如果精心策划，背景调查计划可为招聘计划提供真正的成长和健康成长。把招聘计划想象成一个花园。你想用美丽、丰盛、充满活力的植物填满它，但要成功，你需要确保土壤肥沃。背景调查可能是您需要添加的确切营养素，以使您的招聘花园开花。

伊利诺伊大学制定了一项筛选计划，完美地说明了背景调查如何随着时间的推移创造增长和招聘可持续性。2015 年，他们选择扩大背景筛选计划以包括所有新员工，这一选择引起了一些担忧。让我们来看看其中一些问题以及大学看到的结果。

担忧：扩大筛选计划会吓跑申请人。

结果：扩容后的一年，申请人数确实出现了短暂的下降。申请从 83,426 人下降到 81,751 人。然而，2018 年该大学出现了巨大的反弹，申请总数为 101,578。如果执行得当，筛选计划可确保申请人进入安全的工作场所，并使人们更愿意申请。由于目前对校园性侵犯问题的关注度很高，因此申请者会很高兴知道伊利诺伊大学正在彻底检查国家性犯罪者登记处等来源以保护学生和教职员工。

关注点：合格的候选人将因其个人历史而被不公平地拒绝。

结果：据The News – Gazette引述 UI 系统副总裁兼首席人力资源官 Jami Painter 称, “如果支票在申请人的历史记录中发现了某些东西，这并不意味着该人会被自动拒绝。” 伊利诺伊大学正在正确应用个性化评估，这有助于保持筛选计划的道德和公平。例如，如果申请人正在申请杂货店的文员职位，但背景调查显示他们因酒驾而被捕，公司可能仍会选择雇用该人，因为文员职位不包括驾驶。正如 The News – Gazette 报道的那样，“在做出最终决定之前，申请人有 10 天的时间向大学提供其他信息。大学还会考虑犯罪的性质、发生的时间以及定罪后的任何康复工作和就业历史。” 2018 年，伊利诺伊大学仅撤销了 25 个工作机会。该背景筛选计划并没有妨碍招聘人才，而是为组织提供了保护和风险缓解。

关注点：背景调查会减慢招聘流程。

结果：虽然大学确实报告了一些延误，但这些延误非常轻微，还包括受政府关闭影响的案例。也就是说，他们在厄巴纳和芝加哥的平均周转时间为 2.8 天，斯普林菲尔德的平均周转时间为 4.6 天，大学认为这是非常合理的。

还值得注意的是，2017 年有 35 个工作机会被取消，比 2018 年多了 10 个。通过对所有获得职位的申请人进行彻底的背景调查，似乎知道自己有被取消资格历史的候选人可能不太可能申请，节省大学时间和金钱。

伊利诺伊大学已经为持续的招聘成功做好了准备，培养了一个只会随着它的增长而产生更多果实的筛选计划。他们的计划通过提供安全的工作场所和公平、合乎道德的招聘来鼓励合格的申请人，同时阻止有问题的候选人申请。耕种土壤、播种和收获收益的循环只会随着时间的推移而继续。

When properly orchestrated, a background check program provides real growth and healthy growth to a hiring program. Think of a hiring program like a garden. You want to fill it with beautiful, hearty, vibrant plants, but to succeed, you need to make sure the ground is fertile. Background checks can be the exact nutrients you need to add to make your hiring garden bloom.

The University of Illinois has cultivated a screening program that perfectly illustrates how background checks can create growth and hiring sustainability over time. In 2015, they chose to expand their background screening program to include all new hires, a choice that met with some concern. Let’s take a look at some of these concerns and what results the university saw.

Concern: An expanded screening program would scare off applicants.

Result: There was indeed a brief drop in applicants in the year following the expansion. Applications dropped from 83,426 to 81,751. However, in 2018 the university saw a huge rebound, with applications totaling 101,578. When properly executed, a screening program ensures applicants that they are entering into a safe workplace and can make people more willing to apply. With the amount of attention that is currently on the issue of sexual assault on campuses, it makes sense that applicants would be comforted to know the University of Illinois is thoroughly checking sources like the National Sex Offender Registry to protect both students and staff.

Concern: Qualified candidates will be rejected unfairly because of their personal history.

Result: According to Jami Painter, associate vice president and chief human resources officer for the UI system as quoted in The News – Gazette, “If the check turns up something in an applicant’s history, it doesn’t mean that person is automatically rejected.” The University of Illinois is properly applying Individualized Assessment, which helps keep screening programs ethical and fair. For instance, if an applicant is applying for a clerk position with a grocery store but a background check shows that they were arrested for driving under the influence, a company might still choose to hire that person since a clerk position does not include driving. As reported in The News – Gazette, “The applicant is given 10 days to provide additional information to the university before a final decision is made. The university also considers the nature of the offense, how long ago it was, and any rehabilitation efforts and employment history since the conviction.” In 2018, the University of Illinois only rescinded 25 job offers. This background screening program has not gotten in the way of hiring talented individuals, but has instead provided protection and risk mitigation for the organization.

Concern: Background checks will slow down the hiring process.

Result: While the university did report some delays, these were very slight and also included cases that were impacted by the government shutdown. That said, the average turnaround time in their Urbana and Chicago locations was 2.8 days, with their Springfield location coming in at 4.6 days, which the university considers very reasonable.

It’s also worth noting that in 2017, thirty five job offers were rescinded, ten more than in 2018. By running thorough background checks on all applicants who are offered positions, it appears that candidates who know they have a disqualifying history may be less likely to apply, saving the university time and money.

The University of Illinois has set itself up for continued hiring success, cultivating a screening program that only produces more fruit as it grows. Their program encourages qualified applicants by providing a safe workplace and fair, ethical hiring, while discouraging problematic candidates from applying. The cycle of tilling the soil, planting the seeds and reaping the benefits will only continue over time.