What Search Firms Should Look for in an Online Screening Partner
In your journey to match clients with experienced applicants for C-level positions, a screening firm can be a helpful hand when it comes to sorting through candidates and evaluating their history.
Online screening is an excellent way to determine quality of hire and fill open executive positions. Forgoing social media screening can introduce roadblocks and even match your client with an unfit candidate. When hunting for the right leadership member, consider a partner that uses online screening services to mitigate risks in the workplace.
Why Partner with an Online Screening Partner for Executive Search?
When you begin sorting through candidates for executive level positions on behalf of your clients, you might notice that some information can be difficult to uncover. Parsing through the qualifications listed on a resume can give you a sense of how the candidate portrays themselves in a professional setting. However, there may be more critical information that you cannot determine from an application or an interview.
Once you’ve narrowed down the candidate pool to a select few, an online screening partner can be a useful resource. Online screening agencies have access to additional resources that can identify factors that indicate whether or not a candidate is a good fit for both the open position and the company culture. Here are some things an online screening service can assist with.
- Social Media Misconduct Screening: If a candidate has posted something to a social media site that indicates a poor quality of hire or past instances of misconduct, this information will be flagged. While a candidate may seem like a great fit for an executive position after an interview, findings from a social media screening may say otherwise.
- Conduct a Background Check: Due to compliance restrictions, background checks can often only be conducted after an offer has been extended. Online screening can determine if the candidate is engaging in critical misconduct behaviors that might not show up on a background check, as well as assess how well the hire fits with your client’s company culture. A background check that is conducted post-hire allows for you to find ways to continue to support your client after the position has been filled.
What to Look for in an Online Screening Partner for Executive Search
There are several factors that should be non-negotiables when vetting executive screening options. With these in mind, you’ll find an online and social media screening partner who has your best interests in mind while conducting their checks in a confidential and compliant manner. Let’s take a look at a few notes to highlight in your search.
Commitment to Confidentiality
A large area of concern when conducting online screenings and background checks is the ability to remain confidential and follow compliance guidelines. When evaluating partners for your executive search firm, review each company’s policies to find information on confidentiality and compliance.
Focus on DEI and ESG
A diverse leadership team can help you go above and beyond your competitors. It will be worthwhile to check to see if your screening partner is committed to following regulations set by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). LinkedIn notes that companies who prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace tend to see higher productivity, strong morale, and longer employee retention.
Along similar lines, evaluating online screening partners for their ability to meet environmental, social, and governmental (ESG) criteria can help sway your decision. Factor in their commitment to sustainable practices, treatment of community members, and meeting compliance requirements. These are all factors that can determine how well a company performs ethically, and how they may align with candidates.
Your chosen screening partner should understand the importance of both DEI and ESG, and they should make efforts to sort through candidates who would bring value to a team through a unique perspective. Using online screening tools, a trusted screening provider can uncover information that says otherwise. In fact, social media screening can reveal discriminatory behavior online that can immediately deem a candidate unsuitable for the role.
Expertise and Experience
The online screening partner that you select should be credible and knowledgeable. A team of online screening experts who don’t know the red flags related to your client’s field might easily let a low quality hire slip through the cracks, resulting in new executives who do more harm than good at their company.
Finding the right executive screening firm can take time, so be ready to ask questions. Does the firm specialize in hiring for a specific executive role? How do they determine quality of hire and how will they work with you to filter through candidates? How do they measure the success of finding a qualified candidate who is predicted to be a strong fit for your client?
Strong Reputation
An online screening partner with a positive reputation is a green flag to look for when looking for help from an executive search firm. Does the business you are considering have samples of previous success stories? Are there reputable sources that can vouch for their success beyond an online review? Do they have verifiable credentials?
Keep an eye out for whether or not the firm clearly outlines their commitment to complying with the regulations set by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and System and Organization Controls (SOC). Firms should be prepared to discuss the ways that they are remaining compliant while keeping your best interests in mind.
Innovative Technology
Using online screening services to evaluate quality of hire requires a thorough search into the online presence of a candidate. To do this effectively, a strong set of tools can set an online screening partner apart from other firms you might be considering. Without a screening partner, you might be left trying to conduct your own online search, meaning you’ll be grasping for information without knowing exactly where to look at what to keep an eye out for.
Experienced screening companies use robust tools to conduct social media screening. With this technology in place, your selected screening partner can catch instances of misconduct and even illegal activity like illicit drug use, sexual harassment, and violence that have not been recorded in the criminal justice system, helping to prevent workplace misconduct.
Comprehensive Range
An online screening partner that can conduct screening for any level of hire and within an affordable price range will help your team narrow down the candidate pool to the right set of applicants. While online screening tools might be beneficial for c-suite positions, these tools can be used for any open position.
In fact, when evaluating the impact of online screening on quality of hire, our study found that the amount of flagged online content goes down as seniority level increases. But, there is a spike in flagged content for candidates in a principal or VP position. Further, although the quantity of flagged content is lower among executives, the flags that are uncovered tend to be more detrimental to a company.
Benefits of Having the Right Executive Screening Partner for Your Firm
Without an executive screening partner, you can easily let a bad hire slip through the cracks. If your team doesn’t have the time or the resources to adequately evaluate candidates beyond interviews and resumes, it may be time to work with a partner who can dig a little bit deeper.
Here are a few of the ways that an executive screening firm can help enhance your hiring process for clients.
- Quickly sort through data: Online screening can rapidly scan social media platforms as well as news, governmental, and even civil litigation databases to find signs that a candidate is a low quality of hire. Plus, an executive screening and due diligence firm can automate this process using the latest technology in the industry.
- Prevent an HR disaster: Sometimes, social media screening can reveal critical information about an applicant. Without a thorough evaluation of these applicants, your company might end up having to do internal investigations, let executives go and cause disruptions in leadership, or more and new hire might be enough to have your company having to do difficult damage control like many of the executives that end up leaving their organizations make headlines.
- Seamless integration: An executive screening partner who thoroughly understands your goals and your technology can help you easily gather data and provide valuable insights for your clients. They should not make the vetting process more complicated. Instead, they should ease some of the workload by integrating with your existing tech stack.
- Reduce costly legal action for clients: In the wake of misconduct in the workplace, your clients may be faced with hefty costs related to legal action, investigations, and lawsuits in addition to slow production from vacant leadership positions. An online screening partner can prevent detrimental losses before they happen, potentially saving thousands, if not millions of dollars in damage control, legal fees, and any aftermath.
- Protection of brand and reputation: Social media screening might uncover indicators that a candidate could hinder a company’s reputation, like these companies that make headlines for misconduct scandals. Any potential for bad online behaviors, such as speaking negatively about a business, will cause a potential hire to be flagged and removed from the pool of candidates. By doing so, this helps maintain a strong reputation and avoid the possibility of alegal action in regards to an HR or PR disaster.
Partner with a Proven Executive Search Partner
Online screening is an excellent way to filter out candidates who do not align with the values of your clients. While this can be a large burden on a hiring team, looking to executive screening firms can streamline the process while you focus on more important tasks at hand.
Fama is a trusted executive screening partner who aims to prevent the hire of unfit candidates before they have an opportunity to exhibit poor behaviors in the workplace. To learn more about online screening capabilities with Fama and how we can support your executive search firm, get in touch with our team right away!
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