There are hundreds of background check companies in the United States, ranging from large multinational corporations to small “mom & pop” companies servicing just a few clients. While these companies generally offer the same type of searches, they often specialize in different areas.
As a recruiting leader, you will want to align your partner with a vendor whose strategy aligns with your needs. Below please find a list of companies and what they are generally known for providing to recruiters.
To help you create a list to evaluate, we have provided a list of companies that are used by a cross-section of recruiters. These firms all belong to the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA).
When researching companies, we strongly suggest you check their customer references, including Google Reviews and Glassdoor.
ScoutLogic’s mission is to make background checks easier for recruiters. To make checks easier, ScoutLogic focuses heavily on recruiter & candidate services and hard-to-complete verifications. If your recruiters need quick answers and verifications off their desks, ScoutLogic may be a good fit for you.
Accurate Background Screening is a combination of several firms, including the recently acquired background check business from CareerBuilder. If you value the integration of CareerBuilder services with your background check provider, you may want to consider working with Accurate.
HireRight focuses on global background checks. If you are running a centralized background check program for dozens of countries, HireRight provides global account leaders who may be able to help you manage your program.
Sterling has been in business for over 40 years and is backed by Goldman Sachs. They are focused on serving large clients. If you have a very large background check budget, Sterling may be a good option for you.
Checkr is a San Francisco based firm that raised over $100M to build a background check technology platform. Checkr focuses heavily on technology and providing automation to the background check process. If you are running a high volume of database checks and are ok with self-service options and chatbots, Checkr may be a good fit for you.
There are common mistakes recruiters make when selecting a background check company.
Make sure you do the following:
Just because a background check has many clients, that does not always translate into better service or pricing. You will want to ask them about their service model, as many larger firms just give you a 1-800 number to call unless you are spending hundreds of thousands per year.
There are no exclusivity or minimum spending provisions in background check services contracts. Yet, some vendors will try to sneak them in there and unsuspecting clients will make a big mistake. This locks you into the vendor and it makes it very difficult to exit the contract for non-performance.
A “criminal” search in a background check can mean many different things, ranging from a low-quality database check to checking the actual counties where a candidate has lived. To learn more about background check components, check out our blog post “What is in a background check?”
ScoutLogic is a full-service background check company. Our goal is to make background checks simple for recruiters so they can focus on finding the right talent for their company. The “Scout” service model assigns researchers to your account, so they become an extension of your talent acquisition team. This model leads to faster reports, better quality, and amazing recruiter & candidate service.
Learn more about ScoutLogic and receive a free assessment of your program.
Choosing the wrong background check company can have a negative impact on your recruiting. To help recruiters, check out this eBook on “how to pick a background check company” to help you make the right choice.
ScoutLogic provides a full suite of background checks including criminal background investigations, education & employment verification & reference checking, and drug testing to perform FCRA-compliant background checks.
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