Here’s How to Fast-Track Your Hiring While Staying Compliant
Found an amazing candidate and want to get them on your team ASAP? Need some extra help starting next week? Sometimes, we are required to recruit, interview, and onboard new employees at lightning speed. But, that does not mean background check protocols can loosen.
Complete, accurate background reporting does take work and should not be rushed. That doesn’t mean background checks will slow your hiring process down. One Source completes most background checks in 48 hours or less.
So you don’t need to worry about background checks themselves slowing your hiring process. Background checks are meant to advance quality hiring, not hinder it. However, the most consequential part of background screening compliance—can slow you down if you are not prepared to manage it. The best way to get ahead and stay compliant is by preparing your team and applicants to understand what compliance is and how it works.
Generally, compliance in the background check world refers to Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) compliance. The FCRA provides a set of rights for applicants and rules for employers that you must follow to avoid legal issues. By understanding the FCRA and prioritizing it in your hiring process, compliance won’t slow down hiring.
So what does the FCRA require?
The FCRA promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies to protect those subjected to background checks. In order to be compliant with the FCRA, your organization and your background check agency must take measures to gain the consent of your applicants to screen them.
The simplest thing you can do to stay compliant with the FCRA is to ensure everyone gives written consent to a screening. You can’t make any progress in the background check process until you have consent, so it’s in your best interest to pursue that as quickly as possible.
Including a consent form early in an online application is an easy way to secure compliance. You can also explain in the application how critical it is for the candidate to sign off on their background check. In the most quick-turn instances, you could give applicants a deadline to submit their application, which includes the background check consent form.
Once you have your pool of candidates who have consented to the background check, you can prepare for the next stage of the hiring process—background checks and hiring decisions. The FCRA states that anyone you run a background check on has the right to know everything in their file. So if they request access to their report, you must provide them with the information they have reported.
You can work with your background check agency beforehand to prepare for situations where candidates request copies of their reports. Overall, the best way to stay compliant while streamlining your hiring process is to be proactive, prepared, and collaborative with your screening agency.
A background check partner like One Source will have your back throughout the hiring process. And help you get ready for an efficient, compliant background check process. One Source has years of experience to support your hiring, and we are compliance experts that are ready to guide your hiring team. To learn more about how One Source can serve your hiring process, reach out to us! We will be happy to talk.
