When Is It Best To Outsource Background Screening Services?
Introduction
Background checks happen at a later stage during the recruitment process, usually when the company is already considering offering the job to a candidate. Still, this step is as crucial as any other step in the hiring process, as it ensures the integrity and honesty of the applicant. Ultimately, this step ensures that whoever your company chooses onboard will impact the organization positively.
While your company’s internal HR team can check your candidates’ backgrounds, there are instances where outsourcing this task to a third-party service provider may be more practical. Read on to learn what situations warrant outsourcing background screening services and discover how Q2 HR Solutions can help with this step.
When Must You Outsource Background Screening Services for Your Business?
Enlisting the help of a background screening company when vetting candidates can save you time and resources. For businesses with a limited HR staff, letting external specialists do the background check can lighten your HR team’s workload. Note that background screening doesn’t involve a simple call to the applicant’s character references; it also includes criminal and educational background checks and, in some cases, credit history verifications.
When should you outsource your background screening? Below are some of the situations where hiring a third party is more practical than doing the task internally:
When You’re Hiring Multiple Candidates
If you need multiple employees to form a new team or fill positions for a new branch, checking each candidate’s background can take too much time if you’re doing the job internally. Managing a high volume of applicants may also become overwhelming to screen, given that the process involves coordination with several people and institutions.
Moreover, it’s not like you can ask the applicant to provide a clean history record themselves because it will defeat the purpose of an independent, unbiased screening. Hiring a background screening company for employment can expedite the process, allowing you to fill your vacancies faster.
When Your HR Team Lacks a Background Check Expert
Background verification of potential employees can be complex, especially when you have multiple positions to fill or if you’re looking for candidates for sensitive roles (e.g., those that involve handling private business information or managing a whole team). Moreover, screening can be tricky if you need to onboard people fast.
If your HR team doesn’t include a dedicated background check expert, they might struggle to deliver precise results while balancing other tasks. On the other hand, third-party service providers specialize in background checks, focusing exclusively on thorough vetting processes. They also have resources and connections they can readily tap to get the information they need while complying with privacy laws.
When You Don’t Want To Breach Privacy Laws
Ensuring compliance with privacy laws in the country is critical in background screening. An expert team would know the details about the regulations that protect candidates’ rights to privacy, and they’re capable of following them while also doing a stringent and comprehensive check to ensure you’re onboarding the right person. An HR team that juggles multiple tasks may not be as efficient in doing all these.
Hiring a dedicated team is especially helpful when recruiting for highly regulated industries, such as healthcare and construction, where the employees must present licenses and have years of practical experience. Such sectors also require workers who are ethical and clear of incriminating track records. Background screening companies will check for falsified documents and records of unlawful acts more efficiently through their resources and expertise, saving you from a bad hire.
When You Need To Save Time and Resources
If you need to fill positions quickly, hiring a third-party background screening service can be a big help. A tight hiring timeline is challenging enough for your HR team — adding a background check of multiple people for several roles may present more challenges and risk them committing errors such as privacy breaches or a sloppy vetting process.
With a third party handling the screening, your internal staff will have several tasks off their plate and can focus on other responsibilities (such as preparing for the new hire’s onboarding) without stressing out about the hiring deadline.
Some candidates might also be tricky to screen, especially when you need to ensure their criminal or credit history is spotless. If the potential employee has been to multiple jurisdictions (with some even having worked abroad for a time), the vetting team should gather information from multiple sources, too, to ensure the information is accurate and updated. When you’re checking for multiple candidates, doing this can be a lot, so a service provider can be of big help.
When You Want To Improve the Quality of Hires
Onboarding employees to reveal later that they’re not to be trusted with sensitive data or important tasks can cost your company time, resources, and reputation. You need background checks as the final stamp that proves that the candidate is fit for the job and has the credentials and character to back their qualifications. You might not be as confident of that final push if the screening is done by non-experts or an internal HR team juggling many tasks at a time.
With a third-party service provider doing the background screening, you’ll have peace of mind that the checks done are legal and thorough and won’t jeopardize your company. Most importantly, you’d know that whoever passes their check deserves it. The key, though, is to work with a reputable and trustworthy company to handle your background screening requirements.
Contact Q2 HR Solutions for Reliable Background Screening Services
If you need professional assistance with background screening, outsourcing Q2 HR Solutions’ services might just be what you need! Our solutions include a comprehensive series of steps to ensure you’re onboarding the right people for the right reasons. Our process involves employment verification, educational background checks, character reference checks, and more.
Talk to our HR experts today to learn more about our offer.
Conclusion
A thorough background check when hiring can help weed out candidates who have false claims about their credentials and eligibility for the role and make the truly deserving ones stand out. However, not all internal HR teams can perform an efficient screening process due to time constraints and a shortage of resources.
To address these issues, you can outsource a company offering background screening services! A third-party provider will provide expert advice and help you screen multiple candidates, save time and money, and improve the quality of your hires.
Q2 HR Solutions is one of the third-party providers you should consider. Our decades of experience in the Filipino job market and our expertise will help you with your background screening needs. Let’s discuss your needs today!