The foundation of a successful company often lies with its employees. A good team makes an ever-better company which is why companies expend a ton of resources in making sure they hire the right people. According to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management, on average, hiring can cost a business around $4,000 per hire and over 40 days to complete the process. This takes time, money, is very labor intensive, and is not always infallible.
Spending so much time and resources on hiring means that companies can’t afford to be lax with applicants. Doing due diligence on an applicant can save a company from a lot of headaches down the line.
Because of the global pandemic, much of the hiring process has adapted to the online space, including background checks. Here are a few examples of how background checks might be forever changed due to the pandemic.
Artificial Intelligence
Conducting a background check involves many moving parts and researching and vetting applicants can take time and resources that companies could be using for other things. Still, companies shouldn’t cut corners on its screening program. Background checks are essential, so it’s extremely important that businesses take the time to be as thorough as possible.
Artificial intelligence is one answer to this dilemma. AI can make sifting through data easier, especially when dealing with large applicant pools. Machine learning programs can be used to check criminal record, as well as cross-check against global watch lists or state databases. And with AI’s rapid development, it’s likely that we’ll be seeing more of it in the hiring process in the future. Still, AI is not the end-all solution for all background check processes. At True Hire we use AI as a supplement to our already thorough human-powered background checks carried out carefully and efficiently by our team of experts.
Bigger Social Media Role
It’s no secret that social media has become a huge part of daily life, and even more so during the pandemic. We’ve gotten used to putting our lives online, especially now that travel restrictions are still in place in many parts of the world.
This new dependence on social media definitely has an impact on how companies conduct background checks. Because there’s so much to be gleaned from an applicant’s social media presence, conducting social media background checks is a crucial part of the hiring process. And as the world becomes increasingly more dependent on data, these online background checks are going to play a bigger role than ever before.
More Investigators
Hiring isn’t the only thing that’s moved online during the pandemic. Universities around the world began offering more online courses which means more people have the opportunity to study specialized fields from the comfort of home. Obtaining an online degree in criminal justice[EK1] can now lead people into any number of different careers, including those connected to private enterprise.
With a greater pool of talent available, it’s likely that we’ll be seeing more private security and investigation professionals. This means that there are more resources available for companies that need to do background checks on potential employees. As more investigators speed up the process of vetting applicants, that frees up time for hiring managers and their teams to work on other aspects of recruitment.
Big Data
One of the most important things about background checks in a post-pandemic world is that companies will be able to create a 360-degree view of an applicant through big data. Big data has been described as the future of recruiting and is one of the preferred methods for picking out an ideal candidate out of thousands of applicants.
Because big data compiles huge swathes of online information, it reveals patterns and trends about an applicant. These patterns don’t just include social media profiles, but things like online shopping habits, internet searches, and even demographic information. Given how deeply entrenched the internet is in daily life, it’s likely that big data will be the cornerstone for background checks for the foreseeable future.
Written by guest author: Allie Cooper
