2020 has not been an easy year for anyone, least of all for those seeking employment or companies needing quality workers. Used by thousands of international companies, Checkr is the trendy kid on the block to help make hiring faster, more transparent, and above all to provide equal access to employment. It is a platform for employers to run reliable background checks using minimum resources. It offers fast, thorough and efficient candidate screening, provides candidate resources and equal opportunities for all. Read on to find out more about Checkr, how it can help your company or how it might help get you hired.
What is Checkr?
Checkr offers 6 different categories of screening for companies hiring new employees and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver reliable, accurate and speedy results. A growing number of business are turning to the San Francisco-based company that currently runs one million background checks per month for more than 10,000 customers, some of which include LinkedIn, Lyft, Uber, Hot Topic, Thumbtack.
Checkr’s Artificial Intelligence provides customisable screening and filtering settings that prove useful considering that almost one third of Americans have a criminal record but not every charge is relevant to every job being filled. Read more about the charge classifier here.
This technology can help employers view a broader pool of qualified and talented candidates and provides the most accurate and up-to-date information on each one. This in turn can reduce the cost of hiring by improving reporting accuracy and reducing human bias.
Checkr's website platform also hosts a blog with multiple articles and tips concerning every aspect of recruiting, getting hired and performing reliable security and background checks and it also offers Webinars.
How Does Checkr Work?
There are different packages that employers can choose from including progressive screenings, a special COVID-19 continuity package, one time offers and more. Screening categories include criminal records, registry searches, driver and MVR, drug and health, verification checks and civil searches.
The process consists of an employer asking Checkr to perform a background check on a candidate. The candidate will receive an email request and upon doing so, will enter their personal information and PII number. The reports are usually completed within 3-5 days during which time, the candidate can review the progress of each section. This provides the employer with an accurate, current background overview of the potential employee.
No matter the sector: hospitality, management, retail, healthcare, food services, gig economy among others, you will find packages/solutions catered especially to that sector while hiring at speed.
Equal Opportunities and Fair Chance Hiring
Since the Black Lives Matter movement exploded in 2020, Checkr has re-evaluated it’s approach and tried to improve fairness for all candidates by providing equal access to employment. The cracks in the criminal justice system negatively impact Black people and directly contribute to systemic racism that impacts every aspect of their lives.
Checkr is working to make an impact in the hiring system in two ways. The first is to raise awareness around criminal records and change peoples’ views and biases towards them using data and education. The second aspect is to help people with criminal records gain access to employment.
It’s for this reason that Checkr aims to open opportunities for 1 million people who face employment barriers this year (2020). However It is of course, the responsibility of companies themselves to take a look at their own hiring practises, to be open minded and to educate themselves to develop fairer hiring processes known as fair chance hiring. Read more about this here.
Can You Trust Checkr and AI?
‘Beware of futuristic background checks’ is the word on the street and Checkr has come under fire in the past for its still-emerging technology and the problems and errors it brings with it. The company has faced a slew of law suits for making mistakes that have cost people potential employment opportunities. One such example is that of a hopeful Uber driver who was wrongly linked to a murder conviction just because of a similar name!
Whilst automating aspects of business and using AI for hiring can be positive, time-effective and cut down on huge costs, it can also go a step too far. Although Checkr claims to be taking big steps on providing equal opportunities for all, eliminating bias and does not judge applicant’s social media behaviour, you should still carefully consider what information you share online. As AI potentially has access to your social media accounts and with platforms such as Facebook selling data, we recommend you take steps to consider which networks might help your career and what information you would like to permanently remove from the internet.
Images: © 123RFom and Unsplasom
