There is no denying that background check services have lately become extremely popular. As the latest statistics show us, around 98 percent of employers conduct a background check on their new job applicants and even seasoned employees.
Outside their workplace, people resort to a background investigation to find out information about new people with whom they get in contact. When they start a new business, they want to know about the financial stability of their business partners. They also research about people in their new neighbourhood, when they plan to buy a house.
They ask background check companies for help when they hire a new babysitter or even go out with a new romantic partner. Whenever they meet a new person, people want to ascertain that he or she was not convicted and was not involved in some shady business or embarrassing romantic affair.
Our growing fondness for prying into others’ lives not only helped background check services gain in popularity but also inspired them to use Artificial Intelligence tools and methods to refine their research. Some of the companies that deploy AI tools in their investigations appear among these best background check services.
But if after reading about the most reliable background investigating companies, you still feel unsure which to choose, please read on. In the paragraphs below, we explain to what you need to pay attention when choosing an investigating company. There are different criteria according to which you can select background check services that would be right for your needs.
Company’s Credentials
First of all, you should look at a company’s official credentials, when you consider turning to it for help. This is how background check services differ from each other. By looking at a company’s credentials, you will also quickly know whether it is legitimate and can be trusted.
Some background investigating companies belong to the National Association of Professional Background Screeners. If your chosen company is a member of the NAPBS, you may stay assured that it complies with all required rules and laws.
The obverse is not necessarily true, however. If a company does not appear on the NAPBS’s list, this does not mean that it is illegitimate. Uncredited background check services are often permitted to run a background check on people. If you turn to an uncredited company, simply find out what restrictions it might have to excavate people’s past secrets.
But watch for red flags. A sure sign that a background check company is illegitimate is its faulty contact information. Background check services wanting to retain their clients write a correct and current address on their websites and advertising campaigns. People who simply want to get money from clients would leave incorrect contact details or no information at all so that they are not tracked down when their clients get billed.
Types of Investigations
Background check services can also be distinguished according to the investigation they run on people. There are different kinds of information such companies can collect about others – criminal, financial, or personal. But not every background check company specializes in all of them. The majority of them focuses on one or two kinds of investigation. When you choose a background check organization, ascertain that it provides the investigation you need.
The most popular background check concerns people’s criminal pasts. Employers are wary of hiring people who were convicted for fraud or were imprisoned for other crimes. Private individuals are also afraid of befriending former criminals. To find out whether a subject had a criminal history, background check companies research court and police records, be they county, state, or federal.
No less popular area of investigation is people’s financial histories. This type of investigation is called a credit check. It is run on people to see if they have financial debts and have the financial stability to make monetary payments. Insurance companies and landlords ask to conduct a credit check on their clients and tenants most often. But private people may also want to know about the financial situation of their partners when they start business with them or lend them money. Some of us may be curious about the finances of our romantic partners before we marry them or move in with them.
Driving companies ask for driving records of their job applicants. This is understandable: driving companies are responsible for the safety of their clients and, therefore, do not want to employ people once arrested for drug- or alcohol-related driving. Nor do they need drivers whose license has expired. Like the majority of employers nowadays, driving companies often not only conduct a background check on their job applicants and employees but also ask them to pass a drug test.
Some employers also run an employment or education check on their would-be employees. Before hiring new people, they want to make sure that the information written on their resumes is correct, that they indeed had the education and work experience that they claim to have. Background check companies help employers decide whether job applicants are qualified for an advertised position.
Background check companies also serve different clients and present them with different report formats. All these nuances should be taken into account when you are choosing background check services suitable to your needs.
