For many years, Human Resource professionals have made it a growing priority to manage as much of their hiring processes as possible through a single HR system. Last decade, integrations were a “nice-to-have.” Today, however, integration capabilities are a crucial part of nearly every bid for HR services, and have become a hard requirement in order to do business. Choosing a background screening partner is no exception.
The benefits of an integration have historically focused on its ability to reduce the manual effort it took to usher job candidates through the hiring process from recruiting through onboarding. Assuming you’ve already made the decision to integrate background screening into your HR tech stack, here are five questions to ask about your background screening ATS integration:
1. What should a successful integration process look like? How much work can I expect during the implementation?
Be sure to ask how your provider will make implementation as painless as possible, ideally by providing a dedicated team to guide you through the process if needed. Depending on the level of customization, you may only require minimal technical resources. The expertise possessed by your background screening partner with the top Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) is critical to a successful implementation process. Be sure to ask about your screening provider’s experience building and supporting integrations with your preferred HR platforms.
2. Can this integration meet our global background screening needs?
Questions around a Consumer Reporting Agency’s (CRA) ability to conduct background checks on candidates outside the US have never been more prevalent, and we see international recruiting as a rapidly-accelerating trend. Whether you’re hiring someone based in the US who has worked or studied abroad, or you’re hiring someone based in another country, the practice of screening these candidates for criminal history, identity, and credential verifications is becoming more the norm than the exception. Ask about this global capability even if you don’t think it’s necessary right now, because it likely will be soon.
3. Is there a product offering built into the integration that will allow my company to validate a candidate’s identity as part of the hiring process?
Remote and hybrid workforces continue to gain traction, and while there are many benefits to employers, it can be more difficult to help mitigate risk when you need to hire an individual without ever having met them. It can be equally difficult to build a strong culture together with your new hires, as recently noted by Gartner.
4. What kind of best practice advice can you share with regard to my industry?
Integrations, like background checks themselves, are not one-size-fits-all. An integration vendor should be able to offer you best practice when creating a program while also addressing the screening needs that may be specific to your particular industry.
5. What else can you do to help streamline our process and HR workflows?
Once your candidate has accepted an offer and passed the background check, is it then possible to request your I-9 and E-Verify services through the same vendor, and ultimately integrate them into your onboarding platform or employee system of record? On the other hand, if your candidate has not passed the background check, will your integration allow for the initiation of the adverse action process, and can this all be managed by the CRA via your ATS?
In addition to providing a seamless candidate experience, the storage and management of candidate data is critically important. When reviewing the various organizations who make up your HR tech stack, be sure to take into strong consideration the ability to consolidate as much as you can, into as few systems as possible for the integrity of your brand and your most valuable asset – your people.
This blog was originally posted by Sterling. Click HERE to learn more.
About Sterling:
Sterling — a leading provider of background and identity services — offers background and identity verification to help over 50,000 clients create people-first cultures built on a foundation of trust and safety. Sterling’s tech-enabled services help organizations across all industries establish great environments for their workers, partners, and customers. With operations around the world, Sterling conducted more than 95 million searches in the twelve months ending December 31, 2021. Visit us at sterlingcheck.com/.
