6 Traits of Great CRA's (And How You Can Join Them!)

The background check business is a tough one, and no one has all the answers. But 15 years in, I've identified 6 traits common to great CRA’s.

1. Great CRA’s use their sales pipeline to manage litigation risk

For starters, these seem like two unrelated things. But the pipeline. Is. Everything. 

When CRA’s have a strong one, they make very different decisions. I’ve worked with CRA’s on both sides. Great pipeline CRA’s don’t sweat non-compliant product or service requests. With immense litigation risk in our industry, one client should never burn down the house.

For CRA’s with weak pipelines, that client might BE the house. They're faced with accommodating the client or looking into the abyss with no revenue to replace it.

Imagine not being terrified of a client’s reaction because they don’t like the answer. Imagine the freedom that provides! Weak Pipelined CRA’s too often accept more risk than they’re comfortable with or bend over backwards to accommodate a grey area request, rather than jeopardize losing the business. 

2. Great CRA’s know they are in the people business, not the technology business

I cringe when I hear this industry called “HR Tech.” Yes, you have to clear a technology bar. But great CRA’s understand employers buy from salespeople, interact with customer service people, and leave those people when their needs aren’t met. 

So once you meet the tech threshold, you don’t gain much through a huge annual spend that only provides incremental improvements. Clients won’t sign up, stay, or leave if TAT is 90 minutes higher or lower. 

So “People” means two different things. The buyer is a person. And so is your staff. For no matter how much you automate, you’ll still have staff. Competent operations and client support teams builds a cocoon of comfort for clients. A CRA with less robust technology but stronger client support can defeat a CRA with more technology but a weaker staff.

A weakly supported Enterprise client, at that volume, will have a negative experience daily. How long do you think that’ll last?

3. Great CRA’s think small while others talk big

We’re conditioned to think of our businesses in large numbers. Millions of applicants, tens of millions of components. We think this makes us more attractive to investors, clients, prospects. And sometimes, it certainly does! 

But to others, you’re screening their candidates. For their company. A candidate they interviewed. A person with a family, children and parents. You’re not doing 10,000 background checks. You’re doing 1 background check 10,000 times.

So when I help employers find the right CRA for them, I ask the question in reverse. They want to know how well you do small. How well you’ll do for them. They want to know if they’ll be able to get your attention when the ink on the contract dries, or if you’re just after their logo.

The bigger you talk, the higher the likelihood you’re ironically making them feel less important.

4. Great CRA’s sprint to fix problems, knowing anything could push a client away

Clients are saved or lost over individual candidates.

Say you're screening a relocation candidate with a wife and new baby. A start date, moving trucks and day care…and along comes a possible record and a common name.

Inside a CRA, we call this Tuesday!

But for good measure, throw in an anxious recruiter, an upset hiring manager, and a VP who’s now wondering, when’s the last time they looked at another vendor? 

I’ve worked with CRA’s that resolve this in minutes and I’ve worked with CRA’s that can’t respond inside a week. Guess which one gets a pass when a true mistake actually happens? 

A quick personal example… I once got on 4 airplanes in one day to hand deliver notarized forms to a state official 18 hours after we made a huge mistake. This client still brings it up when we talk, yet it happened in 2006!

Clients remember forever how you respond. You’re in charge of the story they’ll tell.

5. Great CRA’s systematize to provide status information quickly and routinely

Capturing and making available macro level account information in one place is fabulous. But great CRA’s drive information at the candidate level.

No tickets, no report generations which only run at midnight, or calls to vendors trying to track something down.

Great CRA’s create systems and processes to ensure information on applicants is available in the moment. Can your rep click on one screen and speak intelligently about the entire background check in 30 seconds, or do they need to click on five screens to investigate the status of 5 different components, only to provide an answer devoid of specifics?

Great CRA’s know the call needs to end with a client knowing more than they did at the beginning. 

6. Great CRA’s don’t rely on Executive level relationships. True power lies with the day to day users

When a client hangs up the phone, they go back inside their organization. Are they convincing their bosses you’re the partner they’d be lost without? Or a liability that needs to be replaced? 

Great CRA’s don’t fall into the trap of thinking their client is the VP of HR who signed the deal 24 months ago with your VP. And because they had dinner 6 months ago, all is good.  

That person may have moved onto other projects, doesn't have primary oversight, or simply doesn’t care enough to go to bat if something happens. Those relationships are rarely as strong as they seem. Great CRA’s don’t overlook the internal power (good or bad) the human in front of them wields.

Strive to serve the person in front of you, their team, and the hiring managers exceptionally. Personalize support so and position them so they professionally benefit from your partnership.

When they look good, so do you.

There's immense focus within our industry on technology, new products and faster turnaround. And for good reason.

However, I strongly believe there are just as many general business, operations and service level solutions to win in this marketplace. These common traits among Great CRA’s show that intentional, proactive, low cost solutions make a meaningful difference between profit and loss, retention or churn, compliant or litigation. Contact me to learn how together, your CRA can join them as a best-in-class provider!

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Kevin Bachman is The CRA Doctor, a 15-year background check executive providing financial, strategic and operational counsel to owners and senior management. He also helps employers create optimal screening programs and find the right CRA to fit their needs and budget. He is also available for speaking engagements and onsite training sessions. Kevin can be reached at [email protected] or 216-509-2108.