A Better Background Check Experience for Candidates Helps You Hire Faster

For example, background checks can help employers make informed hiring decisions, but they can also create a poor candidate experience if not done well: 38% of employers have lost job candidates to a negative background check experience. On the other hand, a fast and transparent background check experience demonstrates to job candidates that you respect their needs and value their time, giving them a great first impression of your company.

A negative candidate experience is costly. The cost of vacancy is prolonged when candidates drop out of the hiring process, but employers should also consider the hidden costs that may accumulate over time, including lower employee retention, damage to the company brand, hampered recruiting efforts, and lower profitability.

You’re more likely to hire and retain qualified candidates by improving the candidate experience. A positive experience translates to many benefits. In addition to filling positions more quickly, employers may gain a competitive edge, attract more candidates, improve brand image, and decrease candidate dropoff during the hiring process.

When it comes to background checks, a transparent, fast, and friendly experience helps your candidates stay engaged in the hiring process while also helping you stand out from the competition.

Find out how Checkr gives your candidates a better background check experience, and helps you hire top talent.

Checkr makes it easy for candidates to start a background check by sending an SMS or email invitation that can be opened on a phone, tablet, or computer. The applicable forms, disclosures, and authorizations are simple to access and complete. Built-in error detection tools find data mismatches and prompt the user to enter additional information, helping prevent mistakes that might otherwise delay the background check process.

Throughout the process, Checkr maintains communication with the candidate through automated email reminders and other notifications.

Checkr’s mobile-optimized candidate portal enables candidates to quickly and easily login without the need for a username and password. The applicable forms, disclosures, and authorizations are simple to access and complete.

Once the background check has been ordered, the candidate has real-time visibility into their report progress and any necessary actions to take. We provide an estimated completion time at the county level so candidates can better anticipate turnaround times for their results. Once a background check is complete, the candidate can view and download the report to their device. This transparency helps the candidate understand the background check process, receive timely information, and develop trust in their future employer.

Checkr’s Candidate Stories feature allows candidates to provide context for records that appear on a background check, helping employers source a larger talent pool and hire a more diverse and inclusive workforce. In locations with Ban the Box laws, this feature may provide a first step toward helping employers comply with adverse action guidelines.

Checkr partners with Grammarly to offer grammar and spelling suggestions within the Candidate Stories feature to help candidates feel confident in submitting their stories to employers. Candidates’ explanations should be evaluated in as objective a manner as possible, and candidates’ use of this enhancement helps minimize distractions that may lead to employer bias.

Checkr enables candidates to find answers to their questions, allowing you to focus on hiring instead of fielding report-related inquiries. Within the candidate portal, a built-in FAQ section helps candidates proactively address concerns. Candidates may also search the Candidate Help Center or contact Checkr’s candidate support team through multiple channels, including chatbot, email, phone, and Help Center Form. Additionally, multilingual email support is available for international candidates.

Even if previous justice involvement is not relevant to a position, nearly 80 million Americans with criminal records face many roadblocks to employment, especially if employers are unaware of the benefits of hiring fair chance talent.

Checkr’s fair hiring mission centers on our belief that work is a source of human dignity. Our platform is built to help employers reduce bias and support fairer hiring practices. Through our compliance engine and adjudication tools like filters, built-in adverse action workflows, and Candidate Stories, we have worked to open the doors for employment for 2.2 million candidates.

Expungement is a process that clears criminal records; however, bureaucratic hurdles, court backlogs, and other barriers keep many eligible individuals from obtaining expungement. Checkr offers a simple, fast, and affordable expungement service to help candidates identify and clear eligible charges from their record. Currently, this service is supported for candidates in California.

In today’s competitive hiring environment, a positive candidate experience can be the difference between onboarding a new hire and losing them to another offer. Checkr offers a first class, candidate-friendly background check process to help employers make a great first impression and build a trusted team. With an intuitive interface, responsive customer support, and real-time report updates, we help speed the hiring process while saving you time and resources.

About the author

As Content Marketing Manager at Checkr, Lauren develops resources to educate employers about background checks, hiring best practices, and related compliance. She also writes about Checkr’s company news and product updates.