What is a social media username checker? A social media username checker is, in essence, a form of a social media background check. However, companies who offer this won’t necessarily provide detailed information or use complete criteria that could provide actionable insights. When it comes to selecting what you will use for social media background screening, you really want to do your due diligence.

So, let’s put the term “social media username checker” to the side for a moment and focus in on what a social media background check is, what you should expect to find in one and what is relevant to ensuring you have gone far enough when the public and your property is being trusted in the hands of your holiday hires.

A social media background check will scan the social media usernames of your candidates. Beyond scanning their names, it will produce results based on the criteria used in the check. Again, the criteria used will depend on the background check provider.

In the case of Triton, social media checks we will flag things like profanity, violence, hate speech, illicit drug activity, criminal activity, etc.

You likely rely on a range of background checks when vetting your hires. Many retailers use criminal records to validate trustworthiness and ensure public safety.

The retail industry hires arguably the most diverse range of staff and is one of the industries that comes into contact with a lot of students, the younger population, and newcomers to Canada.

Younger folks and even those new to Canada may not have had enough adult time in Canada to have gained a criminal record for past conduct. Social media checks are critical for HR professionals because they will often reveal behaviour that a criminal record check won’t. Social media checks also aren’t produced based on where you have resided, but instead produce results based on online behaviour, which has no borders.

When selecting a social media background check provider, it is imperative to:

1.  Work with an unbiased partner who has measures in place to prevent discrimination.
2.  Provides the most complete and current data.
3.  Uses criteria that is relevant to occurrences that may change a hiring decision.

Beyond this, some other criteria that you should consider is:

  • How secure is their platform?
  • Are the results available online?
  • How long have they been in business? Are they reputable?
  • Are they able to offer bulk ordering?
  • How fast is the turnaround time for checks?

Does simply checking usernames go far enough when the public and your property is being trusted in the hands of your holiday hires? We don’t think so. Take your time to ensure that you sign up for the correct combination of background checks and that you have done your due diligence to choose a background check provider who produces consistent, accurate and timely results.

For more information about social media background checks at retail please visit www.tritoncanada.ca.