The Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) recently released its 5th annual background screening survey in coordination with HR.com. The survey, Background Screening: Trends in the U.S. and Abroad, provides important insights into employer use of background checks. Below are three key takeaways from the survey. We encourage employers to review the survey in its entirety as well.
Safety Remains Leading Priority
With ninety-five percent (95%) of employers with US locations noting that their organization conducts one or more types of background screening, it’s clear that background checks remain as popular of a tool as ever. Why do employers continue to utilize background screening? Safety, including protecting employees and customers (76%). Other driving reasons including improving the quality of hires (52%) and protecting the company’s reputation (41%).
More Comprehensive Background Checks
Employers continue to focus on screening their employee population more thoroughly. Criminal checks and SSN trace remain the top searches in terms of popularity. 2021’s data shows a notable uptick in the use of education and employment verifications (used by 64% and 72% of employers respectively) and consistent use of sex offender registry information as well (68%). Motor vehicle record checks also remain popular (75%). Social media checks still have not caught on across the board as only 20% of employers with US locations reported using that search in any capacity on their candidates.
Trending Topics
While background checks are commonplace in the pre-employment context, employers are increasingly turning to ongoing or continuous checks throughout the employee’s tenure with their organizations. According to the survey, 19% of employer respondents with US locations conduct background checks beyond the initial hiring stage. Of those employers, 67% use criminal checks and 58% use MVR or driving record searches. Other popular continuous checks include license monitoring (32%) and healthcare sanctions (17%).
These results are not surprising as safety has been a key reason why background checks exist in the first place. Often when a workplace incident occurs, one of the first questions is “how could this have been prevented (or predicted)?” Seeing employers expand the breadth of how they screen individuals, in addition to adding ongoing continuous screening, also reveals the rising importance of background checks in the employment context.