Before you make a hire, you do your due diligence and run a background check to uncover potential red flags. But how do you identify red flags once an employee starts working for your organization?
If you rely on employees to self-report new criminal records or license changes, you may not find out until it’s too late. Continuous or recurring background checks can help you stay informed, compliant, and proactive about managing risk and creating a safe, transparent workplace.
In this article, we’ll discuss how to conduct post-hire background checks on your employees and why it’s becoming a best practice across industries.
What is Continuous or Recurring Background Screening?
You can conduct post-hire monitoring through either continuous or recurring background screening. While these options have some overlap, there are also a few notable differences in how and when they occur:
- Continuous screening: This screening runs nearly in real time and flags new records as they appear.
- Recurring screening: Employers run background checks at regular intervals, such as monthly, quarterly, or annually.
Unlike pre-employment background checks, which offer a one-time look into an employee’s past background, continuous and recurring screening can keep you informed after an employee’s first day. A thorough pre-employment background check gives you a baseline of trust, and post-hire monitoring builds on that foundation, allowing you to respond quickly to ongoing potential risks.
How It Works
Whether you choose to do continuous or recurring screening, the process works largely the same. Here’s an overview:
- A business provides a roster of current employees to screen on a continuous or recurring basis.
- If a new record occurs, it’s flagged in the system. With continuous monitoring, this happens almost in real time. For employers who choose recurring screening, these checks happen at defined periods.
- Your screening vendor verifies the record for accuracy, looking up records from the original source data.
- Once verified, you get alerted. You can then review the event, determine if it’s relevant, and perform the adverse action process if the employee’s job is impacted.
Benefits of Continuous or Recurring Background Screening
An ongoing screening program can have many benefits for employers, regardless of size or industry. Here are some common reasons to consider conducting background checks on current employees:
- Keep the workplace safe: Ongoing screening provides a real-time understanding of the potential risks that may compromise the safety of your employees or customers.
- Maintain compliance: In industries such as transportation, childcare, and healthcare, employers must conduct ongoing screening for safety-sensitive positions to comply with regulations.
- Minimize incidents: Proactive monitoring can prevent problems before they happen. It can help minimize accidents, thefts, or other incidents that may harm employees or damage your organization’s reputation.
- Build trust and transparency: When employees understand the reasons behind a continuous background screening policy, it helps build a culture of trust and accountability.
- Support second-chance hiring: Continuous or recurring screening helps you build trust with employees with prior convictions while fostering a safe, inclusive workplace.
Types of Continuous or Recurring Monitoring
If you’re considering recurring or continuous background checks, you might want to know what they cover. Here are some common types of post-hire monitoring and what they check:
Criminal Monitoring
Continuous criminal monitoring is the most common recurring background check, according to the Professional Background Screening Association. This type of screening provides real-time or recurring updates related to convictions and court records from federal, state, and local databases. It can alert your organization about changes to an employee’s criminal record and allow you to take quick action if necessary.
MVR Checks
Motor vehicle record (MVR) checks monitor changes to an employee’s driving record, such as a recent accident or a license suspension. If you employ drivers or transportation workers, continuous MVR monitoring can help you prevent accidents and stay compliant with regulations.
Social Media Monitoring
Social media monitoring reviews an employee’s public profiles for potential risks, such as bullying, hate speech, or harassment. By monitoring social media on a recurring basis, you can build a safe, respectful company culture and protect your organizational reputation.
License Monitoring
Ongoing license monitoring makes sure an employee’s professional license remains active and in good standing. This screening alerts you to potential issues, such as an expired license, so you can address them quickly. It’s particularly relevant in industries that hire credentialed employees.
Sanctions Monitoring
Ongoing sanctions monitoring checks individuals and businesses against official government or international sanctions lists. It can help businesses comply with regulatory requirements, especially in heavily regulated industries like healthcare and finance.
FAQs About Ongoing Monitoring
Here are the answers to some other frequently asked questions about ongoing monitoring:
Do you need to get authorization forms from all employees to do continuous monitoring?
Yes, you must get employees’ consent to run post-hire background checks, just like you do for pre-employment screening. Ongoing background checks are considered consumer reports and subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
If you plan to take an adverse action after an employee background check, what steps do you need to take?
If you learn about a new record that makes you consider an adverse action against an employee, you must follow the FCRA’s legal requirements. These include:
- Provide a pre-adverse action notice to the employee, which must include a copy of the background check report and a notice of their rights under the FCRA.
- Give the employee time to dispute the report or provide additional information.
- Send a final adverse action notice, which must include a notice of their right to file a dispute and get another free copy of the background check report.
An adverse action against a current employee may include terminating their employment or denying a promotion. Before implementing an ongoing screening strategy, establish a policy to specify which new events or records trigger a post-hire action.
For an in-depth guide to the adverse action process, read our white paper: The Criminal Background Check Assessment & Adverse Action Notification Process
Should you choose continuous or recurring screening for your organization?
The best ongoing screening strategy for your organization will depend on your industry, budget, and business needs. If you want a cost-effective option for post-hire monitoring, recurring screening might be the right fit. You can screen employees at set times to balance both budget and oversight.
For companies in safety-sensitive industries, like healthcare or transportation, continuous monitoring may be the better choice. It allows you to respond to potential issues as they happen and maintain compliance with industry regulations or standards.
Partner with InCheck for Ongoing Background Checks on Employees
While pre-employment screening is an essential part of hiring, it may not be enough to protect your business from future risks. Continuous and recurring screening can help your organization maintain compliance, protect your team and customers, and build a safe, transparent workplace for all employees.
InCheck’s post-hire monitoring services make it easy to build a continuous or recurring screening program tailored to your organization’s needs. We’ll work with you to create a monitoring package that makes sense for your business, whether you need real-time alerts or recurring license checks. For more information about building a post-hire screening package, reach out to our team today.