School is revving up in some parts of the country and once again we’ll be entrusting the safety of our children to teachers, coaches and other educators. One Ohio school district is still reeling from the unbelievable discoveries of not one, not two, but three separate incidents of a teacher having sexual contact with a student.
It’s a sobering reminder of how important background checks are for employees. Not just those who work with children or in healthcare, but for all employees in all industries. Sometimes it’s not people who are violated, but their data. The Supervalu grocery store chain is the latest giant to fall victim to this trendy and rarely seen predator. For all of these reasons and many more, screening your applicants and vetting your existing employees is crucial.
Not just any screening agency will do, however. When it comes to protecting your business, your workplace, and your employees, you want to collaborate with a screening agency who has earned accreditation by the prestigious National Association of Professional Background Screeners. Only 47 firms across the United States have earned the NAPBS seal of approval. Active Screening is proud to be one of the latest screening companies to complete the rigorous compliance standards.
When you work with an NAPBS accredited screening firm like Active Screening, you can be assured that the letter of the law is being followed during every step of the screening process. Accredited firms are not merely knowledgeable about important hiring compliance procedures like Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), consumer privacy policies and Adverse Action, they have passed a series of external and internal audits that demonstrate consistent excellence in handling compliance procedures.
In order to earn accreditation Active Screening, like the other top screening firms, must operate with best-in-class policies. That means they have to formally document all policies and procedures and ensure these procedures adhere to industry best practices. If, during the accreditation process, a company finds an area in which it needs to improve, NAPBS is there to help by offering an extensive run of continuing education.
One of the benefits of earning accreditation is that Active Screening’s own hiring policies and procedures are strict and stringent. They only hire the best background screeners in the industry and their training program is top notch.
Here are some of the other advantages to working with an accredited NAPBS screening agency:
Education
Accredited agencies have the option to attend countless continuing education programs and trainings to empower their own employees to better serve clients and set new standards within the background screening industry. They also have unlimited access to monthly Webinars and the NAPBS library.
Commitment to Federal Improvements
NAPBS and its accredited agencies believe in helping Washington lawmakers better understand their end goals (to provide safe workplaces) and the procedures they use to make this happen. Sometimes the information seems confusing so NAPBS and the accredited firms are always working toward clarifying the language used in the pre-employment screening industry and stay on top of legal trends that may affect hiring and privacy.
What do you like about working with Active Screening? Are there any concerns about the screening industry that you’d like us to share with NAPBS? We’d love to hear from you. Shoot us an email at support@activescreening.com or leave your comment below.
And before we go… here’s to a happy and safe 2014-15 school year!