In today's digital era, social media has become a significant part of our daily lives for both personal and professional reasons. This digital footprint has also become a valuable resource for employers during the hiring process. Social media screenings for employment are becoming more and more commonplace in the professional world. 

The use of social media background checks as part of the pre-employment screening process is on the rise, and for good reason. 

In this comprehensive blog post, we will discuss what pre-employment social media checks entail, the insights they offer, why they are an essential tool for employers, and the benefits of hiring a social media check service provider.

What Is a Social Media Check?

A pre-employment social media background check, or social media screening, is the process of evaluating a job applicant's online presence on various social media platforms. 

It involves reviewing publicly available information on platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Instagram, and others. It is crucial to obtain consent or provide notice to candidates of a social media background check.

What Information is Available From a Social Media Check?

Checking a candidate’s social media is an excellent way for employers to gain a better understanding of the candidate's character, interests, and behaviour outside of their professional life. 

Firstly, employers can determine whether a candidate's online persona aligns with the company's values and culture. Secondly, employers can identify red flags.

Examples of red flags include: 

• Unlawful activity such as underage drinking and illicit drug use
• Racist or sexist comments
• Violent or aggressive behaviour such as harassment, stalking, and doxxing 
• Sexually explicit material
• Confidential information

This information can be incredibly useful when deciding which candidates to proceed with and whether or not the candidate is the right fit for a company.

The Benefits of Running a Pre-Employment Social Media Check for Employers

Running a pre-employment social media background check on employees can offer several benefits to employers. 

These benefits include:

• Risk Mitigation: Social media checks can help identify potential risks and red flags early in the hiring process. This can prevent hiring individuals who may engage in unethical behaviour and misconduct such as harassment, pose security risks, or damage the company's reputation. 
• Reduced Employee Turnover: Approximately 20% of employees resign due to their association with a toxic colleague. Employers who incorporate social media background checks into their hiring process signal their dedication to creating a safe and professional work environment. This commitment can attract high-quality candidates who appreciate the company's efforts to maintain a positive workplace culture. It can also ensure that the right candidates who are professional and most likely to succeed are hired from the start.
• Verification of Qualifications: Social media can serve as a source of validation for a candidate's qualifications and professional background. Employers can verify claims made on resumes and in interviews by examining a candidate's LinkedIn profile and past employment history.
• Brand Safeguarding: Employees are representatives of a company, both online and offline. Negative behaviour or controversial opinions expressed by an employee on social media can harm the company's reputation. Social media background checks help protect the brand image by avoiding the hiring of individuals whose online actions could tarnish it.
• Legal and Ethical Compliance: When conducted ethically and in compliance with relevant laws and regulations, social media background checks can help employers demonstrate their commitment to fair and thorough due diligence for certain roles. For example, a social media check may be necessary for an individual whose job duties include accessing sensitive information or dealing with vulnerable persons, such as children or the elderly. 
• Enhanced Hiring Decisions: Social media background checks provide additional data points for making well-informed hiring decisions. They complement traditional assessment methods, such as interviews and reference checks, by offering a more comprehensive view of a candidate's suitability for the role.

Conducting pre-employment social media background checks can be a valuable tool for employers seeking to make informed hiring decisions, protect their organization's reputation, and create a workforce that aligns with their values and goals.

Benefits of Hiring a Social Media Background Check Service Provider

Running a social media background check on a job candidate as an employer involves several major legal and ethical considerations. 

From a legal perspective, employers must adhere to privacy and anti-discrimination laws to ensure that the process does not infringe on an individual's rights or lead to unfair hiring practices. Ethically, it's crucial to respect an individual's right to personal privacy and consider the relevance of information found on social media platforms to the job in question.

Hiring a qualified service provider to conduct social media background checks is one of the most effective ways to comply with laws and regulations. A qualified service provider can also provide additional benefits compared to manual screening. 

These benefits include:

• Legal and Regulatory Compliance: Service providers that are well-versed in privacy laws and regulations can ensure that the process remains within legal boundaries. This includes utilizing an objective and standardized approach that can minimize bias and the risk of discrimination that may arise from manual reviews in hiring decisions. For example, a service provider can ensure that information about candidates that relate to protected characteristics under applicable human rights legislation (race, religion, sex, age, disability, pregnancy, etc.) is not shared with the employer.
• Accuracy: A qualified service provider will utilize a quality control team to effectively identify and collect information on the correct candidate, as opposed to persons with the same or a similar name. They will also omit mislabeled and out-of-date information.
• Relevancy: With vast amounts of online data to sift through, service providers can efficiently identify relevant, reasonable, and appropriate information to employers based on the workplace and position. This can also save time and resources for employers.
• Privacy Preservation: Service providers prioritize the protection of candidate privacy, only extracting information that is directly relevant to the job. Service providers can also filter information about third parties who have not provided consent to a social media check, including a candidate’s “friends,” “followers,” and other contacts. 
• Transparency and Consistency: Service providers follow transparent procedures and apply consistent criteria to all candidates, fostering fairness in the hiring process. A professional service provider will never attempt to circumvent passwords or obtain information by “friending” the candidate or connecting with their social media contacts. 

By engaging a qualified service provider, employers can strike the right balance between gathering useful insights and respecting individual rights, ensuring a fair, transparent, and legally compliant hiring process.

Get a Thorough Social Media Background Check

Get a social media check from Hire Performance and ensure quality candidates offline and online. Our thorough social media background check service notifies employers of key red flags, including harassment, intolerance and discrimination, sexual content, violence, threats, crime, cannabis, and other drugs.

Hire Performance conducts thorough social media background checks while respecting privacy rights and adhering to all Canadian laws and regulations, ensuring a fair and respectful process. 

Contact us and start making informed hiring decisions today!