Human Resources (HR)

The Top 9 Background Check Solutions

Explore the top background check solutions featuring comprehensive screening services, compliance management, and seamless integrations to ensure a reliable and secure hiring processes.

Last updated on Jun 24, 2024

Written by Alex Zawalnyski

Technical review by Laura Iannini

The Top 9 Background Check Solutions Include:

1. Certn
2. Checkr
3. Goodegg
4. Good Hire
5. HireRight
6. Intelifi
7. Paycom
8. Sterling Check
9. Xref

Background check solutions are important tools that HR departments can use to gather information on prospective employees. These tools provide comprehensive services ranging from criminal history search, employment verification, education verification, credit history, and identity checks. They help to mitigate risks, streamline recruitment processes, enhance transparency, and uphold the integrity of organizations.

Background check solutions are provided by investigative agencies and online platforms. They work by compiling information about an individual from various publicly accessible databases and records. When a background check is initiated, these companies cross-reference records and provide an inclusive report, thus saving valuable time and resources.

For employers, background checks enable informed decision-making by providing critical insights into a candidate’s past behavior and integrity. They ensure that the individual you intend to hire is trustworthy, capable, and suitable for the role. Accurate checks also help eliminate potential threats that can compromise the safety, reputation, or financial stability of your organization.

The market for background check solutions is growing, with several providers offering advanced features like global checks, continuous monitoring, and predictive analytics to meet the diverse needs of modern businesses. Many are integrated within larger HR platforms to provide seamless service across the entire recruitment cycle. This guide assesses the top background check solution providers, considers key features such as comprehensiveness, ease of use, accuracy, turnaround time, compliance, and customer service.

Certn

Certn is an effective screening platform designed to fit the varied needs of businesses. The company offers an innovative solution for completely online automated checks, allowing businesses to progress from manual screening methods. With a focus on providing easy and streamlined background checks, Certn is committed to modernizing workflows and significantly reducing time-to-hire, improving efficiency by up to 80%.

Certn’s technology-driven checks are designed to simplify the hiring process by eliminating bottlenecks and reducing costs by up to 30%. The company’s solutions are scalable and versatile. They are designed for businesses requiring anything from one-off to thousands of checks annually. Companies can benefit from Certn’s low- and no-dev technology that is agile enough to meet a range of market condition.

Certn also excels in providing global screening solutions built with local know-how. The platform allows businesses to run criminal record checks, instant identity checks, and employment verification across more than 200 countries and territories. This means, with Certn, businesses can extend their reach to global opportunities. To enhance the user experience, Certn offers a mobile-friendly, online background check experience that ensures new hires have a smooth onboarding process from start to finish.

Certn offers a range of API integrations expanding the uses and ease of carrying out background checks. This allows businesses to offer a tailored, brand-specific experience for recruiters and candidates alike.

Checkr

Checkr is a background check service that leverages advanced technology to facilitate faster and less complicated hiring processes. Their service is known for its quick turnaround time, with 97% of customers acknowledging it is faster than competitors and 84% of checks are completed in less than 15 minutes. They have also designed the platform to be user-friendly for hiring teams and candidates, with 90% of customers noting that it has simplified their daily tasks.

This service, renowned for its built-in regulatory compliance features, can automatically and consistently apply custom criteria, reducing adverse action rates by up to 20%. To optimize the user experience, Checkr provides on-demand support from FCRA trained experts.

Checkr’s flexible API allows full customization to match different working styles and processes. With more than 100 pre-built integrations, Checkr can easily connect to your existing Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), HRIS, or onboarding systems. Additionally, their self-serve dashboard provides ease in ordering reports and managing candidates, among other processes.

In terms of results, Checkr offers a broad range of checks including criminal background checks which can reveal felony convictions, misdemeanor convictions, and infractions. They also offer employment history checks, confirming details like position titles, dates of employment, and employment status. The platform also provides education verification services checking enrollment history, degree obtained, and graduation dates.

Goodegg

Goodegg is an employment background check service provider that aims to offer an exceptional user experience. They streamline the process by offering mobile-ready background checks, which align with today’s preferences for text-based communication among job applicants.

The company conducts a range of verification checks that analyze an applicant’s past, present, and potential future behavior. This encompasses Pre-Employment Screenings, which check educational and job history, as well as certifications. Post-Employment Screenings dive into more recent activities, providing real-time insights into potential criminal conduct, drug usage, or problematic online behavior. Goodegg also offers Ongoing Monitoring, maintaining active checks on elements like social media activity, potentially highlighting any issues before they can escalate.

Another core offering from Goodegg is their Social Media Background Checks. These are designed to explore an applicant’s online activities in a thorough and legally compliant manner. Thanks to their powerful and precise AI technology (supplemented by human oversight) they provide accurate data, whether for a one-time check or continuous monitoring. These social media checks are conducted in accordance with EEOC, FCRA, and state privacy laws, offering insights without infringing on personal privacy.

Goodegg also performs driving history checks, including Motor Vehicle Records (MVR) checks and continuous MVR monitoring. In case of significant changes on a driver’s record, Goodegg will alert the employer, enabling preventative measures. All these services from Goodegg are customizable, compliant with relevant legal requirements, and are integrated with over 1,000 online databases for thorough and efficient screenings.

Good Hire

GoodHire is a tech firm that provides an intuitive and flexible background check service for employment screening. The company works to simplify the setup and workflow of background checks, allowing clients to automate common processes, saving them time. User-friendly dashboards provide status updates on background check processes for both companies and candidates. GoodHire also offers support for the design of screening programs tailored to fit your business needs as well as offering pre-bundled screening packages to choose from.

As support staff for your screening processes, the company provides a FCRA-certified, US-based support team, who can answer screening, compliance, or process related queries from either businesses or candidates. GoodHire’s API is designed to suit HR operations, providing compatibility with existing ATS/HRIS tools. The software allows for the creation of custom screening packages specified to job roles or clients, and the management of checks across different locations or divisions from a central dashboard.

With a strong focus on compliance, GoodHire employs in-house experts to advise on FCRA-related issues and keep a watch on regulatory alterations that might affect their clients’ operations. The company specializes in background checks for a variety of industries including banking, construction, IT, education, and healthcare among others. It also supports screening for a range of roles, offering ease for HR teams, recruiters, managers, and department heads to conduct employment background checks.

Employers can leverage GoodHire’s service for making fair hiring decisions, maintaining work safety, protecting against liability claims, and abiding by necessary regulations, making their employment screening process more efficient and simpler. GoodHire’s software is configurable for both large-scale operations and small businesses, integrating seamlessly with pre-existing recruitment and hiring workflows. In addition, GoodHire provides unique services like education verification and professional license verification to ensure the authenticity of potential hires’ credentials.

HireRight

HireRight is a leading service provider facilitating comprehensive background checks. These checks primarily assess criminal records, aiming to safeguard an organization’s reputation, assets, and existing employees’ trust.

The importance of criminal background checks lies in assessing the risk potential with new hires. Statistics of previous crimes does not necessarily deter an employee’s selection but provides an insightful perspective for decision making. Additionally, the knowledge aids in assessing the roles and responsibilities the individual can handle, considering their previous records. Incorporating such checks minimizes on-job incidents and potential lawsuits related to negligent hiring.

HireRight provides a wide-ranging network of researchers extending its services globally. The company ensures a criminal history background screening program specific to your needs, considering legal requirements, internal policies, time constraints, your industry, and the role requirements. The company also offers additional services like Arrest Record Monitoring within the U.S., various targeted checks including Federal Criminal Records Search and County Civil Records Search.

An additional service can conduct financial background checks, an especially significant step for roles involving access to financial information, funds, or assets. HireRight’s financial check offers a deeper understanding of a candidate’s financial background, highlighting any history of bad debts, negative credit data, bankruptcy, etc., across more than 170 countries or territories. HireRight ensures all checks comply with laws in that specific country or region.

Intelifi

Intelifi is a provider of cloud-based background screening software. This platform is designed for speed, accuracy, and compliance, offering intuitive reporting options to aid decision-making. It connects directly to a range of sources, including county courthouses, government departments, and international feeds, to bring you the most up-to-date and accurate information for your company’s crucial decisions.

The platform prides itself on offering an extensive range of customizable background screening reports such as Criminal Records, People Searches, DMV Records, Verifications, Credit Reporting, and Drug Testing. Specific information like an applicant’s past criminal incidents, personal details, employment history, credit report, and drug testing results can be assessed to determine their potential role within your organization.

Intelifi not only gives you the chance to validate your applicant’s information with its comprehensive searches, but it also helps prevent fraud and ensures hiring decisions are made based on accurate, detailed results. The platform simplifies data entry, making the user experience seamless and minimizing the risk of human error. It also facilitates simplified ordering processes, even for the most complex packages.

A standout feature of Whichntelifi is the accuracy and reliability of its reports,whichch are human-reviewed for precision and compliance. The company is an accredited member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) and strictly adheres to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), making its reports safe for employment decisions across the United States. The platform also impresses with its proprietary technology, Liverunner, which can extract real-time county and state records in as little as 1 to 2 hours.

Paycom

Paycom offers an enhanced background checks service, a customizable employee screening HR solution that enables employers to examine potential hires quickly and thoroughly. The tool is designed to ensure applicants meet qualifications and do not pose a risk to the organization.

Paycom’s HR background check software presents results swiftly, aiding employers in making informed hiring decisions, without losing valued candidates. The process is optimized for candidates, HR professionals, recruiters, and hiring managers. The check operates using candidate-submitted information, and successful applicants can be hired with a single click. The tool automates data entry across systems, freeing up your time for other tasks.

Paycom, as a member of the Professional Background Screening Association, aids organizations in remaining compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)’s regulations regarding employment screening, including obtaining consent and providing clear disclosures to applicants.

Paycom prioritizes data security, ensuring background information remains secure and available only to appropriately authorized users. The customizable screening software packages available through Paycom include elements such as national and county criminal scans, sex offender registry checks, education and employment verification, drug testing, and health services.

Sterling Check

Sterling Check is an established global provider of background and identity solutions, focused on fostering trust and safety among employees, customers, and partners worldwide. The platform is recognized for its client-centric products, incorporating tech-enabled services, resulting in expedited client and candidate experiences, robust integrations, and rapid turnaround times. The enterprise draws on specialized regional expertise and efficient service to ensure reliable global fulfillment. In addition to this, Sterling Check’s services are meticulously tailored to align with the distinct requirements of its customers across varied sectors, effectively utilizing deep market insights.

Sterling Check provides criminal record checks and identity verification, all driven by proprietary automation technology. These effective tools facilitate confident hiring, ensuring a seamless integration of top candidates into an organization’s unique culture. Simultaneously, Sterling Check offers ‘Identity Verification’ to expedite hiring and yield more precise results, promising access to more US background check criminal records and risk management via technology-enabled compliance resources.

Sterling Check stands out for its comprehensive understanding of each candidate’s profile. Its advanced verification services confirm a candidate’s educational background, job history, and other credentials quickly and accurately. This advanced system leverages a sophisticated database that validates contacts in over 130,000 entities, affording quicker response times for verification, and ensuring safer, intelligent hiring decisions.

Xref

Xref is a platform that streamlines the talent acquisition and management process, primarily through its automated reference checking software. This system allows HR professionals to create and dispatch surveys swiftly, with survey creation taking as little as 30 seconds. Xref’s offering is flexible, facilitating survey completion on any device, at any time, and provides secured data storage, maintaining ISO27001 and GDPR compliance.

Through Xref, users can create detailed profiles for all their talent, storing their contact information and completed surveys for quick reference. The reference checking feature is designed to expedite the hiring process, with the platform delivering results within an average of 18 hours. This function is further bolstered by an algorithm that monitors for unusual activity during the referencing process while also quantifying feedback for easy candidate comparison.

Xref offers a library of compliant HR questions to build custom surveys, allowing HR professionals to check references efficiently and without unconscious bias. The platform also provides progress updates and completion reports, which include assessments on skills, core competencies, and overall sentiment of the reference. Xref supports multiple languages and offers a talent pool feature, letting users reduce future recruitment costs by drawing from a pool of past candidates and referees.

Everything You Need To Know About Background Check Solutions (FAQs)

What Are Background Check Solutions?

Background Check Solutions allow employers to understand details about individuals beyond what is written on a CV. These tools can be used to corroborate and check the veracity of any qualifications on work experience, as well as investigating beyond this. Some platforms are designed to carry out criminal records, education, and social media checks. This due diligence minimises the chances of running into any difficulties down the line that could have been avoided.

These are useful tools to use as part of the hiring process. They help to ensure that candidates are as good as they say they are, and that they are not withholding any information from you. This helps you to make fully informed decision through the hiring process.

Many of these platforms will carry out ongoing checks throughout an employee’s tenure with you. This ensures you can react to any changes in criminal records, or if an employee is behaving in an unacceptable way via their social media. This is also useful for driving related records. Your vehicular insurance may require drivers to have a clean licence. Background check solutions can check if this is the case and update you if anything changes.

How do Background Check Solutions work?

We can break the Background Check process down into five steps: consent, information gathering, verification, reporting, and outcome.

Consent – When conducting background checks, it is absolutely essential (legally) that you gain consent from the individual that you are checking. This is either achieved through a signed release form, or through accepting online policies. Breaching this can be very serious as it contravenes an individual’s right to privacy. Helpfully, background check solutions are designed to accomplish this in a streamlined and straightforward way.

Information Gathering – Once an individual’s consent has been given, a background check platform will use databases and searches to find any information in relation to the criteria. The specifics of this will differ depending on what is being assessed. A criminal record check, for instance, is very different to a social media check. Some of these checks will involve searching a directory, whilst others might require the platform to contact references to verify information.

Verification – To ensure that the information is correct, it should be cross-checked. After all, the results of this check could have a direct impact on employability, so any errors could be serious. This process can either be automatic or manual, or a combination of both. A common thing checked at this stage is that the system has identified the correct person. There may be multiple people with the same name, and you need to ensure you know which one you’ve investigated.

Reporting – Once all the information has been gathered, the background check platform can generate a report to respond to the checks. This report will be different depending on who it is for, and the type of check that has been requested. It should also include any additional information and evidence that the requesting party should have access to.

Outcome – While this stage is beyond the remit of a background check solution, it is still part of the overall process. The requesting party will use the generated report to make a final decision.

How Do You Choose The Right Background Check Solution?

It is important that you find the right background check solution for your use case to ensure that you can gather the information that you need. Before you start looking at the various platforms on offer and their features, it is worth taking a moment to identify what you want to work out. To make this process easier, we have outlined some questions to ask yourself before selecting a platform.

What type of check do you wish to carry out?

Criminal history?
Employment history?
Education verification?
Reference checks?
Professional licensing?
Driving record?
Credit check?
Do you need to carry out a check in one of these areas, or across multiple?

What features should you look for in Background Check Solutions?

Once you have decided what it is that you need to find out, you can begin to search for the best solution for your use case. We’d recommend having a look at the top products listed in this article to help you make an informed decision. As you assess each platform’s suitability, it is worth considering the following key features:

HR Platform – Rather than operating as a stand-alone product, many background check features are offered as part of a wider HR platform. These are designed to streamline the process from posting a job, through finding the right candidate, to onboarding.
Speed and Reliability – Obviously, you want the checks to be carried out quickly and efficiently so that they do not slow the recruitment process too much. More important than speed, however, is accuracy. Your information and decision making needs to be 100% accurate to ensure the employment process is fair. There is, then, a balance between speed and reliability that must be struck.
Broad Access – To ensure that you gather all available information, your platform should offer broad integrations and have access to a broad range of databases. The exact access required will differ depending on the type of check that you are carrying out. The bottom line, however, remains – if the information is out there, you’ll want to have access to it.
Scale – The ability to scale may not be necessary for all organizations, but it is worth keeping in mind. If you have a very active recruitment process, you will have to run checks on many individuals. Your solution needs to have capacity for this. Equally, if you are carrying out ongoing social media checks, your platform needs to facilitate this too.
Global – If your company operates globally, you may have to have access to a different set of databases and areas. You need to ensure that you are operating in accordance with local and international regulations to ensure your information gathering process is fair, legal, and comprehensive.

Alex Zawalnyski

Journalist & Content Editor

Alex is an experienced journalist and content editor. He researches, writes, factchecks and edits articles relating to B2B cyber security and technology solutions, working alongside software experts. Alex was awarded a First Class MA (Hons) in English and Scottish Literature by the University of Edinburgh.

Laura Iannini

Cybersecurity Analyst

Laura Iannini is an Information Security Engineer. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity from the University of West Florida. Laura has experience with a variety of cybersecurity platforms and leads technical reviews of leading solutions. She conducts thorough product tests to ensure that Expert Insights’ reviews are definitive and insightful.