the data is transferred. More importantly, what happens to it on the other end where it could be taken, printed, sold, etc.? Security is a huge concern with all of our data, and you can be confident that our screening firm uses industry ‘best practices’ for securing your data both in transit and at rest. What does that mean? We use SSAE 16 and provide quarterly reports. In addition, we engage with cyber security experts to perform penetration testing to expose any vulnerabilities in our software.
Compliance is a core mission. Complying with federal laws such as FCRA, DPPA and EEOC should be part of the core mission of any screening firm. The majority of compliance is incumbent upon the end user; however, you want a screening partner that will keep you abreast of changes and what is happening in the industry. We provide a number of educational opportunities each month i.e. live training events, live webinars, articles, and email communications.
Customer service. Yes, everybody claims to have it but very few organizations truly do. With unemployment at all time lows in most communities, hiring is extremely competitive. When you have a question about a background screening report, you should be able to receive an answer quickly. We have removed all barriers to customer service communications by appointing a Chief of Client Strategies who oversees a team that works all day, every day, with clients. All of our clients have access to a direct line to the team, email, and chat. We believe technology is key to the background screening process, but we will not remove human eyes from the equation.
Education. Things change in the background screening world very quickly. New movements like “Ban the Box” can start sweeping the nation making it critical that your screening partner provide opportunities for learning and education. We provide almost daily education opportunities with articles, live training, live webinars and one-on-one events.