zandax online course logo
 
 
 
 
zandax 10 year anniversary
 
 
 
 
 
 
Home   >  ZandaX Blogs   >  Management Blog   >  Human Resources Articles   > 
How HR Teams Use Surveys To Streamline Background Checks

How HR Teams Use Surveys To Streamline Background Checks

 
Dealing with the demands of human resources
Any hiring process needs to include time-consuming background checks. Here, we show how HR can use surveys to streamline these checks.
 
Article author: Jordan James
      Written by Jordan James
       (7-minute read)
Human Resources is the sun around which a company revolves … and the driving force for its success. For most companies, there’s no more valuable asset than its people - and HR is the place where the magic happens.

The HR department provides the people on which any business depends

When it’s your team’s job to make sure that the company’s employees are the cream of the crop, there’s a lot at stake and this important process usually begins with background checks. While these checks can be time-consuming, they’re vital for ensuring the integrity of the brand and, in this article, we’re looking at ways in which HR can use surveys to streamline background checks.

What Are Background Checks And Why Are They Important?

There’s a lot that goes into vetting potential new employees to ensure the reputation of the brand and the safety of employees and, in this section, we’ll whizz through some of the things that are being checked for:

Safety and risk assessment

This is the first - and most important - check that needs to be carried out as it speaks to security. HR will look to see whether a candidate has a criminal record, because someone who has been convicted of theft may be a risk to company assets. Similarly, a candidate with a violent crime on their rap sheet might be a danger to other members of staff. This information helps Human Resources to either dismiss the candidate or delve deeper into their history through further checks.

Risk assessment is an essential safety factor for the business - and its staff

Trust but verify

Most of us have, at times, embellished a little on our CVs and it’s only natural to want to present ourselves in the best light. It’s not, however, OK to tell major porkies such as claiming fictitious qualifications, achievements or previous roles. It’s down to HR to verify the information included on somebody’s CV to ferret out any signs of dishonesty.

Legal and regulatory compliance

While some roles require only that you have the necessary skills and experience, others in more sensitive sectors will require additional safety guards.  Healthcare, education and organisations which deal with vulnerable people all require special DBS (Disclosure and Barring) checks and HR will be checking closely that this is the case.

Better insights for better hiring decisions

Just as important as all of the above, background checks give a better insight into a potential employee which, in turn, gives them an idea of how they will fit into the company culture and values.

How Surveys Will Streamline Background Checks

While necessary, background checks can be lengthy and complex involving a great deal of research as well as waiting around for information.

Surveys help speed up and streamline the process of background checking

Because of this, lots of businesses are turning to surveys to help speed up and streamline the process. How do they do that? Let’s take a look:
  • Pre-screening - These are short questionnaires which can be sent to candidates who have passed the first, basic stage of recruitment. Pre-screening surveys can help to assess metrics like qualifications, motivation and cultural fit to allow HR to decide if the guy or gal is worthy of an interview.
  • Data verification - This is usually sneaked into the initial application process and involves prompting the candidate to elaborate on information such as education, employment history and certifications. This extra info allows for automated verification where those who have been less than honest will be weeded out.
  • Reference checks - When a candidate looks like he or she might be a good fit, a company will usually request a reference from a previous employer. In the old days this would be done via snail mail or playing telephone tag with the referrer. Now, more and more companies are saving time and hassle by sending short surveys in order to collect the same information.
  • Candidate experience - While background checks are serious stuff, it’s also important to keep the candidate experience in mind during the recruitment process. Surveys are a good way of finding out how candidates felt about the process and therefore help you to make improvements.

Tips For Implementation

We’ve explained why surveys are a good idea but putting these into practice is so much more than just chucking a bunch of questions together and hoping for the best.

Use serveys properly to get the most from them

In this section, we’re sharing our tips for getting the most out of the process:

Use the right tool for the job

As with most things, there are countless tools out there when it comes to creating surveys - and the effectiveness of yours depends on you finding the right one. Your best bet is to look for a tool or software that has automated data collection and processing, coupled with integrated verification services as this dream team will ensure accuracy and reliability. It’s also a good idea to set your sights on a tool with a customisable workflow which you can hook up to a background check platform like Triton records checks.

Keep it relevant

If you want the best results, you need to keep it short and relevant. Always avoid generic questions and go for open ended ones that encourage the candidate to provide detailed responses as this will give you much deeper insights into their experience and character.

See our courses!


If you'd like to learn more about what we provide, why not take a look at how we can help?

Boost your skills with our market-leading online courses at super-low prices.



Keep it simple

When implementing surveys, there’s no need to get all complicated. Setting up clear and consistent processes is key here - as is making sure that the HR team, the hiring manager, the candidates and the stakeholders are all familiar with these. This will help to promote a positive candidate experience as well as keeping everything consistent.

Use a friendly reminder

During the recruitment process, you want responses as quickly as possible and automated reminders are a good way of prodding candidates who may have forgotten to provide feedback when first asked.

Ethical And Legal Challenges Of Background Checks

These days, we all know the dangers of being free and loose with people’s data and personal information and so here, we’re diving into some things you need to keep in mind when conducting background checks:

Regulatory compliance

As important as background checks are, there are a few things that it’s illegal to do and these include:
  • Conducting background checks without consent
  • Requesting disclosure of spent convictions
  • Requesting disclosure of protected characteristics such as race, religion, gender or disability
Breaching any of these can leave your company open to legal action so it’s vital that you color within the lines on this one.

HR is a minefield of legal requirements, so get things right!

Privacy

This one can be a bit of a tightrope as, when applying for a job, a candidate’s privacy must be protected. This means that the information that you collect should not be disclosed to third parties - which can be a sticky wicket when working with external evaluators or search consultants.

Accuracy

HR departments have an obligation to verify the accuracy of information received in order to ensure the details held on file are correct. If in doubt, discuss any discrepancies with the candidate to give them the opportunity to contest any errors which may hinder their chances of getting the job.

Public safety

Balancing staff and public safety with a fair and reasonable recruitment process can be extremely challenging and assessments should remain objective and based on the facts.

Conclusion

As you can see, surveys can be an incredibly valuable tool when it comes to collating recruitment information quickly and efficiently but, as we’ve shown in this article there are a few pitfalls to watch out for. By choosing the right tool for your requirements and putting in place best practices for compliance, you can make sure that surveys will work for you - not against you.

FAQs

How can surveys help to streamline background checks?
Surveys can be used to collect preliminary information, reduce the number of questions asked during the formal interview and allow for early identification of potential issues.

What types of information can be gathered through surveys?
Surveys can gather information like previous employers, addresses and employment history to speed up the background check process.

How do you handle discrepancies or inconsistencies reported in surveys?
The best way to handle this is to cross check with other sources for information and, where appropriate, speak to the candidate about any concerns.


Links to relevant articles:

Article: Do AI Recruitment Services Help or Block Human Recruiters?:
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly reshaping the recruitment landscape as we know it - but how quali [...]

Article: 7 Ways How Second-Chance Hiring Will Give You a Competitive Advantage:
A company sits still in the middle of a workweek afternoon. The inbox is full of polished resumes, c [...]

Article: 8 Ways that AI Will Force New Hiring Practices and Training Programs:
Let's face it, hiring has always been a challenging task because HR managers never know whether they [...]

Article: Building an AI-Ready Recruitment Process: A Step-by-Step Guide:
It doesn't really need to be said that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform d [...]

Article: 9 Tips on How to Improve Your Recruitment:
Like so many other facets of business, the recruitment process has changed considerably in recent ye [...]

More Articles on Human Resources

Do AI Recruitment Services Help or Block Human Recruiters?
Do AI Recruitment Services Help or Block Human Recruiters?
Ronnie Peterson
Author: Ronnie Peterson
About the article
Summary
Advances in AI enable roles to be filled faster, reducing job gaps and false starts. We show how to make it help, not hinder, our recruitment,
[ close ]
How to Accelerate Business Growth and Recruitment Through Professional Branding
How to Accelerate Business Growth and Recruitment Through Professional Branding
Riley Mitchell
Author: Riley Mitchell
About the article
Summary
We use marketing to attract customers, but here, we show how it's also important for attracting candidates looking to work for a great brand.
[ close ]
7 Ways How Second-Chance Hiring Will Give You a Competitive Advantage
7 Ways How Second-Chance Hiring Will Give You a Competitive Advantage
Sam Carr
Author: Sam Carr
About the article
Summary
See how second-chance hiring gives you a competitive advantage by unlocking talent, building trust and reducing turnover in your workforce.
[ close ]
How HR Tech Helps You Improve Your Project Management by Learning Business Skills
How HR Tech Helps You Improve Your Project Management by Learning Business Skills
Ronnie Peterson
Author: Ronnie Peterson
About the article
Summary
One of the best ways to enhance project management performance is by using HR technology (HR Tech). Here we give examples and show why.
[ close ]
5 Ways To Boost Your Organization With Payroll And Digital Documents
5 Ways To Boost Your Organization With Payroll And Digital Documents
Ronnie Peterson
Author: Ronnie Peterson
About the article
Summary
HR departments have a huge number of responsibilities. Here, we reveal 5 ways that digital tools help them to stay on top of their game.
[ close ]
8 Ways that AI Will Force New Hiring Practices and Training Programs
8 Ways that AI Will Force New Hiring Practices and Training Programs
Ronnie Peterson
Author: Ronnie Peterson
About the article
Summary
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing how companies hire, train and onboard new staff. Here, we look into how this is happening.
[ close ]
7 Great Ways to Motivate Staff With Workplace Employee Benefits
7 Great Ways to Motivate Staff With Workplace Employee Benefits
Sam Carr
Author: Sam Carr
About the article
Summary
Nowadays, staff retention is a huge headache for many companies. Here we look at seven great ways to motivate staff using employee benefits.
[ close ]
How Remote Working Can Connect Agencies With A Global Talent Pool
How Remote Working Can Connect Agencies With A Global Talent Pool
Sam Carr
Author: Sam Carr
About the article
Summary
In recent years there has been a major switch to remote working. Here, we show how to get your agency to tap into this new way of working,
[ close ]
8 Must-Have Tech Tools for Streamlining Your Talent Acquisition Process
8 Must-Have Tech Tools for Streamlining Your Talent Acquisition Process
Ronnie Peterson
Author: Ronnie Peterson
About the article
Summary
The right digital tools can reshape talent acquisition into a personalized process. Here are eight tools that will help you make it happen.
[ close ]
How Cloud-Based HR Software Supports Business Growth And Efficiency
How Cloud-Based HR Software Supports Business Growth And Efficiency
Sam Carr
Author: Sam Carr
About the article
Summary
Every business that employs people needs an HR system. In this article we show how cloud-based HR software makes the job a whole lot easier.
[ close ]
How To Use Employee Upskilling To Boost Customer Acquisition And Retention
How To Use Employee Upskilling To Boost Customer Acquisition And Retention
Riley Mitchell
Author: Riley Mitchell
About the article
Summary
Getting new customers is great, but you need to keep hold of them! Here, we show how upskilling employees delivers happy, loyal customers.
[ close ]
The Future of Work: How AI and Automation are Transforming Human Resources
The Future of Work: How AI and Automation are Transforming Human Resources
Ronnie Peterson
Author: Ronnie Peterson
About the article
Summary
The use of AI and automation are redefining how HR works. This article looks at the benefits and challenges of using this new way of working.
[ close ]
 

Write for us on the ZandaX blog

We're always looking for guest contributors to increase the variety and diversity of what we present.

Click to see how you can write for us:

 

The ZandaX Leadership & Management blog categories

Click a panel to visit the main category pages for the blog
Management - Self Development
Management - Self Development
IT and Security
IT and Security
Leadership & Team Management
Leadership & Team Management
Project Management
Project Management
Human Resources
Human Resources
[ This category ]
Training & Coaching
Training & Coaching

ZandaX Blog Contents

Want to see them all? Click to view a full list of articles in our blogs.

 
zandax online courses logo
"ZandaX courses are such great value, and with the help and support they give, there's no better option in the market"
ZandaX LinkedIn logo
ZandaX YouTube logo
ZandaX FaceBook logo
Course Categories
 
All content © ZandaX 2025