What is social media background check?

Why should you be using social media background check as part of your pre-employment candidate screening process?

Pre employment social media checks provide insight into their character and values, which can be important when making hiring decisions. Therefore, it is crucial to understand both the positive and negative impacts of social media on our life and society. 
 
With social media now a fundamental part of our lives and with more people leaning on using it, it's important to assess every element of the character of a future colleague. When people ask “are social media checks even legal”, there is nothing laid down in law so employers should consider this part of their hiring process, but make sure you highlight this to potential hires you will be checking. Transparency is a good thing. 

In the UK, regulators such as the British Standards Institute (BSI) and The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)  along with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE)  are also recognising that checking a candidates social media activity is an important aspect when considering an individual’s suitability to a regulated role. 

Why employers should take into consideration the use of social media and the benefits of social media screening when reviewing applicants?

In more detail, a professional social media check examines a candidate’s online profile and activity. It retrieves publicly available information from social media sites, providing an insight into the candidate’s background and character. A social media background check or pre-employment social media screening check can reveal a lot about a candidate that may not be visible on paper. This includes their online behaviour, communication skills, and their overall personality. This additional insight can help employers make better-informed decisions about potential hires and ensure the company culture remains intact. As such, it is becoming increasingly important for organisations of all sizes and industries to include social media screening as part of their hiring process.   
 
If such abhorrent traits are aired online, they could come to the surface in your workplace creating cultural barriers and making colleagues feel uncomfortable.

What considerations should employers make when it comes to pre-employment screening social media checks?

In today's digital age, it's essential for employers and recruitment agencies to take into consideration the use of social media when reviewing job applicants. Gone are the days where CVs and cover letters were key determining factors in the hiring process. But where do you start and how do you use technology to do the heavy lifting of reviewing social media accounts for you? 

• Here you can review applicant’s posts and comments objectively, without allowing personal bias to come into play   
• You can ensure all social media platforms are properly vetted so that any information uncovered is legally obtained  
• Making sure to reviewing and adhering to privacy and discrimination when reviewing applicants’ online profiles  

• Keeping track of the sources used when researching an applicant’s social media accounts, in order to maintain a record of compliance with relevant laws 
• What’s more, technology can now assess the social media background checks, rather it be undertaken manually 

For the reasons we’ve outlined above, employers should absolutely consider implementing screening technology to undertake pre-employment social media screening. By conducting a social media background check, employers can ensure that the candidate is the right fit for their company and that they align with the company's values. Not only can social media screening improve the hiring process, but it can also protect the company from potential reputational damage. In short, using screening technology to undertake social media background checks can benefit both the employer and the employee in the long run. 
 
Social media checks have grown in popularity, becoming more widely used across multiple industry sectors and are now an accepted part of the pre-employment screening activity. In some industries this is not only required but also an essential part of their applicant onboarding process. Whilst some organisations may be reluctant to conduct a professional social media check as it feels like an invasion of their candidate’s personal privacy, including social media screening but the threat to your reputation and the damage resulting from, for example, data theft can’t be ruled out from a hire who has a possibly risky social media profile. That’s why many employers won’t take a risk with a potential hire who indulges in nefarious social media activity.  

What’s the worst that can happen if you ignore social media checks about a new employee? 

We know the positive aspects of social media, but we can  be a source of major headaches for employers. When it comes to new employees, a negative social media presence can lead to a lot of damage for a company. That's why many employers now conduct social media background checks or pre-employment social media screening. These checks can reveal potentially harmful information about a candidate's social media activity, such as discriminatory comments, inflammatory posts, or pictures that could tarnish the company's reputation. The repercussions of not conducting social media screening can be dire, including loss of customers, lawsuits, and damaged brand reputation. So, it's best to be proactive and take the necessary steps to protect your company before making any hiring decisions.  
 
With technology from renowned specialists such as Access Screening, this can all be handled via automation meaning no manual checks and the result will be a definitive answer, and peace of mind the potential hire isn’t up to no good when engaging on a social media platform.  

How technology based social media checks work

Technology has become a key enabler when it comes to social media background checks and pre-employment social media screening. Using technology from an organisation such as Access Screening means employers have all the information to hand in order to make an informed decision.  
 
The findings from the social media background checks will not determine the result – and the conclusions the person make – but directly helps a prompter decision.  
 
Technology providing social media background checks will generally offer a red, amber, green (RAG) status on a number of checks for you to review a potential employee’s social media activities so they meet your threshold for acceptable behaviour. The RAG status will flag to you items for consideration:  

• Inappropriate/undesirable content 
• Sexually explicit content 
• Potential addiction or substance abuse 
• Illegal activities 
• Hate and discriminatory behaviour 
• Extreme views/opinions 
• Violent content

With social media so prevalent in today’s everyday life, it’s important for employers and agencies to understand the ramifications of a new hire with a negative approach to their social media in your workplace.  
 
Confidence from customers could be undermined if this hire continues with their poor social media practices. Meanwhile, workplace safety could be breached if this hire worked and upset the balance in your organisation. Related to this point, colleagues too could lose confidence in your and organisation if this hire was made given their approach to social media.  

 
All in all, you could suffer financial, social or reputational harm if the social media of a possible employee is not checked. And with technology here to help you, you can make an informed decision based on information gleaned for their attitudes to social media.