Is It Time to Switch Your Background Check Provider? 10 Red Flags to Watch For

An underperforming background check provider can slow down your hiring process, lead to compliance problems, and frustrate candidates, instead of working as an operational asset to your company.

It’s no wonder that our 2026 State of Screening Report revealed 23.9% of companies had switched screening providers within the past three years.

Here are the signs it’s time to look for a new screening partner and how to do this without disrupting your hiring process.

10 Signs You Should Consider a New Background Screening Partner

1. You Can’t Reach Human Customer Support When You Need Assistance

An area where companies have adopted AI too quickly is customer service.

When you need to find answers fast to your screening questions, you want to reach a person instead of a chatbot or AI agent without a real answer.

While some background check providers view chatbots and AI agents as an easy way to handle calls, that can leave their customers without the answers they need.

Not everything about the background screening process should be automated. Instead, you might need a dedicated account manager who can answer your questions and understands your account.

For example, imagine you have a top-quality candidate but still haven’t received your background check results. While you worry they will move on, you can’t reach anyone by phone to explain what’s holding up the report.

You might want to switch providers if you’re only pointed to chatbots or AI-generated articles when you have questions instead of reaching someone who can offer guidance.

2. Turnaround Times Have Been Growing Longer

First, you may have received background check reports from your current provider within 48 hours. But now? Perhaps you’re facing turnaround times of up to a week or longer without an explanation.

If this happens regularly, your candidates might accept another job offer before you’re ready to make an employment offer.

While screening delays can sometimes be caused by courts or schools in jurisdictions that rely on outdated paper-based systems, that doesn’t excuse your provider from failing to explain why the background check is taking longer than usual.

Slow background checks do more than frustrate your HR professionals. They can cost you top talent.

When a turnaround time is much longer than what used to be typical for a particular jurisdiction, your provider should reach out to explain instead of waiting for you to ask.

If you instead find yourself constantly making this type of call for an explanation, a more responsive, better-performing background check provider might be a better option.

3. Service Deteriorated After a Merger or Acquisition

Many screening companies have merged with or been acquired by larger players in the last few years.

The major changes that come with mergers and acquisitions can cause problems for employers.

For example, if the account manager you worked with for years was laid off due to a merger or acquisition, you may be left with seemingly no one in charge of your account.

Never assume that service will get better on its own once it’s declined following an acquisition or merger.

Instead of waiting and hoping for improvement, you should consider switching to a new provider.

4. Prices Rise Without an Increase in Value

You must always pay attention to your company’s bottom line. While increased prices for background checks aren’t always an issue, you shouldn’t pay more for less support, slower turnaround times, or fewer features.

Review your background check invoices each year. Check to see whether you’re paying for searches you don’t use or paying higher prices than those charged by your provider’s competitors.

Think about any price increase you’ve experienced and conduct a cost vs. benefits analysis to determine what you’re getting out of it.

For example, if you notice a 15% annual increase in screening costs but have received no noticeable benefits from your provider, it may be time to look for a new provider that offers better value for the price.

5. Your Provider Prioritizes Automation Over Everything Else

Automation has greatly improved the speed of background checks, but hiring decisions shouldn’t rely entirely on automated systems. Instead, humans should review results before they’re reported.

In our 2026 State of Screening Report, we found that employers distrust decisions made by algorithms alone. 54.4% of employers trust human review alone or human review combined with AI assistance. Only 19.6% reported trusting fully automated screening.

Overall, 73.4% of respondents stated they believed a human should review each allegedly negative background check record before reporting, and just 7% disagreed.

Drilling down further, 51.9% said they are okay with AI flagging a record for a human to check, but only 32.3% said that AI should solely decide whether something is reportable.

Finally, 46.8% stated that they would pay more for built-in human quality assurance in screening.

If your provider relies on an algorithm without human oversight to decide what to report, it could expose you to liability when making hiring decisions based on potentially flawed algorithmic flags.

6. Lack of New Fraud-Detection Tools

Identity fraud has rapidly increased with the growing use of AI in hiring and job applications. Deepfake interviews and AI-generated resumes are becoming more common.

In our report, 18.5% of respondents stated they have encountered or suspected candidate fraud. Another 22.9% said they have knowingly interviewed a deepfake or proxy candidate at some point.

Employers need fraud detection tools to identify fake candidates and deepfake interviews and prevent candidate fraud.

For example, if the platform you’re using is the same as it was five years ago without new fraud-detection tools, you’re exposed to increased risks of hiring fraudulent applicants.

7. Increasing Errors or Missing Information

Background check errors can expose your company to potential liability.

If you’re noticing increased errors, discrepancies, incomplete reports, duplicate records, or other issues that require you to follow up frequently with your provider, your team is fixing problems rather than spending it on other tasks.

In our report, we found that 36.1% of employers said the accuracy and speed of background checks, the candidate experience during screening, and compliance support mattered equally. 22.2% of employers stated that accuracy was the most important factor. Another 38.6% of employers said they would be willing to wait an extra day for a more accurate background check as opposed to a faster one.

8. You Receive Frequent Candidate Complaints

If you survey candidates about their experience with your screening process and find that they’re unhappy, you should take a hard look at possible reasons for it.

Candidates should feel supported and experience a smooth screening process. When they can’t reach anyone for help with forms, disclosures, or identity verification, they will blame your hiring team for resulting delays.

In our report, 29.8% of employers said they have received candidate complaints about screening. Top complaints included an overly long process at 16.9% and poor communication at 13.6%.

Among candidates who complained, 24.7% said that better communication would have the greatest positive impact on their experience, followed by a faster turnaround time at 22.7%.

Your provider’s location is equally important. If they offshore customer support, your candidates may struggle with language barriers and time zone differences while trying to get answers to basic questions.

It’s best to choose a provider that does not offshore support and is 100% USA-based, like iprospectcheck.

9. Your Screening Provider Operates Like a Vendor Instead of a Partner

A good background check provider will do far more than simply processing background checks.

If the only communication from your provider that you’ve received in months is billing invoices, you deserve more.

Your provider should instead partner with you to offer compliance guidance, explain industry changes, recommend tailored packages, and help you improve your hiring process.

10. Your Provider Can’t Scale With You

If your company is growing, you need a background check provider that can scale with you as your hiring volume increases.

When you notice that your turnaround times slow every time your hiring volume goes up, you likely need to find a new provider who can meet your hiring needs and scale with you easily.

This is also true if you have seasonal hiring increases.

For example, if you’re a retailer who needs to add a large number of staff during the holidays, you don’t want your hiring to be held up by slow turnarounds during a critical hiring season.

How to Switch Providers Without Disrupting Your Hiring Process

While you may be unhappy with your current provider, you might hesitate to switch because you’re worried it might disrupt your hiring process.

Follow these steps to make the switch smoother:

Step 1: Evaluate Your Needs

Before you choose a new provider, you should assess your needs based on your industry, the roles you hire for, your hiring volume, and the locations where you operate.

If you operate in a regulated industry such as transportation, finance, healthcare, or social services for vulnerable populations, you have specific screening requirements.

Step 2: Identify Potential Providers

Research background check providers and look for those with experience in your industry and your hiring volume. Look at online reviews.

Make a list of 3 to 5 providers that appear to meet your needs, and contact each one.

Ask the following questions:

• Is your support USA-based?
• Can you integrate with our ATS?
• Do you offer live support?
• Do you have dedicated account managers?
• What customization options do you offer?
• Do you have experience in my industry?
• What are your turnaround times for the checks we need most?
• Can you provide client references from companies similar to ours?

In our report, 35.5% of respondents stated that accuracy was the most important factor in their choice of a background check provider, followed by price at 18.1%.

More employers (16.8%) prioritized customer service over turnaround times (3.9%).

Employers strongly value USA-based support. We found that 83.8% of employers said it’s very or somewhat important, and another 85.2% reported they also think U.S.-based verification specialists are equally important.

Step 3: Test Your New Provider’s Platform and ATS Integrations Before Going Live

Before you switch everything over from your old provider to your new one, verify that your new provider’s system integrates with your company’s ATS or HRIS.

Run a pilot with a small batch of new orders to test:

• Ordering of reports
• Candidate invitations
• Status updates and callbacks
• Report delivery
• Invoicing

Address any issues you see during the pilot with your new provider promptly before switching everything over.

Step 4: Set A Clear Cutover Date for New Orders

Once everything is working great with your new provider, choose a date and time after which you’ll send all new background check requests to the new provider. After that, avoid placing any new orders with your old provider.

When you choose a single cutover point, your HR team will avoid duplicate orders and confusion about which provider is responsible for which request.

During the run-off period, your old provider should complete the requests it has already accepted, including those still in progress, checks pending source responses, and those with open disputes.

Avoid moving in-progress checks between providers to prevent duplication and unclear accountability.

Step 5: Keep Historical Records in Your Own Secure Archive

Store completed reports in your secure archive, HRIS, or ATS.

Step 6: Close the Old Account Only After a Final Reconciliation

Don’t close your old provider’s platform immediately after you go live with the new one.

Before you shut it down, reconcile your final invoices, audit logs, authorization records, and check for any remaining open cases.

Ask how long you’ll have access to legacy records. Obtain written confirmation about how the provider will retain, return, or delete its copies.

Don’t Let a Bad Provider Cost You Another Good Hire

The right screening provider can speed your hiring process and make it smoother.

Switching to a better provider should help you maintain compliance and reduce your time to hire.

Contact iprospectcheck today to learn about the benefits of our background checks and obtain a free quote: (888) 509-1979.

DISCLAIMER: The resources provided here are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Consult your counsel if you have legal questions related to your specific practices and compliance with applicable laws.