One thing remains abundantly clear as we approach and surpass our 20-year mark as a full-service screening company. Making a screening vendor switch can be difficult. On larger scales, vendor switches can threaten to disrupt cadences and workflows, require extensive re-training, and even present compliance risk.
Conversely, making a switch can potentially add tremendous value to your organization, leading to greater efficiencies, cost savings, and even employee retention.
Ultimately, the key takeaway is that change, when it’s due, is inevitable. Not all situations are perfect, and sometimes, change is necessary for growth. For those considering a screening vendor switch, we’re here to offer some valuable tips and insights to guide you through this process.
Creating a Discovery List
While a discovery list marks the top of your funnel, it shouldn’t be exhaustive. We would recommend starting with a list of 8-10 companies you feel initially aligned with (this can be accomplished through general online research), then narrowing the list further by determining the following through initial outreach:
- System integration capabilities (if applicable)
- Breadth of services
- Compliance management capabilities
- Full-file completion times (possibly segmented by region)
We would not recommend inquiring about price during casual outreach. Employment screening pricing can be very nuanced, and screening vendors have different ways of structuring costs and services. Furthermore, focusing on price alone can lead an organization into a worse situation than before.
After you have narrowed your vendor list to about five companies, it’s time for more in-depth discussions. During this phase of the vendor search, we suggest focusing on the following:
1. Candidate Experience
While employer-side cost and efficiency are important, let’s not forget about the candidate. How is the screening process for them? The conditional offer phase of employment can be stressful and confusing. Moreover, to the candidate, the screening process reflects directly on the employer. The following questions can be very beneficial to your vendor search:
- Do you offer an applicant portal?
- How responsive is candidate support?
- How are potential candidate concerns escalated?
- How clear is the candidate’s initial disclosure, authorization, and data input process?
In our estimation, a good candidate experience is half the battle. Ensuring your prospective vendors can provide proper candidate care is crucial.
2. Dispute Frequency
What is your average annual dispute frequency (i.e., total formal disputes/total number of files processed)?
This is an excellent question to ask any prospective screening vendor. The answer will tell an accurate story of compliance and due diligence without any misleading fluff and frills.
Take note of the answer and compare the dispute frequencies of the vendors in your search. If vendors can’t easily obtain such information, it may indicate some lack of compliance concern.
3. Cost– It Isn’t Always Straightforward
As mentioned above, employment screening costs can be rather dynamic. There are many different screening products, each meant for particular needs. These products can vary in price or detail depending on the state/jurisdiction or may not be available at all in some areas.
Any in-depth, truly customized solution will require deliberate pricing, and likely warrant a dedicated conversation. If your organization hires in high volumes and has extensive screening needs, be cautious about rigid, overly simplified pricing models. This can lead to woes down the road.
4. Customer Support
Last but certainly not least comes customer support. When an urgent need arises, nothing is more frustrating than long waits, outsourced support, or labored ticketing processes. When entering more deliberate talks with potential vendors, we would recommend asking the following questions:
- Is your support in-house or outsourced?
- What is your customer’s average wait time for phone calls?
- Do you provide your customers with one or more dedicated support contacts?
- What is your process for providing cross-departmental support?
More than half of the organizations we talk to looking for a change are doing so due to inattentive or labored customer support. The above questions can help you better understand the level of care you might receive.
Conclusion
A screening vendor switch is no small task. However, when done carefully, it can have a huge payoff. Asking the right questions (and at the proper times) can lead you to the favorable outcomes you’re looking for.
For more information, feel free to contact us today.
