Large Background Check Companies Were Hit Hard by the Pandemic; 4 Things That They Won't Tell You
December 16, 2020
SwiftCheck is heavily involved with industry peers and the information below is based on a combination of background check industry specific webinars and peer conversations.
Like many other industries, the background screening industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics presented that every industry has suffered a decrease in employment and that no individual industry has reached the employment level prior to the pandemic. With an overall decrease in the number of new hires, the background screening industry as a whole has experienced a decrease in the amount of background checks needed to be performed. Here are four things that the large background check companies will not tell you about how the pandemic has impacted their organizations:
1. Background screening volume has decreased as much as 56% for some background check companies.
With the pandemic impacting almost every individual in both the United States, and the world, most of the industries it hardest by the pandemic are clear to individuals outside of the human resources industry. Industries such as retail, oil & gas, leisure & hospitality and manufacturing had some of the largest decreases in new hires. As some large volume clients stopped onboarding new hires, large background check companies experienced significant volume decreases.
2. With downsizing and layoffs, clients are experiencing delays
As the volume of background checks decreased, large background check companies were forced to layoff employees. A majority of background screening verification teams were, and some still are, required to perform more work with less resources. These changes have caused significant delays for organizations that are requesting that background checks be performed on new hires.
3. Overseas call centers were and continue to shut down during case surges
To save on labor costs, a majority of the large background screening companies outsource the verification process to countries outside of the United States. During the beginning of the pandemic call centers around the world were shut down. These shut downs made the background check process grind to a halt with an unknown ETA for results. Though the U.S. economy began going back to work it did not mean that some call centers in other countries were able to return to work leaving background check reports delayed.
4. More Background Checks will be performed in the next 3 years than ever before
On the surface it may seem like all doom and gloom for these background screening companies however, as the economy increases in new hires so will the need for background checks to be performed. With the Global Employment Screening Services Market Expected to Reach $7.64 Billion by 2026,  the industry as a whole has over 7 billion reasons to stay the course.
SwiftCheck has thrived during the pandemic
SwiftCheck has been able to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. We were ready to immediately deploy the staff to go fully remote at the very beginning of the pandemic and have continued to serve our clients successfully. Our overall volume has increased year over year and, unlike other background screening companies, SwiftCheck is fortunate to have not experienced any layoffs. In look forward to continued growth in 2021 and beyond!