The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) released the results of its second annual background screening survey of Human Resources (HR) professionals this week revealing 95 percent of employers said their organization is conducting employment background screening in 2018.

The NAPBS commissioned HR.com to conduct the national survey of 2,137 HR professionals to document their views on background screening. Titled “How Human Resource Professionals View the Use and Effectiveness of Background Screening Methods”, the survey found:

95 percent said their organization is conducting one or more types of employment background screening, a decrease from 96 percent recorded in 2017;
86 percent of respondents said they were screening full-time employees, an increase from 83 percent in 2017;
68 percent of respondents are screening part-time employees, an increase from 67 percent in 2017.

The survey found employers are utilizing professional background checks at a near universal rate in an increasingly global economy.

Employers cited “public safety” as the top reason they conduct background checks, with 86 percent stating they conducted background checks to protect employees and customers. Other top reasons for background screening were:

• Improving the quality of hires – 52 percent;
• Law/regulation requirements – 39 percent;
• Protecting company reputation – 38 percent;
• Prevent theft, embezzlement and criminal activity – 36 percent.

A huge 98 percent majority of HR professionals said accurate background checks are “very important” while 65 percent stated the length of time to get results is the most significant challenge they face in background screening. Background screening items used for job applicants included:

• County/Statewide Criminal Searches – 89 percent;
• Database/National Criminal Searches – 84 percent;
• Social Security Number (SSN) Trace – 83 percent;
• Sex Offender Registry Search – 69 percent;
• Fingerprint Based Criminal Searches – 53 percent;
• Drug and Alcohol Testing – 45 percent;
• Motor Vehicle Driving Records Searches – 40 percent;
• Education Verification – 31 percent;
• Professional License Verification – 21 percent;
• Credit/Financial Checks – 16 percent;
• International Checks – 12 percent;
• Social Media Search – 8 percent.

You can read the full report here.