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Written By ESR News Blog Editor Thomas Ahearn
The background screening industry in the United States “has never been hotter” and the “expansion has occurred rapidly with improvements in the completeness of the screenings, the speed in which they are performed, and their affordability,” according to an article in the Mississippi Business Journal (MBJ).
Background Screening Industry
The article from the MBJ reports that the background screening industry in the United States consisted of 1,872 screening companies that employed 19,260 people and earned revenues of $3 billion in 2018, based on findings from Los Angeles-based international business and market research company IBISWorld.
“The industry is relatively young,” said Melissa Sorenson, Executive Director of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), a non-profit trade association representing the screening industry, who was interviewed for the MBJ article. “It wasn’t very common even 20 years ago.”
North Carolina-based NAPBS was founded in 2003 and saw membership rise by more than 110 members in 2018 to reach more than 930 screening companies. Sorenson attributed much of the growth to people moving more frequently. “There’s always more movement, more seasonal employment,” she explained.
“I think that we will continue to see very strong numbers. Even in a tight labor market, background screening doesn’t go by the wayside,” Sorenson told the MBJ, adding that “technology and the digital revolution it produced” increased the efficiency of – and eased entry into – the screening industry.
In 2018, the NAPBS commissioned HR.com to conduct an “unprecedented” national survey of 2,137 Human Resource (HR) professionals to gauge their views on background screening and found that 95 percent of employers said their organizations conducted one or more type of background screening.
The NAPBS also offers an accreditation program for background screening firms located in the United States called the Background Screening Agency Accreditation Program (BSAAP) that has become a widely recognized seal of approval for background screening firms committed to achieving excellence.
NAPBS accredited background screening firms make a commitment to deliver the highest level of industry standards in the following critical areas: Information Security; Legal and Compliance; Client Education; Researcher and Data Standards; Verification Services Standards; and Business Practices.
ESR Is NAPBS Accredited for Background Screening
Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) – a leading global background screening firm headquartered in the San Francisco, California area – is a founding member of the NAPBS and is accredited by the NAPBS through the BSAAP. For more information, visit www.esrcheck.com/Why-ESR/NAPBS-Accreditation/.
ESR founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Attorney Lester Rosen was the chairperson of the steering committee that founded the NAPBS and served as its first co-chair. In 2018, the NAPBS recognized Dawn Standerwick, ESR Vice President of Strategic Growth, as its longest serving board member in history.
NOTE: Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) does not provide or offer legal services or legal advice of any kind or nature. Any information on this website is for educational purposes only.
© 2019 Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) – Making copies or using of any part of the ESR News Blog or ESR website for any purpose other than your own personal use is prohibited unless written authorization is first obtained from ESR.
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