The Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) has released its background screening survey, a document that reveals some emerging trends in the background screening landscape.
Below you will find some of the key insights from the PBSA survey. As you will see, the figures show that safety remains the main reason why employers conduct background checks and that background checks are becoming increasingly common and more robust, including also non-criminal checks of prospective employees.
You can download and read the full survey, titled Background Screening: Trends and Uses in Today’s Global Economy, by clicking on this link.
The Top Reasons Why Employers Conduct Background Checks
As for the reasons why employers conduct background checks, the 2020 PBSA background screening survey shows an unchanged landscape compared to previous years, with safety being the main motivator behind background checks.
Source: www.thepbsa.org
According to the survey, the top three reasons for conducting background checks are:
- Protecting the safety of employees and customers (83%)
- Improving the quality of hires (51%)
- Mandated by law/regulations (40%)
Additionally, other reasons cited less often include protecting company reputation and preventing or reducing theft and embezzlement.
Employers Are Screening More and More Often
The survey also shows that employers not only are screening more often, they are screening more types of employers as well.
90% of employers say they screen all full-time employees, up from 83% who made the same claim in 2019. There is a substantial increase in the number of employers that screen other types of employees. This trend may be due to two reasons:
- Employers are realizing the importance of background screenings and acting accordingly.
- Organizations are hiring more employees who are not traditional full-time employees (“gig economy” workers)
Background Checks Tend to Happen After an Offer
Most employers (66%) wait until after a conditional job offer is made to proceed with a background check. However, more companies are conducting checks more often outside of the hiring process. For example, 49% of employers said that they conduct background checks only during the hiring process, the lower percentage in the last four years.
Source: thepbsa.org
International Background Screening Capabilities Are Important
Employers show a growing interest in international background screening capabilities. For instance, 85% of respondents stated that these capabilities are important with 57% claiming that international background screening is directly relevant to their organizations.
Background Checks Are Becoming More Robust
The figures show that background checks are becoming more robust. Employers are checking a larger number of employees and are including more elements of non-criminal records checks which may include social media searches (11% compared to 6% in 2019) and credit reports (14% compared to 13% last year).
Resources to Learn More About Background Screening
These are some posts you may find interesting to learn more about the current trends in the background screening industry:
- Avoid these 3 basic mistakes in your background screening process
- What employers should consider before reopening
- How to keep remote members of your team engaged
- What employers can do to prepare for the post-coronavirus world
- How to onboard employees remotely
- What questions to ask during a remote job interview
- How the pandemic will change the coronavirus landscape
When it comes to recruiting and background screening, it’s important to get help from an expert. At Plexus Global we ensure global candidate screening through tailored solutions and the most reliable technology.
We are located in Riverside, California. Contact us today by telephone (844-516-1008), email, or through our social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to learn more about our services or schedule an initial discussion with one of our experienced professionals.
