Is Your Screening Program On Track With Market Demands?

Hiring has evolved rapidly over the past few years, but many background screening programs haven’t kept pace. What once worked efficiently can now create delays, introduce risk, or quietly cost you top candidates.

That’s why leading organizations are taking a step back and addressing whether their screening programs are still aligned with how we hire and manage workforces today.

An annual review of your identity background screening, onboarding and monitoring strategies provides an important competitive advantage. It helps to check that your processes are keeping up with changing regulations, rising identity risks, and increasing expectations for speed and the candidate experience.

To make that process easier, we’ve created a practical checklist to help you review and highlight areas for improvement.

Speed is now a competitive differentiator

Speed plays a defining role in whether you secure top talent or lose them to a faster competitor. Advances in automation and AI have significantly accelerated background checks, raising expectations across industries. What used to take days now takes hours.

If your screening process introduces friction or delays, it’s not just an operational issue; it’s a talent risk. Organizations that prioritize efficiency are better positioned to deliver a smoother candidate experience and move from offer to onboarding without unnecessary lag.

Identity verification is no longer optional

One of the most important shifts in screening is the move toward implementing identity at critical touchpoints across the workforce lifecycle. Verifying identity before conducting a background check helps to know that you’re screening the right individual and that critical records aren’t missed due to inaccurate or manipulated data.

This is becoming increasingly important as identity fraud continues to rise. In fact, instances of identity fraud cases have grown 12 percent annually since 2020,¹ while demand for candidate identity solutions has surged dramatically in recent years.

First Advantage customer data confirms this shift. Between 2023 and 2025, adoption of identity verification solutions increased 103 percent overall, with particularly strong growth in healthcare, staffing, government, education, and gig-based workforces.²

Without this important step in the process, even the most thorough screening program can be built on incomplete or misleading information.

Compliance requirements are increasing in complexity

Regulatory requirements remain the foundation of any screening program, but the landscape has grown significantly more complex. New laws, evolving guidance, and regional differences mean that staying compliant requires ongoing attention.

From clean slate legislation to fair chance hiring policies, organizations must align their screening programs with current requirements and also know how those requirements are interpreted and enforced. A proactive review and getting the support of a third-party screening provider helps reduce the risk of gaps that could lead to legal exposure or inconsistent hiring decisions.

Drug screening strategies are shifting

Drug screening is also undergoing meaningful change. Evolving legislation, particularly around marijuana, has prompted many organizations to rethink their policies, while new methods like oral fluid screening are gaining traction.

Oral-based screening has grown rapidly due to its convenience and ability to detect recent drug use, with adoption increasing significantly year over year.² Adoption of oral fluid screening is increasing as employers explore less invasive screening options that can improve candidate experience while maintaining workplace safety standards.

Customer data shows marijuana-excluded drug panels rose from 28 percent in 2023 to 52 percent in 2025. As a result, overall positivity rates declined from 3 percent to 2 percent, especially across retail, healthcare, financial services, and technology.²

These shifts make it important to regularly evaluate whether your approach continues to reflect both regulatory realities and industry best practices.

Screening should reflect a global workforce

As organizations expand their talent pools, limiting screening to a single country or region can create blind spots. Candidates often have work or residency histories that span multiple geographies, and failing to capture that information can introduce unnecessary risk.

A more thorough approach helps your screening program to follow the candidate, not just your organization’s footprint. It also creates opportunities to streamline processes and improve screening consistency across regions.

Screening doesn’t end at hire

For many organizations, background screening stops once a candidate is onboarded. But risk doesn’t disappear after Day 1. Depending on the industry and role, ongoing monitoring or periodic rescreening may be necessary to maintain visibility into your workforce.

Establishing clear policies around what to monitor, how often, and why is essential. These decisions should align with business needs, regulatory requirements, and the risk level associated with specific roles.

Candidate experience matters more than ever

Background screening is no longer just about protecting the business; it’s also a critical part of the candidate experience. A process that feels slow, complicated, or intrusive can leave a lasting negative impression.

Organizations that deliver a seamless, transparent screening experience are more likely to retain top candidates, strengthen their employer brand, hire faster and achieve a competitive advantage.

Smarter hiring decisions improve efficiency

How you evaluate screening results is just as important as how you collect them. These days, four out of five organizations report having three or more stakeholders involved in the hiring process.² A well-defined decisional matrix can help to provide fairness and efficiency in hiring decisions and consistency across teams.

Without automation, however, this process can become manual and time-consuming, increasing the risk of delays and inconsistencies. Reviewing how decisions are made and where they can be streamlined can significantly improve overall hiring performance.

Benchmarking reveals what you’re missing

Finally, it’s difficult to improve what you don’t measure. Benchmarking your screening program against industry peers provides valuable insight into where you stand and where you may be falling behind. Organizations that regularly evaluate performance against broader trends are better equipped to adapt, innovate, and differentiate.

The bottom line

Screening programs don’t fail overnight; they fall behind gradually. Small inefficiencies compound. Regulations evolve. Risks increase. Candidate expectations shift.

Without a structured review, it’s easy to miss the gaps.

Download the Annual Screening Checklist

Frequently Asked Questions