Featured Research Summary: Background Screening: Trends and Uses in Today’s Global Economy

     



In an era of increasingly globalized workforce, background checks are key to safeguarding a company's reputation and building a safe and secure work environment.

How often do companies perform background screening? What are the top reasons organizations screen the backgrounds of candidates? What elements go into these checks? 

A new survey from the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) throws light upon who is being screened and how often, the latest trends, the increasing value of international screening capabilities, and much more.

Highlights from the survey:

Safety and Improving the Quality of Hires Are the Top Reasons Employers Conduct Background Checks

The 2020 PBSA background screening survey results indicate that 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%)

Survey respondents also cite protecting company reputation and preventing or reducing theft and embezzlement as motivation for background checks.

 

Access to Personal Identifiers Is Key to Success

Employers value both accuracy and efficiency of background screening. Both are dependent on access to personal identifiers such as complete name and complete date of birth. Redactions of these identifiers by federal, state and local court systems can lead to delays in hiring and, it is an unfortunate reality in many courts. 

PBSA and the Consumer Data Industry Association recently released the Public Access Software Specification for Court Records guidelines to encourage and help court administrators implement software that improves the quality of public records, thus improving the timeliness and accuracy of background checks.

To learn much more about the survey on Background Screening 2020 and to get 7 key insights and strategic takeaways, we invite you to read the complete report and infographic here: