Before founding iprospectcheck over a decade ago, I spent a couple centuries of my early career in the staffing industry. (I may be off by a year or two, but the toll that the staffing industry can take on a person certainly may cause one to age in dog years, at a minimum.)
The staffing industry suffers broadly from what I call the “Staffing Paradox”.
This paradox states that secretly, (although sometimes openly) many staffing clients HATE using staffing companies to resolve staffing issues. Regardless of the total value received in exchange for the bill rate, even the most sophisticated buyers struggle to see the value of the money paid above the wage and burden rate for temporary staffing services.
While we rarely if ever speak this truth openly, you can feel it at an intuitive level if you interact with staffing clients daily. Some clients openly hate staffing companies while they use them.
Like the man in the movie says, “Some people you just can’t reach….”. (credit Cool Hand Luke, “The Captain’s Speech” performed by the immortal Strother Martin, Jr.)
Similarly, in the background screening industry many clients fail to see the value of implementing a solution that is compliant with the FCRA, ICRAA, EEOC, Ban the Box, etc. regardless of who get’s sued and how much they must fork over in class action lawsuits.
We’ll call this the “Background Check Compliance Paradox”.
This is another area that is rarely discussed in the HR field. There is a persistent tendency to try to get background checks without paying attention to simple compliance steps.
Yes, it is complicated. Getting it right takes a great screening partner and fundamental knowledge of the laws that apply to your situation.
While on its face the number and complexity of laws and regulations may boggle your mind, with the right background screening partner there is absolutely no reason to just accept the risk of an expensive and time-consuming class action lawsuit simply because someone just wanted cheap and fast background checks.
We can’t make the expansion of legal complexity stop, but if you have a mortgage or rent to pay like most of us, you can’t just get off the ride either.
“I don’t like it any more than you.” (Cool Hand Luke, Strother Martin, Jr. again!)
If you are going to use background checks to help you make excellent hiring decisions, (and you should!) insist on working with a strategic partner who has a working knowledge of the laws and regulations. Your background checking partner should also provide extraordinary technology solutions to simplify and automate the complex compliance challenges that you face.
There is no reason for you to have your pockets picked by the plaintiff’s bar. You can do better than that.
Don’t settle for fast and cheap. You can’t wish compliance away.
Work with experts. Insist on compliant solutions. Take control of your screening program. Reach out to us. We can help!
Written By: Matthew J. Rodgers, PHR (President, Founder of iprospectcheck, Inc.)
