As 2023 starts winding down, forward-thinking recruiters and HR professionals are using this time to optimize their background screening programs for continued success in 2024 and beyond.
With rising volumes of applicants and an increasing array of checks now vital for informed hiring decisions, keeping your screening program running smoothly over time requires some strategic upkeep.
I’ll walk through 8-key areas of your screening program that are important for annual review – as well as provide questions to ask yourself within each category:
1. Compliance Confirmation
- Does my program currently align with FCRA, EEOC, Ban-the-Box and all state/local mandates?
- Do my consent forms and adverse action notices contain updated legal statements?
- Could I benefit from having legal counsel review policies?
2. Your Screening Metrics from the Last Year
- Volume Counts: How many job candidates did you put through your background screening program last year? What was your total number of individual screens/checks conducted? Were volumes higher or lower than expected? Tracking this year-over-year shows growth trends.
- Top Screening Reasons: Which background checks did you utilize most often? For example – criminal records, employment verification, education confirmation. Did you lean more heavily on certain screens versus others? Knowing this helps forecast likely volume distribution.
- Adverse Actions: What percentage of your candidate screens resulted in disqualifying findings and adverse actions? Which specific findings tended to drive these the most? Understanding this shows you higher risk areas needing attention.
3. Evolving Risks and Requirements Audit
- Do my current risk levels, packages and disqualifying criteria still reflect organizational needs?
- Have regulatory expansions, new roles, or international growth created gaps I should address?
- Am I fully screening for latest risks like insider threats? (Example: Screening high-risk roles more extensively for fraud/deception/integrity red flags.)
4. Vendor Performance Evaluation
- How satisfied am I with my provider’s turnaround times, communication practices and security protocols.
- Are there areas I wish they would enhance or improve for the coming year?
- Is now a good time to evaluate competitor offerings?
5. Team Training Tune-Up
- When did my team last complete background screening compliance training?
- Do new hires understand adverse action processes and interpreting criminal records?
- Could my staff benefit from an annual program overview refresher?
6. Incorporating New Innovations
- What cutting-edge advancements could boost efficiency like AI-enabled checks or automated adjudication?
- Can enhanced candidate experience tech like online identity validation improve applications?
- Are tools emerging that help objectively assess candidates and reduce biases?
7. Formalizing Critical Policies
- Do I have definitive policies outlined for evaluating criminal histories and determining risk tolerance thresholds?
- Have I documented consistent adverse action appeal review and approval workflows?
- Do I have clear guidelines around information security and data destruction?
8. Ongoing Program Updates
- Have new job roles been added or access privileges changed for existing roles since I first implemented background screening? If yes, the screening criteria may need to be customized to match the risks levels associated with those new roles.
- Is there a defined process to propose tweaks or enhancements on how screening is conducted? This ensures the program adapts as risks change or new best practices emerge around background checks.
- Is there clear version tracking and documentation of changes made to background screening processes over time? This record-keeping helps assess what has been done and why future changes are proposed.
While refreshing screening protocols requires some year-end elbow grease, the upfront effort pays dividends for years via optimized efficiency, risk detection and legal compliance. Treat the above checklist as a set of strategic steps rather than a simple annual chore.
Here’s to having your smoothest screening season ever in 2024!
