Every security staffing company must verify and screen the security professionals it employs. This makes the candidate screening process a vital yet often time-intensive aspect of hiring security personnel. While efficiency in recruitment is critical, speeding up the process should never compromise BS7858 compliance. The British Standard for screening security professionals lays out certain guidelines employers must follow to prevent any hiring fraud, malpractices, or other risks.
In this blog, let’s explore some practical methods to streamline your screening processes while ensuring complete adherence to BS7858 background checks.
Why Timely Screening Matters
Timely screening impacts not only the hiring organisation but also the client’s satisfaction and operational workflow. Delayed screening can lead to a backlog in onboarding, potentially disrupting contracts and eroding client trust. Security providers often need personnel deployed rapidly to meet the demands of clients, making delays costly.
However, cutting corners in BS7858 security screening isn’t an option. BS7858 compliance violations can result in severe legal risks, loss of reputation, and even financial penalties. This makes it essential to develop a strategy that balances speed and thoroughness, ensuring your operations remain BS7858-compliant without compromising on efficiency.
Recommended Reading: Ensure compliance by downloading our free Comprehensive Guide to BS7858 Screening Steps.
Strategies to Accelerate Screening While Ensuring Compliance
Let’s discuss some strategies employers could implement to stay on top of security vetting guidelines throughout their hiring process.
1. Pre-Screen Candidates During Recruitment
Proactive measures in the early stages of recruitment can significantly cut down screening times. Utilise pre-employment questionnaires to gather critical details such as identity documents, employment history, and references upfront.
By identifying potential risks, such as frequent job changes or discrepancies in employment records, you can focus your screening efforts on higher-priority cases, making the process more targeted and efficient.
2. Leverage Automated Tools
Modern technology allows for significant time savings. Implement automated software solutions for verifying identity, credit history, and criminal records. Platforms like GuardCheck simplify BS7858 compliance, automating checks and reducing manual errors. This ensures compliance with industry standards while expediting the verification process.
Partnering with providers of real-time public record checks is another way to speed up tasks like address verification or cross-referencing criminal watchlists, enabling you to proceed with confidence.
3. Parallelise Screening Steps
Instead of conducting screenings sequentially, adopt a parallel workflow. For example, while requesting employment references, you can simultaneously initiate criminal record checks and financial history verification. This overlap in processes can reduce overall turnaround times by several days.
4. Build Relationships with External Verifiers
Maintaining strong relationships with previous employers, educational institutions, and professional verifiers can expedite reference checks and education verifications. Additionally, partnering with dedicated verification agencies ensures quicker turnarounds for checks requiring external validation.
5. Implement a Risk-Based Framework
A risk-based approach to BS7858 security screening allows for prioritizing resources more effectively:
- Low-risk roles: Focus on essential checks such as identity and address history.
- High-risk roles: Conduct more extensive checks, but prioritize urgent components like criminal record screening to ensure deployment readiness.
6. Centralise Screening Data
A centralised database provides quick access to all screening records. Use an integrated dashboard for tracking the progress of individual candidates in real-time. This approach not only saves time but also ensures better compliance monitoring and reporting, as mandated under BS7858 screening standards.
Recommended Reading: Learn how to navigate data protection laws while conducting BS7858 screening.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Ensuring compliance comes with its own set of challenges. Let’s take a look at some common pitfalls you could encounter and ways to avoid them.
- Incomplete Documentation: Ensure all necessary documents are submitted and verified before finalizing employment. Missing information can lead to non-compliance or future liabilities.
- Over-Reliance on Automation: While technology accelerates processes, human oversight remains critical for handling nuanced cases and ensuring data accuracy.
- Lack of Communication: Keep candidates informed about the screening stages. Delays often occur due to missing or incomplete information that candidates could have easily provided with proper guidance.
The Role of GuardCheck in BS7858 Compliance
When it comes to simplifying and streamlining BS7858 background checks, GuardCheck stands out as an essential tool for security firms. This fully managed digital platform ensures adherence to BS7858 standards while reducing the screening time to just 48 hours in most cases​. Features such as real-time tracking, automated workflows, and an integrated dashboard eliminate the traditional bottlenecks in compliance.
With GuardCheck, organizations can:
- Automate manual processes, ensuring efficiency and cost savings.
- Track progress instantly, minimizing uncertainties during the screening process.
- Achieve 100% compliance with BS7858 requirements, safeguarding both legal and operational interests.
Conduct Fast Screening Without Compromise
By integrating automation, adopting risk-based frameworks, and leveraging professional tools like GuardCheck, organizations can accelerate screening processes without compromising on how to comply with BS7858 standards. These strategies not only enhance hiring efficiency but also ensure that security personnel meet the highest compliance standards from day one.
Why Choose GuardCheck?
For a seamless BS7858 security screening experience, GuardCheck is the trusted solution for many UK employers. It ensures compliance while saving time and resources, delivering complete vetting reports within 48 hours.
To learn more about how GuardCheck can transform your hiring process, join GuardPass today. You can invite candidates for vetting via the GuardPass portal.