2024 Baker's Best - 35

TOP PRE-EMPLOYMENT SCREENING PROVIDERS
The landscape is tricky for sure and it's crucial for
organizations to stay ahead of the evolving times. " Evergrowing
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, which can create delays, " notes
Standerwick.
TREND #2: Several factors are driving a positive candidate
experience during the background screening process.
Candidates expect to go through background screening
when taking on a new role, but they also expect it
to be an obstacle-free process. " A positive candidate
screening and onboarding experience is more important
today than ever before, with a demand for hiring
employees as quickly as possible, so you don't lose them
to competition, " says Lasky. " It is truly one of the first
impressions a candidate will have of the organization,
affecting in some way the decision-making of accepting a
position. State-of-the-art technology, excellent customer
service, and seamless compliance procedures are at the
foundation of creating a positive experience. "
In today's tech-enabled world, what factors make for a
positive candidate experience? Lasky and Standerwick
share several key factors to consider.
* Automation of forms and an easy-to-complete online
experience.
* Email and text messages as communication options.
* The ability for candidate information to be prepopulated
to eliminate redundant data entry.
* Access to easy-to-follow instructions during the steps to
be hired.
* Daily reminders for missing information.
* Access to consumer reports, particularly where required.
* Estimated turnaround time for reports and the ability to
know when it has been completed.
* Proactive communication to support a candidate's
onboarding progress.
Artificial intelligence is under
scrutiny for background screens.
TREND #3: Take heed when it comes to artificial
intelligence tools and background screening procedures.
AI tools have been hailed as timesavers for HR leaders,
but when it comes to background screening, it is smarter
to err on the side of caution. " Artificial intelligence is
under great scrutiny right now, " explains Standerwick.
" Algorithms can create pitfalls for employers depending
upon what decisions are being automated utilizing AI. "
In January 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) released its " Strategic Enforcement
Plan (SEP) for 2023-2027 " that addressed the increased
use of AI by organizations in hiring and background
screening. The SEP examines " screening tools or
requirements that disproportionately impact workers
based on their protected status, including those
facilitated by artificial intelligence or other automated
systems, pre-employment tests, and background checks. "
Standerwick says some information found and used by
AI tools is not up-to-date as required by the Fair Credit
Reporting Act and state laws. " If the underlying data
is not suitable for the purpose of being used in a hiring
decision, the employer may be buying a deficient bill of
goods. These are attractive because they are often cheap
and fast, but may fall woefully short from an accuracy
perspective, " she says.
Lasky agrees. " Organizations need to be sensitive to
'junk data' that can be returned with automation and
AI tools, which can lead to false-positive or potential
discriminatory information being reported out. The issue
with automation/technology is it still is not foolproof and
can lead to false-positive information, if not manually
vetted before reporting out, which can increase the risk of
class-action litigation and high dollar damages. "
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