There is a new article making the rounds on the world wide interweb that claims to shed light on what employers can really find about out people through background checks.
It’s meant to be educational and give job applicants the latest information on what employers are looking for and how they’re gathering that information. Coming from CNNMoney, you’d expect nothing less, right?
What this article really does is scare the daylights out of anyone who hasn’t gone through a background check before.
Here’s some highlights:
- “But once they start digging, they can find out everything from whether you have a penchant for drinking and driving to whether you have a hard time paying your bills on time.”
- “Screeners and employment law experts both note, however, that the FBI fingerprint database used to check your criminal record is neither complete nor always accurate.”
- “Employers looking to hire a C-suite candidate, meanwhile, may do a deeper search in court records, social media and news reports to ensure that he or she isn’t embroiled in some nasty divorce, lawsuit or anything else that might attract negative publicity.”
There is always going to be misconceptions and alarming reporting about the screening industry. Background checks deal with sensitive, personal information and that freaks folks out. How can job candidates be sure the company they’re applying to work for uses a reputable screening agency (sometimes referred to a Consumer Reporting Agency or CRA) to conduct background checks?
But articles like the one mentioned above do an even greater disservice to the numerous non-profit agencies, civic organizations, educational institutions and art and sporting leagues that rely on volunteers. Why? Because it’s becoming standard operating procedure for all of these organizations to screen their volunteers, and if background checks continue to get a bad or creepy rap, people who’d otherwise want to volunteer might shy away from the process.
The real reason most organizations require background checks of their employees and/or volunteers is to keep their workplace safe. They want their employees to be safe inside their brick and mortar buildings, and they want the data, money and other sensitive information that’s associated with their business to remain safe, too.
So let’s take a look at how Active Screening ensures that volunteers’ screening information is treated privately and fairly for everyone.
Active Screening’s volunteer screening solutions meet industry Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) compliance standards. All of the records gathered are re-verified for accuracy. We treat volunteer background checks the same as we do employee background checks. That means the federal, state and local laws that exist to protect employees during the hiring process also protect any volunteers undergoing the same process.
VERITY, a volunteer-specific screening platform, is designed to exclusively meet the need of volunteer-based organizations by providing an effective and cost-efficient all-in-one paperless screening solution. VERITY also fully integrates a secure sign-on process to your current website, and offers additional child protection training. You can learn about the options VERITY provides you by clicking here.
Since criminal background check options vary by state, Active Screening is dedicated to offering an online consultation service that helps volunteer-based organizations conduct background checks more efficiently. We’ve created an interactive map that explains the information offered in each state. Click here to access that. But we’ve taken it a step further by creating two background check packages, the BASIC and PLUS, that you can research using our online consultation service. Here’s a sneak peek:
The BASIC package includes:
- SSN Verification and Address History Search
- National Criminal Database Search
- National Sex Offender Search
- Re-verification of Criminal Records
- Alias Names Search
The PLUS package includes:
- SSN Verification and Address History Search
- National Criminal Database Search
- National Sex Offender Search
- Re-verification of Criminal Records
- Alias Names Search
- County or Statewide criminal court search (plus mandatory fees)
We understand that this is a lot to take in. And, if you’re like most volunteer-based organizations, your time is precious. Don’t become confused by scare-tactic articles. Head straight to the source. Our experts are standing by to talk with you. Call 1-800-319-5580 now.