The Canadian retail industry is extremely fast-paced. Agility and the ability to scale retail support staff up and down according to demand are keys to profitability. This has become more challenging for retailers post-pandemic as many entry-level workers who traditionally sought out brick and mortar retail positions got a taste of the sweet work-from-home pie. Work from home has definitely made it harder for retailers to recruit as there is more demand than ever for retail workers, less supply and more competition.

Especially when recruiting in an industry where speed matters, as the faster you can get back to a candidate, the more likely it is you will land them for the role. The more refined your hiring process is, the faster you will be able to make decisions with respect to your candidates.

You would probably agree that one of the most time-consuming aspects of the hiring process is validating information provided by candidates. The more involved your internal workflow is (e.g., the number of vendors being used for background checks), the longer it will take to vet your candidate.

One of the best ways to make your hiring process more efficient is to work with a background check provider that can provide all of your background checks in one place: Background checks like criminal background checks, employment and education verification, reference checks, driver history checks, credit checks, social media background checks.

Working with a provider who provides ATS integration and/or the ability to integrate those background check capabilities into your current system is another great way to expedite the verifications during the hiring process.

Here are some of the things you will want to look for in a vendor who provides centralized background checks:

  • Integration: You will want to ensure that the background provider will support integrating their solution into your infrastructure. Depending on your volumes, you may want to negotiate a deeply discounted rate.
  • Accessibility: If not being integrated into your existing system, you should work with a vendor that makes your checks available online.
  • Security: Ask your vendor to validate that their system is secure (e.g., Are the SoC certified?)
  • Data Sources: Where the background check involves third-party data (e.g., Criminal background checks, credit checks, social media background checks), ask for their data sources and the frequency to which their data is updated. A criminal background check in Canada, for example, should involve current data from RCMP databases.
  • Speed: It is reasonable to ask your vendor for their SLAs regarding turnaround by background check type. Speed is critical.
  • Pricing: Ask about all costs beyond integration and standard pricing. Is there a cost for support? Will you have to pay premiums for faster services (many background providers do this)?

Once putting a centralized background check solution is in play, you will notice an immediate improvement in your team’s overall performance.

For more information about centralizing your background checks, please visit www.tritoncanada.ca.