Your hiring process depends on having efficient processes for submitting background check requests, reviewing results, and tracking where candidates are in the screening process. Many of those processes and capabilities are driven by the technology features offered by your screening company.
However, when your screening company uses white-labeled technology developed by a third party, you can end up waiting weeks or even months for tech updates, new features, and customized reporting tools—or you may not get them at all. This is just one of many reasons why proprietary technology is so critical to your hiring process.
Top 6 Benefits of a Proprietary Background Screening Platform
The effectiveness of the technology you use to support your candidate screening and hiring process is as important as any other area of talent management. And because technology plays such an important role in automating manual functions and improving the candidate experience, it may be more important than you think. In fact, in a recent PWC survey, HR and IT leaders said they planned to invest in technology to support talent acquisition more than any other area through 2022.
When you expect the most effective solution for helping you manage hiring risks and deliver a better candidate experience, the kind of screening technology you use matters. Compared to the many shortcomings of off-the-shelf screening technology, a proprietary screening platform can help you build an efficient screening program to align with your organization’s hiring goals. You have direct influence on feature development and the processes impacting the user experience.
Here are six benefits you can expect from proprietary screening technology offered by a reputable and experienced screening provider.
1. Speed of Service Delivery
You desire efficiency in background screening, and you’re not alone. According to a recent survey conducted by the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA), 66 percent of employers said length of time to get results was the most significant challenge they faced in background screening.
When operating a busy staffing function, time is always a factor, and you don’t want to risk losing candidates to a slow or clunky background check process. In addition to helping you manage hiring risk, your background screening technology also needs to streamline the process of submitting background check requests and getting timely results.
Unfortunately, working with a screening company that relies on off-the-shelf technology can impede your efforts to streamline the screening process and get accurate results quickly. Screening companies using off-the-shelf software systems can’t implement tech efficiencies because they often have to wait for third-party platform developers to do it for them. Conversely, proprietary software offered by a single screening company can deliver accelerated delivery on requests, customization, and upgrades. Instead of waiting in line for third-party developers to do the work, they can work with in-house developers and get platform changes into production faster.
2. Direct Line of Communication to Software Developers
Working with proprietary screening technology offers regular opportunities for your tech questions and feedback to flow to platform developers. There’s no “middle man.” As a result, your tech needs don’t get watered down as they often do when passed from the screening company to a third-party tech firm. By having a direct line of communication, you can be assured the developers understand your needs and have the information they need to deliver a solution geared to your hiring and screening challenges.
Proprietary screening software also enables more consistent customer service. For example, if you’re a new client with a screening company using proprietary tech, the provider can bring in its IT team as needed to review your screening and hiring workflows. This benefit is particularly valuable during the onboarding process and when you’re adding integrations to work alongside your screening technology. By understanding your needs, the software developers can proceed without important details getting lost in translation.
3. Better Access to Customization
In most cases, screening companies using off-the-shelf technology don’t have access to the code for the technology they’re offering to you. As a result, it is more difficult for them to make your customizations a reality. On the other hand, proprietary technology is developed and owned by the screening company, making it possible to customize your screening software without a lot of fuss or unnecessary delays.
Customization is also more streamlined with proprietary technology, because your needs aren’t being lumped into the needs of other clients requesting customization from the software company. Instead, you articulate a need, and the proprietary system can be uniquely customized to meet that specific need. Your customization isn’t forced into a cookie-cutter solution a tech company has created to meet the needs of hundreds of other clients. It can be tailored to the exact framework and parameters of your hiring and screening process.
4. No Automation for Automation’s Sake
When you work with a screening company committed to helping you meet your goals for efficiency, compliance, and timeliness, there’s a greater chance the technology the provider uses will also support those goals. Instead of automation attempting to take over your hiring and screening process, automation should enhance your existing processes and leave room for human analysis and judgment.
Fortunately, proprietary technology can leverage automation to increase efficiency and enable users to be more productive. For example, with proprietary tech, instead of being told, “This is how you’re going to produce this report,” you are asked, “What quality of information is necessary to help improve your reporting capability?”
5. Client-Directed Features and Services
When working with a proprietary screening platform, technology doesn’t drive the processes and services your screening company offers. Rather, your processes and needs are the core drivers. System features and capabilities are based on real workflows in your hiring process, not a third-party developer’s assumptions about how your screening technology should behave.
With proprietary background screening technology, the ultimate goal is helping you reduce risk and speed up your hiring process—not allowing tech to take over to the point where you are beholden to its functions and limitations.
6. Targeted Pricing
Although pricing for background screening services varies, a proprietary platform is likely to deliver cost savings in the long run. The chief reason: It’s driven by goals for efficiency rather than the profitability goals of the company developing the software. For example, many off-the-shelf programs are built on a per-click model, whereas proprietary technology isn’t. Its success is a function of how well it meets your screening needs.
Also, when you pay for services with a proprietary platform, you’re paying for the services you need and use, not a list of services created for other clients—many of which may be in entirely different industries. You’re not paying for clicks; you’re paying for functionality that improves your ability to screen and hire candidates in alignment with your goals.
Boost Your Background Screening Process with Better Technology
Just as you wouldn’t want outdated technology or software with a virus, you shouldn’t accept background screening technology that could hurt your hiring process rather than enhance it. Having the benefit of proprietary screening technology can not only help to improve the speed of background check services, but it can also smooth your adoption of new functionality and customization.
Proprietary screening technology is just one of many aspects of an optimal background screening services partnership. Your ideal partner has the people, process, and results to help you achieve your background screening and hiring goals. For more insights and suggestions for improving your background screening program, take our interactive Background Check Assessment.
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