A recent post on an HR blog concerned an applicant who was directed online to web-based background screening software to fill out information, finding it took 80 minutes. Not surprisingly, this applicant was not pleased with the amount of time and effort it took to fill out on online background form. Such dissatisfaction can actually lead to qualified applicants going elsewhere. See: http://www.risesmart.com/risesmart/blog/feeling-dissected-by-pre-employment-screening-software/

Employment Screening Resources (ESR)  believes that an applicant’s time is valuable and the online system for a background check should respect the applicant and reflect the value the employer places upon recruiting qualified candidates. The ESR system, for example, only takes a few minutes of an applicant’s time to fill out online. It only asks those questions that are strictly necessary for the screening an employer wants and does not waste time by asking for information that is not needed for the screening involved. It also transfers information already put into an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), if the ATS is able to send it. Also, all work is done in the US in a professional environment, and not sent offshore or into private homes for processing, so applicant privacy and data protection is much greater. Applicants that have had a negative experience with using online background screening systems to fill out their own data may want to suggest that the employer look at other systems, such as the ESR system at: http://www.esrcheck.com/Applicant_Generated_Reports.php