Why background screening has become the new normal.
Truth be told, the last few years have brought on change which will impact how we hire for decades to come. Employers downsizing or even closing offices to save costs, top talent preferring to work from home to create a better work life balance, both have organically created an environment of trust which inherently requires additional safeguards to be put in place. While the practice of background screening was already gaining momentum in Europe prior to the lockdown, it seems the uncertainties of these times combined with the current geopolitical risk factors have put extra attention on the need to ensure we are not hiring a rogue agent.
There has been more emphasis than ever on the risks to corporate security linked to employee integrity and insider prevention. We are now seeing companies in Europe who are not obliged to conduct background screening owing to any regulatory requirement, taking proactive action to put in place pre-employment screening as part of their candidate selection and onboarding process. This additional layer of vetting is a preventative measure designed to bolster other cyber and security policies.
The evolution of the screening industry to now offer technology-led solutions allows employers to drive a globally consistent approach while still adhering to local regulations. Companies already leverage relevant tech to streamline the onboarding experience for candidates and to better connect with home-based workers to build meaningful virtual relationships, so should companies consider innovative background screening tech which aids in hiring the right safe talent.
While trust remains an important part in how we build our relationships, companies should put in place further measures to safeguard against possible threats from dishonest individuals, this way protecting sensitive company technology and data.
Panos Kraniotis, Sales Director, EMEA at First Advantage
