National Association of Professional Background Screeners Offers Tips for Screening Job Applicants

With accuracy in employment screening a critical element in the current business environment, the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) is offering employers five best practice tips for screening job applicants to ensure the highest degree of professionalism in background checks. To read ‘NAPBS Offers Tips for Screening Job Candidates in 2013,’ visit http://www.marketwatch.com/story/napbs-offers-tips-for-screening-job-candidates-in-2013-2012-11-28. The NAPBS – a non-profit trade association for the background screening industry founded in 2003 –promotes ethical business practices, awareness of privacy rights, and consumer protection issues, and is a leader in the movement to establish reliable standards for background screening professionals. The five best practice tips from the NAPBS for employers who will be screening job candidates in 2013 are:

• Tip #1 – Be Complete: Employers should conduct a comprehensive background search to avoid negligent hiring. Relying on partial information or information that may be out of date can be as risky as not conducting a thorough background check at all.
• Tip #2 – Be Efficient: Since time is a precious commodity, especially for recruiters, employers should look for ways to utilize technology to help create efficiencies and talk their background screening provider about ways to improve processes to save money and time.
• Tip #3 – Be Thorough: Employers have certain responsibilities under the law. They should make sure that all background screening practices meet federal and state regulations, as well as industry requirements, and be mindful of the new Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) criminal guidelines and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
• Tip #4 – Be Analytical: Employers should consider job responsibilities when screening candidates and go beyond basic background information to assess job relatedness and business necessity.
• Tip #5 – Be Consistent: Employers should develop a method for a targeted level of screening for each open job position to align with business needs and job relatedness.

According to the NAPBS, accuracy in background checks is the “number one priority.” A “recent informal poll of NAPBS member companies” showed accuracy rates of “more than 99 percent” with a small fraction requiring changes as a result of consumers disputing their reports. In 2013, NAPBS member companies will continue to work to refine best practices and compliance information and encourages employers and job seekers to use information available at http://www.napbs.com/. In 2010, the NAPBS launched the Background Screening Agency Accreditation Program (BSAAP) to promote best practices, legal compliance, and the development of standards that protect consumers in the screening industry. To be accredited, background screening firms must pass an onsite audit that examines policies and procedures related to six critical areas of screening: consumer protection, legal compliance, client education, product standards, service standards, and general business practices. For more information about professional background checks as part of a safe hiring program, please visit Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – ‘The Background Check Authority ’ and nationwide screening firm accredited by the NAPBS – at https://www.esrcheck.com/ or call Toll Free 888.999.4474. For more information about ESR achieving NAPBS accreditation by successfully proving compliance with the BSAAP standards, visit: https://www.esrcheck.com/ESR-NAPBS-Accreditation.php. Sources: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20121128006177/en/NAPBS-Offers-Tips-Screening-Job-Candidates-2013 http://www.marketwatch.com/story/napbs-offers-tips-for-screening-job-candidates-in-2013-2012-11-28 About Employment Screening Resources (ESR): Founded by safe hiring expert Attorney Les Rosen in 1997, Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – ‘The Background Check Authority^SM’– provides accurate and actionable information that empowers employers to make informed hiring decisions for the benefit of their organizations, employees, and the public. CEO Rosen literally wrote the book on background checks with “The Safe Hiring Manual” and ESR is accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), a distinction held by a small percent of screening firms. Employers choosing ESR know they have selected an agency meeting the highest industry standards. To learn more about ESR, visit https://www.esrcheck.com or call toll free 888.999.4474. About ESR News: The Employment Screening Resources (ESR) News blog – ESR News – provides employment screening information for employers, recruiters, and jobseekers on a variety of topics including credit reports, criminal records, data privacy, discrimination, E-Verify, jobs reports, legal updates, negligent hiring, workplace violence, and use of search engines and social network sites for background checks. For more information about ESR News or to send comments or questions, please email ESR News Editor Thomas Ahearn at [email protected]. To subscribe to the ESR News Blog Feed, visit https://www.esrcheck.com/wordpress/feed/. To subscribe to the complimentary ESRcheck Report monthly newsletter, please visit https://www.esrcheck.com/Newsletter/.]]>