How S&L Companies (Culver’s) Cut Background Check Times by 80% with Checkr and Workstream
A Checkr-powered, Workstream-integrated screening process that keeps hourly candidates engaged and restaurants fully staffed.
S&L Companies is a multi-unit Culver's franchisee operating across multiple locations with 7,000+ employees. As a high-volume quick service restaurant operator, S&L Companies relies on fast, efficient hiring processes to keep its restaurants fully staffed and running smoothly.
Quick-service restaurants
7,000+ Employees
Key results
- Reduced background check turnaround time by 80%, from 5+ days to just 1 day
- Decreased manual HR effort with automated pre-adverse/adverse action workflows and Assess Lite for faster, more consistent adjudication
- Scaled high-volume screening to around 5,000 background checks per year while keeping workflows smooth
Products used
Ready to run background checks the modern way?
When 5‑day background checks slowed restaurant hiring
In hourly hiring, speed is the difference between a filled shift and a lost candidate. Before Checkr, S&L Companies (Culver’s) struggled with slow background check turnaround times that created friction for both candidates and restaurant teams.
As HR Generalist Veronica McVicker put it, “Our previous provider would take five-plus days for a background check to come back, which is definitely too long in the restaurant industry. With Checkr, we’re now getting results in about a day. That makes a huge difference in keeping candidates engaged and moving.”
That delay mattered because restaurant candidates often want to start right away. “In the restaurant industry, many applicants are looking to start right away, and we needed a partner who could move a lot faster so that we wouldn’t lose great candidates—and Checkr has helped us do exactly that.”
The team also faced operational drag: extra check-ins, extra follow-ups, and a process that easily became a bottleneck across multiple locations.
Choosing a screening partner built for Workstream and hourly hiring
S&L Companies made the switch as part of a broader move to Workstream, and integrating background checks directly into the hiring workflow was essential.
Veronica explained, “We previously had a different background check provider. When we switched to Workstream, Checkr integrated with it. So we decided to move forward with Checkr.”
Beyond integration, S&L Companies needed a partner built for high-volume hourly hiring so background checks wouldn’t slow down onboarding or cause candidates to drop off.
Turning background checks into a fast, integrated hiring step
80% faster background checks accelerate restaurant hiring
With Checkr, S&L Companies eliminated extended turnaround times that could cost them valuable candidates. The impact showed up quickly in the field: “We’ve heard really great things from the field about switching over to Checkr. Rarely do we have the team reach out and ask where a background check is anymore, because results are coming back so much faster and more consistently.
That change also reduced the operational back-and-forth that previously consumed time for both restaurant teams and the HR team at HQ. “Historically, they used to reach out to us, and it would take a lot of our time as well as their time to check in. Since switching over to Checkr, this has decreased significantly because everyone can see status updates without constant follow-up.”
More consistent, compliant decisioning at scale
With a small core team managing screening decisions across the organization, consistency is critical. S&L Companies relies on Checkr to support a repeatable, defensible process: “We rely on a few of Checkr’s compliance tools, especially the pre-adverse and adverse action notices. They’ve helped us move away from a more manual, ad hoc approach and ensure we’re following the same process every time and staying consistent.”
They also use Assess Lite to reduce time spent on manual adjudication while maintaining fair outcomes: “Checkr’s Assess Lite has helped us move from a very manual review process to one that’s faster and more structured, reducing the time we spend adjudicating reports while ensuring we’re using a fair process for each of our candidates.”
Smoother workflows for HQ HR and field visibility
S&L Companies runs high volume—about 430 checks per month—so usability and clarity matter day-to-day.
Veronica called out how easy the platform is to work with: “The tools within Checkr are really easy for us to navigate, especially compared to our previous provider, which makes day-to-day work much smoother.”
And the hiring teams at restaurant locations aren’t left guessing. They can monitor progress inside Workstream. “Our teams at the restaurants can monitor the background checks through Workstream.” That visibility helps reduce interruptions and keeps everyone aligned without requiring constant manual status updates from HR.
Highlights: Favorite features
- Workstream integration for a seamless workflow between systems
- Candidate profile visibility for clear, organized status tracking
- Pre-adverse and adverse action notices to help maintain a consistent compliance process
- Assess Lite to reduce manual adjudication time and support fair outcomes
- Simple admin experience for a small HR team supporting high volume
From background check bottlenecks to a seamless hiring flow
For S&L Companies, Checkr turned background checks from a hiring bottleneck into a fast, integrated part of their restaurant hiring workflow. With reliable next-day turnaround times and clear visibility for both HR and the field, the team spends less time chasing status updates and more time on higher-impact work. As Veronica puts it, “The platform’s really user-friendly, it’s reliable, and the support team is really great, especially compared to what we were used to before Checkr.”
