NAPBS – An Association We Count On!

The National Association of Professional Background Screeners originally began as a non-profit trade association in 2003. The organization was started to represent the interests of employment background screening (and tenant screening) companies. While representing their interests, they also promote the highest level of customer service and ethics for companies in the screening industry.
Members of NAPBS are able to stay informed about legislation affecting screening, access best practices, and other resources, and stay up to date about the latest industry news and trends. To serve this purpose, they commissioned HR.Com to survey over 1500 HR Professionals to get their views on background screening.
The results of this survey showed that public safety is the number one reason HR professionals and managers conduct background screening to protect their employees, customers, and others. The other motivating factors for screening were to improve the quality of hires (52 percent), to protect their companies’ reputation (45 percent) and because it was a law or regulation for their industry (44 percent).
The professionals responding to the survey, 98% believed it was “very important” to their organization that the results were accurate. The most difficult challenge that they experienced was getting back the reports in a timely fashion.
Of the companies surveyed, almost all included criminal history searches in their report requests. Most employers do not use social media for any form of research. Almost exclusively, of those professionals responding to the questionnaire, they indicated that they didn’t do any screening until either after the interview or until a conditional job offer was made.
In conclusion, most companies find value in verifying the background of their potential hires. The use of an accredited background screening company to provide reports is highly recommended while customer service, accuracy and the ability to return results promptly are significant reasons for selecting a screening firm.