The #1 challenge for employers in 2017? Finding talent.

The report explores key issues, trends, and underlying business drivers affecting background check programs of U.S. organizations, and compares these findings to survey results over the last decade. The benchmark survey revealed critical insights around the challenge employers are having finding the right talent. Talent acquisition and retention have become a much bigger challenge in the last decade, according to respondents. In 2009, for example, only 29% of respondents cited “talent management” as their top business challenge. In 2017, 62% reported “finding qualified job candidates” as their top business challenge. In regards to talent, this year’s data also shows that 62% of respondents plan to invest in finding qualified candidates, 60% in retaining employees, and 35% in improving the candidate experience from application through onboarding. The benchmark survey also revealed several other key trends over the last decade, including:

• Candidates, even at the highest seniority levels, are regularly embellishing their resumes.
  • 85% of survey respondents uncovered a lie or misrepresentation on a candidate’s resume or job application during the screening process – up from 66% five years ago.
  • 77% said screening uncovered an issue with a candidate’s background that would not have been caught otherwise.
• Despite the international workforce becoming increasingly interconnected, few organizations have developed a global screening program.
  • Only 15% of respondents verify international backgrounds of U.S.-based employees.
  • Merely 13% of U.S. employers screen employees based outside of the U.S. – a 6% decrease since last year.
• More organizations are employing contingent, contract, or temporary workers to meet hiring demands – and screening this population has become commonplace.
  • 24% of respondents said 40% or more of their workforce comprises non-employees.
  • Five years ago, only 41% said they screened contingent and/or temporary workers. Today, that percentage is up to 86%.
• The marijuana landscape has changed dramatically over the last 10 years – but organizations’ drug policies have not.
  • Five years ago, 79% of respondents said they did not have a policy recognizing the use of medical marijuana, nor did they have plans to create one.
  • Despite multiple states legalizing marijuana in the 2016 election, 78% of respondents reported no plans to change their drug screening policy this year.

“The hiring landscape has changed dramatically since the financial crisis of 2008. Organizations are now competing for the most qualified candidates and therefore putting greater emphasis on creating a positive onboarding experience, which includes the background check process,” said Mary O’Loughlin, vice president of global customer experience and product management at HireRight. For more information on key findings and trends, visit: www.hireright.com/benchmarking]]>