Not All Background Checks Are Equal

Recently when reviewing background check packages with potential clients, I have noticed a trend and came to the realization that not all background checks are created or sold equally. This is something that many are aware of but don't really sit down and think about it until a review period or when evaluating a potential new partner. There are a lot of factors that go into the screening process and it starts with your partner and how they build out your criminal scope within the packages. The biggest question I ask potential clients is, "What are you running and why?". Asking this question prompts the thought process of are we compliant, why are we running these searches, is there something that we might be missing, or is there a better way to do things to improve the candidate process?

I want to outline a some basics to start. When pulling a background check, we start with running a social security trace which tells you the different names and places the person has lived. This is a locator tool. After locating the places the candidate/volunteer has lived, we then go to the level that your team has requested and search for records. Most common sources are county, state, national, and federal. Sometimes, depending on roles, civil searches are pulled as well.

I have noticed a trend within the screening industry, especially with screening companies trying to cut costs to remain profitable and trying to provide the fastest turnaround times. With comparing pricing and packages over this past year, I noticed that screening companies are telling their clients that they are getting a full 7 year criminal scope with an unlimited look back. In reality, they are providing a primary search of running a social security trace with a national criminal database search that has a sex offender and terrorist watchlist search paired with it. Then IF there are any hits on the national criminal database the company will go back to unlimited amount of counties for a full 7 year look back. This is confusing because the price is cheaper, turnaround times are great, but are you getting a TRUE 7 year look back? Statistics have shown that with running a national criminal database search alone, you will see a 6-7% hit ratio for records. That means that if your screening partner is running this as the primary criminal search and then validating hits that come up, you will see a very low hit ratio on records.

There are many ways to run a background check. One is not right or wrong, just preference of the screening company and then needs dictated by clients. Cost and turnaround times are leading factors in determining who to use as a screening partner. I prefer to lead with running a social security trace, then going to the county as a primary source and pulling records back 7 years. On average, you will see that there are about 3 counties that come back when pulling a 7 year unlimited county criminal search. This is a significant difference vs running a national criminal database and then validating hits that come up within a 7 year period. Pricing, number of hits, and turnaround times are key indicators on what type of criminal searches you are running.

Therefore, not all background screening packages are created equally in the criminal scope that is being pulled and records reported out. I leave you with the question of ,"When was the last time you or your team reviewed your background packages and looked at the scope to see what is being reported out and if it aligns with your organizations needs? ".