IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HireRight, a leading provider of global employment background checks, drug testing, education verification and electronic Form I-9 and E-Verify solutions, is excited to announce their findings from their 2018 Vertical Industries Spotlight Report.
This Spotlight report, aimed at human resources teams tasked with improving hiring efforts, compares the practices of organizations in five key industries: Finance, Manufacturing, Technology, Retail and Education. The report takes special notice of the individual characteristics of each industry, and what employers can glean from studying their competitors as well as companies in other industries.
The report shows that across all industries finding qualified candidates is the most significant talent acquisition and management challenge. Respondents appeared to express a growing desire to implement a positive candidate experience, as a higher percentage of respondents cited it as a challenge compared to last year. In addition:
- At 40%, more Education respondents expressed interest in improving the candidate experience than any other vertical.
- With better communication being a top priority for companies, 32% of Technology, 29% of Education, and 25% of Retail and Manufacturing firms expressed interest in deploying a mobile-friendly application and screening process.
When it came to practices around background screening specifically, the report found significant differences between verticals, demonstrating areas of strength and areas for improvement for each:
- The top three background screening components conducted pre-hire by Manufacturing, Retail, Technology and Education firms are checks for criminal and public records, previous employment and identity.
- Financial firms’ top three screening components were criminal and public records, previous employment and credit history, demonstrating how industries are adapting background screening to meet their specific needs.
- Organizations in the Education and Retail sectors reported rescreening more of their employees than any other vertical. The most popular groups to rescreen were employees who are promoted or changing roles, while few within any industry reported rescreening temporary workers, volunteers or vendor representatives.
- Companies in every industry reported conducting global background checks of some sort, and Technology companies were more likely than other sectors to conduct checks for global work experience, references, criminal records and education.
“The Vertical Spotlight report is a great resource for hiring managers in every industry to review and evaluate their current hiring and vetting processes,” said Catherine Aldrich, Vice President of Operations with HireRight. “Each industry has its own considerations when bringing on new employees, shaped by their unique risk profile. While it is important to be aware of the trends and issues affecting your own industry, understanding how other industries approach the process can help HR managers approach their strategies in a new way. The findings emphasized the importance of a comprehensive background screening program, no matter the industry you’re hiring in.”
Each industry found that background screening uncovered issues that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. Each industry reported that criminal convictions were the most common discrepancy uncovered, but other issues varied:
- For the majority of companies, up to 10% of applicants misrepresented information on their resumes or job applications.
- Technology firms uncovered issues with previous employment records and educational credentials more frequently than companies in other industries.
- All industries reported finding the most discrepancies among applicants for junior level jobs, and the Technology industry is the most likely to find issues with mid and senior-level job applicants.
The report also revealed findings regarding vetting practices around drug and alcohol testing, global screenings, E-Verify and I-9:
- While the majority of Financial, Manufacturing, Technology and Retail respondents reported that they test employees for drug and alcohol use, across the board, executives were far less likely to be tested.
- Manufacturing and Technology led the way in voluntary use of E-Verify.
- Manufacturing and Retail were the most likely to offer paper-only I-9 forms, while Technology led the way in offering both paper and electronic I-9 forms.
The complete findings from the 2018 Vertical Industries Spotlight Report can be found here.
Survey Methodology
HireRight’s 2018 Vertical Industry Spotlight compares background check and other employment practices of companies in the Financial, Manufacturing, Retail, Technology, and Education sectors. Figures may exceed 100% or may not exactly equal 100% due to rounding or the option to select multiple answers. The content included in this report reflects information provided by US-based organizations only. Survey questions included multiple choice, multiple selections and open text.
About HireRight
HireRight helps employers hire the right candidates, by delivering global employment background checks, drug testing, education verification, and electronic Form I-9 and E-Verify solutions. Employers can tailor HireRight’s extensive screening solutions to their unique needs, giving them peace of mind about their hiring and vetting processes. HireRight’s platform integrates with existing HR platforms and applicant tracking systems, giving organizations and candidates the best possible experience.
HireRight is headquartered in Irvine, CA, with offices around the globe including regional headquarters in London, Mexico City and Singapore. Learn more at www.HireRight.com.
