Why is a social media background check an important part of background screening?
At the turn of the century, who would have guessed that a social media background check would become a necessity one day? Social media has become an essential part of our everyday life. While we often categorize social media as a personal relationship tool, platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook have become widely used in a professional capacity, allowing users to leverage their capabilities and further their careers.
As a result, social media has been an increasingly important resource for hiring managers who want to learn more about their candidates. When scouring through applications and determining which candidates to hire, a look into a prospect’s social media profiles can provide valuable insights.
A core objective of any organization is to ascertain whether applicants are a good fit for certain positions and to preemptively identify any new-hire obstacles that may cause harm to the company. A good way to spot such obstacles tucked behind the “good impression” facade is to take a peek at their social media engagements.
How to perform a social media background check?
Here are some insights for employers considering the inclusion of social media checks as part of the background-check process.
Responsibility of HR Staff
It may not be appropriate for a direct supervisor or manager to check the social media profiles of their subordinates. A social media background check should strictly be conducted by HR professionals or an experienced pre-employment background check service provider. Such professionals are qualified and understand what to look for during the review process.
Consistency Is Key
It is critical to ensure that the human resource expert is examining everyone’s social media profiles (or nobody’s) when hiring for certain jobs across different departments. Laying strict guidelines and policies is a key factor to ensure consistency and fairness. For instance, one can devise a policy that requires the HR team to look at social media accounts when hiring for mid-management-level positions but not entry-level positions.
Performing a social media background check for every employee can be unnecessary in certain work environments. Therefore, creating specific guidelines can make the process simpler.
Utilize Public Accounts for Screening
HR professionals should only scan only social media pages that are accessible to the public. It’s grave professional misconduct to ask for access to an applicant’s social media passwords or other hidden/protected information. Requesting someone’s password is also a legal offense in many states.
Additional Reads:
Are You Getting the Most Out of Your Screening Vendor?
How Employment Screening Can Help You Reduce Turnover
Are Employment Verifications Necessary?
Provide Proper Guidelines to Your Background-Screening Service Provider
As a business, if you are planning to hire an outside firm to carry out social media background checks for your applicants, then you must understand their course of action and know exactly what their process looks like. Setting clear guidelines with your provider that fit firmly with your company’s policies is crucial as well.
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When are social media background checks most beneficial?
Evaluating an applicant’s online presence might be very valuable for some job roles and rather meaningless for others. Here are examples of jobs where it may be most beneficial:
- Public relations staff
- Marketing specialists (specifically social media strategists)
- Management-level positions (or any position that requires a fair amount of personal interaction)
- Law enforcement or government positions
- Any role in the education industry
- Certain volunteer or ecclesiastical positions
Employers must be cautious while researching a prospective candidate on Social Media, especially if it’s not job-related. Taking a quick look at their LinkedIn work experience or professional recommendations is absolutely fine. However, for the majority of jobs, taking a sneak peek at the candidate’s deep-rooted Instagram photos selfie may not be entirely appropriate. For this reason, it may be a good idea to turn to a third party in more sensitive situations.
Final Word
Choosing a trustworthy and responsible employee is not an easy task. For this reason, it is advisable to hire skilled pre-employment screening service providers. A more meticulous social media check — particularly one conducted by an established screening company — can present an insightful understanding of the candidate’s character and social history.
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