During last year’s annual conference, the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) announced its transformation to a now global organization. With this transition, they rebranded to become the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA). Although their name changed, the professional standards of the PBSA stayed the same.
Alliance 2020 is proud to share that we recently completed and achieved our certified re-accreditation. When Alliance 2020 initially earned our PBSA (then known as NAPBS) accreditation in 2013, only 2% of screening companies held this honor. In fact, we were the first company in the State of Washington to achieve this.
We knew that holding ourselves to the highest industry standards was what we already practiced daily. So, re-accrediting our firm with the professional stamp of the PBSA was a no-brainer. To mark this milestone, we want to share more about what accreditation means in the background screening industry.
Question: What is Accreditation and why does it matter?
The Background Screening Agency Accreditation Program (BSAAP) provides detailed processes for evaluating and improving internal operating procedures. Every CRA, and their clients, benefit from it. Accredited CRAs like Alliance 2020 make a commitment to uphold and deliver the highest level of industry standards. Those standards include the following critical areas:
- Information Security
- Legal and Compliance
- Client Education
- Researcher and Data Standards
- Verification Services Standards
Question: How do you become Accredited? Is it a hard process?
To become accredited, firms must demonstrate initial and ongoing compliance with the highly regulated accreditation standard as prepared by the Background Screening Credentialing Council (BSCC). Compliance is demonstrated through rigorous desk and on-site audits. All of these audits are completed by an independent third-party auditor.
We document each of our policies and processes, as is required in each of the areas within the standard. Additionally, we demonstrate visible compliance with their policies to the auditor.
Question: Do you have to do anything to maintain Accreditation?
YES! Accreditation lasts for a period of five years. However, in order to maintain the accreditation, we must re-complete the process every time the five-year period ends. Furthermore, we undergo mid-cycle reviews while upholding the standards day-in and day-out. This is our second consecutive accreditation. To maintain the first one, we passed an Interim Surveillance Audit at the 3–year mark.
To receive re-accreditation with the newly branded PBSA, we repeated and passed the full review process again. This included both desk and onsite audits. To maintain this level of excellence, we dedicate countless hours every single day to guarantee peace of mind for our clients!
Question: Why does Accreditation matter to me as a consumer?
The legal landscape is constantly changing both locally and nationally. As a result, when dealing with an accredited firm, you can be confident that we are always at the forefront of the background screening industry standards and practices. Having an accredited background screening vendor ensures your protection as a client, so you can confidently screen your candidates legally and compliantly!
To learn more about our accreditation, visit our National Accreditation page. For more information on the PBSA and its rigorous standards, visit https://thepbsa.org.
