The year 2022 will go down in history as truly transformative for the Employee Screening sector as it welcomes Digital Identity checks.
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), Human Capital Management Systems (HCM’s), video interviews, and COVID adjusted checking processes demonstrate Applicants and Employers have become very adept at adopting new technologies to streamline the Applicant onboarding journey.
The final piece of the jigsaw is Digital Identity checks.
A Digital Identity is the digital representation of who we are and/or what we are eligible to do. It lets us document who we are during interactions and transactions without the need for physical documents. It can be more convenient, more cost-effective, and safer than physical documents for both the Applicant and the Employer.
In the United Kingdom, the change in legislation for Right to Work and the update to DBS Identity Guidelines are watershed moments for the Employee Screening sector, enabling processes to become fully online, scalable, and more secure.
Primary legislation introduced by the UK Government in the form of the Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (Trust Framework) sets the standards and the rules of the UK approach to digital identity checks.
The Employee Screening sector has stepped up to pioneer these new Digital Identity schemes. Where Employee Screening leads many other sectors will certainly follow, such as Home Buying and Selling, Financial Services, Travel, and Age Verification.
These early beginnings are likely to be the start of the Smart ID. Where we hold our verified identities in the digital wallets of our smart phone. Information that is validated through approved identity proving techniques.
Trust marked Identity Service Providers (IDSPs) will give Employers confidence that Digital Identities checks can be trusted and meet Government standards.
Applicants will be enticed to submit their identity digitally for the first time by eager IDSPs seeking a foothold in these new regulated markets. Identities that can be used to secure their next job, buy age-restricted goods & products, and open a bank account.
And then, what next?
Imagine a world where we can use those Digital Identities overseas, beyond the UK, in entirely separate legislative jurisdictions. Allowing an Employee to move from country to country using the same Digital Identity.
This will rely on the global harmonisation of the underlying technology, legislation, and broad acceptance of Governments issued identity documents.
The mission statement from the Open Identity Exchange (OIX) states that they are “Helping facilitate a world where we can all prove our identity and eligibility anywhere, using a simple universally trusted ID”. This clearly demonstrates the identity industry is working towards this goal.
Identity Service Providers are already working across multiple geographical regions and the proliferation of e-Passports holding cryptographically secure data is going some way to break down frontiers.
The introduction of new legislation and Trust Frameworks should enable comparability from one jurisdiction to another. Whilst standardisation in levels of identity assurance and terminology has some way to go to facilitate international interoperability clearly great strides to achieving that goal are now being made.
Taking a User Centric, or, in the case of the Employee Screening sector an Applicant Centric approach, will mean Smart ID could be optimised for the individual, providing an Identity used for multiple purposes, in multiple jurisdictions globally; the Citizen in full control and peace of mind their Identity Data is secure.
To find out how Digital Identity can streamline your Employee Screening and greatly improve your Candidates’ onboarding journey please contact First Advantage at +44 (0) 800 088 5473
