Need background screening advice? The folks over at employeescreenIQ have assembled what they believe to be the top-10 trends to watch next year:
- Privacy, data protection. Privacy issues will continue to be a “hot topic” and dominate the news and industry dialogue, as several bills are currently before the U.S. House and Senate.
- Verification of right-to-work. The employeescreenIQ team suggests that the government’s proposed electronic verification of the I-9 form — dubbed The SAVE Program (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) — will be mandated for use by all employers by the end of this year. The system has already been mandated for use in Colorado.
- Blogs, social networking. The employeescreenIQ team believes these will continue to be hot topics. But, they ask, how should recruiters use such websites in the hiring process?
- International screening. Not a new facet of the industry, international background screening will continue to gain in importance as companies open offices globally and recruit overseas candidates to work in the United States.
- Credit reports. Should an applicant’s credit history factor into his or her background check? If so, employeeIQ says recruiters need to select a “level” to determine whether a candidate is suitable for hiring.
- Universities. Following the Virginia Tech tragedy, the employeeIQ team says universities are beginning to see the value in screening staff and even branching into screening new students.
- Disputing records. As employers look for more information during the hiring process, employeeIQ recommends working with background-screening agents to protect consumers by providing avenues for them to dispute background reports.
- Application tracking systems. The prevalence of applicant tracking and HRIS systems will continue to increase, especially among mid-sized companies.
- Industry growth. The employeeIQ team attributes the growth in mid-size firms doing background checks to a post-September 11 world.
- Balancing rights. Recruiters will need to find ways to balance comprehensive background reports with consumers’ rights. The employeeIQ team says this will help to prevent “a class of people with records who cannot get jobs.”
For lighter commentary on background employment screening, employeescreenIQ‘s chief marking officer, Nick Fishman, is the new guest contributor on Xtra Cheezhead, the latest creation by popular blogger Joel Cheesman.