Criminal, Driving Records Most Popular Background Checks
ADP® Employer Services, a provider of human resources, payroll and benefits administration services, recently released its annual Screening Index, a yearly evaluation of employment screening and hiring trends. The index shows that of the nearly 5.8 million background checks completed, criminal background checks were by far the most popular screening tool by HR departments in 2007, outnumbering all other background checks by more than three times. ADP clients conducted 1.7 million criminal background checks last year; driving records were second to criminal checks, with almost 500,000 completed.
The annual study of ADP customer screening and selection programs provides insight into both the priorities of HR recruiters and the more common background issues of job candidates.
"Our annual ADP Screening Index gives us a glimpse of what is happening in the pre-employment arena, and allows us to share this valuable data with our clients," said Jim Brown, senior division vice president/general manager of ADP Pre-Employment Services. "It is interesting to see which screening tools employers are using to find the best possible candidates for positions in their organization and the frequency with which they may encounter background screening hits."
Notable results and trends from this year's Screening Index include:
- Ten percent of background checks came back with at least one hit.
- More than one in three candidates have violations or convictions on their driving record, including 10 percent who have had their licenses suspended, revoked or withdrawn in the last seven years.
- Forty-four percent of job candidates who were checked for credit have at least one mark on their credit reports.
- One out of 20 (5 percent) of the candidate reference verifications that contained information differences also had at least one negative remark about the candidate.
- Eight percent of candidates had a previous workers' compensation claim.
- Of the 1.7 million criminal record checks, 6 percent of candidates showed a criminal record over the last seven years.