Recruitment is already a high-stakes game. You're hiring for impact, not just filling seats. Every new employee can potentially drive your team forward or drag it down. So when your HR team is buried in admin work like background checks, something’s gotta give.

At Hire Performance, we've seen this play out in real life. One of our clients recently told us she relied on interns and entry-level staff to handle background checks. It worked — until it didn’t. There was high turnover, gaps in processes, and sleepless nights wondering what slipped through the cracks.

This isn’t just her story. It’s a pattern we hear all the time: overwhelmed teams doing their best, but wasting hours on a task that could be streamlined and simplified.

The fix? Partner with a third-party background screening provider that knows Canadian compliance inside and out. From fast, accurate Ontario criminal record checks to full-service background screening solutions, we handle the admin so your team can focus on hiring top talent — not paperwork.

The Hidden Costs of In-House Background Checks

On the surface, running background checks in-house might seem like the more cost-effective option. But when you start adding up the real costs, the picture shifts fast.

Time Isn’t Free

Manual checks take time, especially if your team is juggling multiple roles. Chasing references, verifying employment, and pulling criminal records is all time-consuming. And when that time is spread across several team members, the result is slower hiring, fragmented communication, and plenty of room for error.

Turnover Creates a Knowledge Gap

When interns or junior staff manage background checks, there's constant turnover and retraining. Just when someone finally learns the process, they’re off to their next role, and that knowledge walks out the door with them. What’s left is a patchwork system that’s vulnerable to breakdowns.

Errors Aren’t Just Inconvenient — They’re Risky

One small mistake in a background check can have real consequences. Maybe a red flag gets missed, or a report comes back incomplete. If your team isn’t trained to spot and fix these issues, they could lead to bad hires or, worse, legal trouble.

The Opportunity Cost Is Real

What could your HR team be doing instead? Building better onboarding, improving culture, and strengthening retention. Every hour they spend on manual background checks is an hour not spent on what actually moves the needle.

And let’s be honest, interns have a place, but it’s not managing legal compliance. They’re great for fresh ideas and providing support, not for making high-stakes calls on candidate suitability.

What a Third-Party Screening Partner Brings to the Table

Outsourcing raises the bar on accuracy, compliance, and candidate experience. Here’s how:

Speed You Can Count On

Third-party providers typically use purpose-built systems designed to move fast. With platforms like the eScreener, which automates background checks using nationwide databases and expert workflows, results come in quickly—often much faster than your team could manage manually.

Accuracy You Can Trust

When screening is your full-time job, you don’t miss the details. A professional partner knows what to look for, what questions to ask, and how to verify the right information. No guesswork. No shortcuts. Just clean, reliable data you can act on.

Compliance Made Simple

Worried about legal risks? You should be. Regulations like the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) and CPIC (Canadian Police Information Centre) guidelines aren’t exactly light reading. But with a trusted partner, you can leave the compliance checks to people who live and breathe this stuff. No more late nights Googling what’s allowed in which province.

Consistency Across The Board

When you outsource, the process stays tight, no matter who’s doing the hiring. That means no missed steps, no inconsistencies, and no rogue processes. It also protects your company from internal bias or procedural gaps that could creep in with ad hoc, in-house checks.

Security You Can Rely On

Handling background checks in-house often means storing sensitive candidate data across spreadsheets, emails, or unsecured systems, which is risky. 

A trusted third-party provider uses secure platforms with encryption and access controls, protecting you and your candidates. In a world of rising data breaches and evolving privacy laws, peace of mind isn’t optional; it’s essential.

And let’s not overlook the emotional impact. When HR leaders know background checks are handled professionally, they actually get to breathe. They stress less, have more confidence, and sleep better.

Cost Breakdown: In-House vs. Outsourced

Let’s talk numbers. While in-house might seem “free,” it rarely is.

What in-house really costs:

• Staff time: Your HR team’s hours don’t come cheap. Every background check eats into your recruitment budget
• Training: New team members need to learn the process, again and again
• Tools and subscriptions: Pulling records and verifying data often involves paying for access to databases or tools
• Now add the cost of risk: What happens if a bad hire slips through? Or if you violate compliance standards? Those can be very expensive mistakes

What outsourcing costs:

• Up-front pricing: Most third-party providers offer flat-rate or usage-based pricing. You pay per check or for the volume you need. There are no full-time salaries, retraining costs, or hidden expenses
• Versatile: It’s also scalable. If you’re hiring three people this month and 30 next month, your screening process flexes to meet demand, without adding headcount

The Candidate Experience

Let’s flip the lens for a second. Your hiring process affects your team, but it also affects your candidates.

When your screening process drags, confuses candidates, or feels disorganized, it sends the wrong message. Top candidates won’t stick around for weeks while your team misplaces paperwork or lets background checks fall through the cracks.

A polished, transparent screening process reflects well on your brand. It shows candidates you’re organized, respectful of their time, and serious about hiring. 

That kind of experience sticks with them, even if they don’t get the role. It strengthens your reputation and improves your chances of securing top talent when it really counts.

A third-party partner helps ensure:

• Transparency: Candidates know what to expect and when
• Speed: Faster turnaround times reduce anxiety and keep momentum
• Fewer back-and-forths: Less email ping-pong means a smoother path to onboarding

In today’s hiring landscape, candidates are evaluating you as much as you’re evaluating them. A clunky screening process can easily tip the scale, not in your favour.

Real-World Wins — A Client Success Story

Remember the HR manager relying on interns to handle background checks? At first, their process worked well enough. But as hiring ramped up, the cracks began to show: missed red flags, inconsistent documentation, and rising anxiety about legal exposure.

Eventually, it became clear that the current setup wasn’t sustainable. That’s when she called us.

Partnering with Hire Performance turned her hiring into a standardized, outsourced process. Every check was completed with precision, speed, and full transparency — no scrambling, no dropped balls, no hidden fees. Turnaround times reduced, and her team finally had the time to focus on what they were hired to do.

They now enjoy a more confident and efficient HR operation and a lot less second-guessing. No more sleepless nights wondering what got missed, just a repeatable system that works.

When to Bring in a Screening Partner

You don’t need to be a huge company to benefit from outsourcing. In fact, smaller and mid-sized businesses often see the most significant gains because every hour saved makes a real impact.

Here’s how to know it’s time:

• You’re growing fast and can’t keep up
• You’ve made a hiring mistake that cost you time and money
• Your HR team is juggling too much
• You want to speed up your hiring process without losing quality

The best teams know when to bring in experts, and screening is one place where it pays off fast.

Not sure where to begin? Start small. Many companies pilot outsourcing with just one department or role type. That strategy allows you to test the process, see the results, and build confidence before rolling it out company-wide. 

Why Hire Performance?

There are many screening providers out there. So why do companies choose Hire Performance?

• We’re Canadian: That means local compliance, faster service, and no cross-border confusion
• Experts in Canadian criminal record checks: We specialize in fast, reliable, and fully legal Canadian criminal record checks — including Enhanced Criminal Record Checks (CPIC + PIP) in Ontario — so you get clarity without the wait
• Real people: Our team is responsive and thoughtful, and here when you need us — no chatbots, no dead ends
• Fully compliant: We stay up-to-date on FCRA, CPIC, and all relevant regulations so you don’t have to
• Flexible packages: Whether you’re a five-person startup or a national organization, we’ve got a solution that fits

But beyond all that, we treat our clients like partners with care, urgency, and a real commitment to results. You’re not just using a platform, you’re working with a team that’s invested in your success.

Give Your Team Back Their Time

When you outsource your background checks to a trusted partner, you get more than data. You get speed, accuracy, consistency, and peace of mind. You get your hours back, and your team gets to focus on finding great people.

Reach out to Hire Performance today— we’ll handle the behind-the-scenes headaches for you.