By Debbie Bolla
Today’s hybrid workforce landscape makes background screening more complicated—and more critical—than ever before. Global organizations need to leverage a unified approach across geographies that delivers consistent and accurate results to improve their hiring process. By doing this, they will benefit greatly. In fact, HireRight’s 2023 Global Benchmark Report finds the top advantage of background screening for organizations is better quality of hires with 66% of respondents in agreement.
In the tight talent market, speed continues to remain a focus for HR leaders. “Ever since The Great Resignation, COVID-19, and the increase of a more nomadic workforce, there has been a demand of hiring candidates faster,” explains Alan Lasky, PsyD., senior vice president of sales for Universal Background Screening. HireRight’s report shows that speed is the most important factor for organizations when selecting their program with 68% of respondents in agreement.
How are these factors and other trends impacting background screening today?
TA leaders would agree that hiring remote and hybrid workers have many benefits including expanding talent pipelines. But as those candidate pools widen, location becomes a main consideration in the screening process.
“More organizations are hiring remotely and the need to understand municipal/state consumer reporting laws where the candidate resides at the time of hire is crucial to ensure proper hiring procedures are being followed,” says Lasky.
The trend of working from anywhere continues to be a talent attractor, but organizations must perform due diligence to remain compliant as employee locations vary and change. “Employers need to understand that the laws may be different for remote employees that are no longer working in their physical locations,” says Dawn Standerwick, vice president of global sales for ClearStar. “There are local and state jurisdictions that prescribe specific notice, disclosure, consent, and adverse action requirements that may differ from where their employees previously worked versus their U.S. or even global locations.”
66% of executives report the main benefit of background screening is better quality of hires.
Source: HireRight
Take, for example, drug testing and substance abuse testing programs. Standerwick says there’s a large amount of legislation the prohibits the testing for marijuana (or using the results in the hiring decision) and it varies by state or even city.
The landscape is tricky for sure and it’s crucial for organizations to stay ahead of the evolving times. “Ever-growing changes in local and state Marijuana laws, salary verification restriction regulations, ban the box/fair chance laws, and adverse action procedures are crucial for clients to review with their legal teams,” advises Lasky.
A non-legal but pressing consideration of screening dispersed employees is possible unwanted delays. “Employees working remotely may be further away from metropolitan areas, making it more difficult for them to submit samples occupational health screening programs, which can create delays,” notes Standerwick.