More than 9 out of 10 EMEA businesses would be comfortable with AI or automation being used by background screening providers for researching or compiling a screening report
A leading provider of global employment background screening services, HireRight, has released the findings from its 17th annual benchmarking survey.
HireRight’s new and comprehensive report draws from the survey responses of more than 1,250 HR, risk, and talent acquisition professionals from organisations worldwide using employment background screening to help mitigate possible risks to their employees, customers, corporate reputation, and commercial success.
One of the key findings this year is the generally warm welcome from survey participants for the use of AI or automation for researching or compiling a background screening report. In fact, 83% of EMEA respondents said they would be comfortable with AI or automation being used to reduce the risk of human error and 79% were happy with its use if it helped speed up the screening process. Improving the candidate experience (64%) and cost savings (48%) were also among the top benefits that EMEA respondents said would warrant their usage.
Commenting on HireRight’s approach to the use of AI and automation, Marc Sharma, Director of Engineering, Applied Machine Learning at HireRight, said: “Given the sensitivity of the data HireRight handles, none of our planned process workflows can be considered a standalone AI system that automates employment decisions. Instead, we use a hybrid, and well-known, ‘Human in the Loop’ type system. The data from this survey appears to show that employers have an appreciation for the coupled human/machine hybrid handling of the security and efficiency of our internal processes and workflows, while maintaining the necessary human-only control.”
Essential Accuracy
One of the other key reasons respondents stated they would support the use of AI or automation by their screening provider in the screening process is to reduce the risk of human error and improve accuracy. And accuracy of results has climbed to the top of the priorities list for employers (72% in EMEA, up from 50% last year) when choosing a background screening provider, with speed (33%) and cost (35%) showing as less important to respondents than in HireRight’s 2023 survey.
When it comes to the specific candidate discrepancies employers are finding, again it varies around the world. In EMEA, it is inconsistencies found when verifying candidates’ employment history and education credentials that dominate. In contrast, in North America, undisclosed criminal convictions are the most common candidate discrepancies—identified by over double the percentage of EMEA respondents (40% in North America vs. 17% in EMEA).
The above is a brief snapshot from a much broader global report that dives into regional background screening, talent acquisition, and talent management trends from around the world. For more information and to download HireRight’s 2024 Global Benchmark Report, please visit www.hireright.com/benchmark2024.
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