可能的背景调查费用是多少?
在检查背景筛查的成本时,考虑两组成本可能会有所帮助。首先,您的筛查提供者为获取和报告个人背景数据而收取的费用。这个价格通常是预先商定的,不会波动。
第二个成本是由法院和数据提供商收取的可变费用,也称为传递费用。当您与信誉良好的筛选公司合作时,这些费用不会被标记,而是直接传递给您的组织。转帐费用应始终清楚地详细说明,这样您就可以避免以后的计费意外。
过户费可以包括以下内容:
县法院费用
全州犯罪数据仓库
机动车记录查询费
第三方注册机构征收的访问费
就业验证数据库,例如 The Work Number
行业相关费用
需要注意的是,可变费用或转帐费用与一些背景调查公司标注的“数据输入和处理费用”不同。这种听起来模棱两可的收费通常表明您的筛查提供者信誉不佳,并且可能确实在欺骗您。
此外,由于县与县之间的费用差异很大(有些县根本不收取访问费)以及从数据库到数据库,您的筛查提供者应仅在产生访问费时向您收取费用,而不是向您收取一揽子额外费用每次搜索。
为什么需要一些背景调查费用
《公平信用报告法》(FCRA)要求背景调查仅包括最准确和最新的信息来源。为了满足这一要求,您的背景调查公司必须经常使用多个数据源来完成高质量的背景调查,包括那些产生搜索费用的。
尽管公众可以通过公共记录和互联网获得信息,但彻底的背景调查不能依赖一个数据源,或者只依赖不收费的数据源。没有包含所有犯罪历史数据的单一“主数据库”,背景调查必须依赖来自联邦和县法院、性犯罪者登记处和其他犯罪数据库的数据。根据来源,您的筛查公司将收取费用,以便从这些来源获取和验证数据。
为透明起见,信誉良好的筛查公司仅在必要时向您转交法庭或第三方费用,而不是不必要地夸大每次背景调查的价格。以这种方式完成后,您可以准确地看到您所支付的费用,并避免感觉您被多收了服务费用。
如何避免感觉被镀镍和变暗
根据专业背景筛选协会 (PBSA) 的 2020 年调查,雇主将筛选成本列为头等大事。为了管理您的成本并避免花费超过实现准确和完整背景调查所需的费用,请采取以下步骤。
在适当的情况下考虑背景调查费用。
将背景调查费用视为高质量筛查计划的重要组成部分非常重要。每笔转交费都代表了您的背景调查提供商为提供准确的背景调查结果所付出的努力。虽然法庭费用或数据库费用可能会在背景调查的成本上增加几美元,但与糟糕的雇佣成本相比,这是一笔最小的开支,可能会以诉讼、声誉的形式达到数千美元损失和对工作场所安全的风险。
进行审计是评估整个背景筛选计划的最佳方式。不知道从哪里开始?我们可以提供帮助>>>
寻求背景调查定价的透明度。
一些背景调查公司预先提供较低的套餐价格,但随后会增加大量隐藏费用。例如,您可能需要为超过 3 次验证尝试支付额外费用。这些背景调查公司也可能会为澄清模糊的背景调查结果收取额外费用。如果是这样,您的组织可能被多收费用。
要了解每项费用的原因,您应该询问具体费用,包括任何隐藏费用。要求查看第三方和法院征收的额外费用清单,并与您的提供商一起确定哪些是您的计划所必需的,哪些是您应该避免的。
提前预算背景调查费用。
为了获得高质量和准确的背景调查,有时无法避免从其他来源获取信息。例如,如果社会安全号码 (SSN) 追踪显示候选人的新地址信息,您的筛选公司可能需要在其他县进行刑事搜查,这将产生费用。或者,如果筛选人员在候选人的背景中因犯罪活动而受到“打击”,他们将需要进行法庭搜索以验证数据,这也可能产生费用。
经验丰富的背景调查公司可以帮助您预测可能会产生法庭和第三方费用的情况。为了更清楚地了解您何时以及为什么会产生这些费用,请与您的背景审查合作伙伴一起制定筛查预算,其中包括一份清单,其中列出了提供最完整的背景调查所需的费用。
定期审查您的背景筛选计划。
要获得知情权和授权而不是被利用,与提供透明定价并努力帮助您了解转嫁费用的背景审查合作伙伴合作至关重要。通过定期对您的筛查计划进行季度审查,您的筛查提供者可以向您介绍新产品和服务的改进,并提供随着时间的推移管理您的筛查成本的想法。通过确定哪些类型的筛查产品和服务适合您的组织,您可以预先了解相关成本,并确保以后不会感到意外。
When examining the cost of background screening, it can be helpful to think of costs in two groups. First, there’s the price your screening provider charges to obtain and report on individual background data. This price is usually agreed upon upfront and doesn’t fluctuate.
The second cost is in the form of variable fees, also called pass-through fees, charged by courts and data providers. When you work with a reputable screening company, these fees are not marked up and are passed directly to your organization. Pass-through fees should always be clearly laid out to you in detail, so you can avoid billing surprises down the road.
Pass-through fees can include the following:
County court fees
Statewide criminal data warehouses
Motor-vehicle record search fees
Access fees levied by third-party registries
Employment verification databases such as The Work Number
Industry-related fees
It’s important to note that variable or pass-through fees are not the same thing that some background check companies label “data entry and processing fees.” Such ambiguous-sounding charges are often a sign your screening provider is not reputable and may indeed be nickel-and-diming you.
Also, because fees are highly variable from county to county (some counties charge no access fees at all) and from database to database, your screening provider should charge you only when an access fee is incurred, rather than charging you a blanket extra fee for every search.
Why Some Background Checks Fees Are Necessary
Background checks are required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to include only the most accurate and up-to-date sources of information. To meet this requirement, your background screening company must often use multiple data sources to complete a quality background check, including those which generate a search fee.
Despite information available to the public through public records and over the internet, a thorough background check can’t rely on one data source, or only data sources that don’t carry a fee. There is no single “master database” housing all criminal history data, and background checks must rely on data from federal and county courts, sex offender registries, and other criminal databases. Depending on the source, your screening company will incur fees in order to obtain and verify data from those sources.
For the sake of transparency, a reputable screening company only passes on a court or third-party fee to you when necessary, instead of unnecessarily inflating the price of every background check. When done this way, you can see exactly what you’re paying for and avoid feeling like you’re being overcharged for services.
How to Avoid Feeling Nickeled-and-Dimed
According to a 2020 survey by the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA), employers named the cost of screening as a top concern. To manage your costs and avoid spending more than is necessary to achieve accurate and complete background checks, take the following steps.
Consider background check fees in the right context.
It’s important to see background check fees as an essential component of a high-quality screening program. Each pass-through fee represents the effort your background screening provider takes to deliver accurate background check results. Although a court fee or a database fee may add a few dollars to the cost of a background check, it is a minimal expense compared to the cost of a bad hire, which can run into the thousands of dollars in the form of lawsuits, reputational loss, and risks to workplace safety.
Conducting an audit is the best way to assess your entire background screening program. Don’t know where to start? We can help>>>
Seek transparency in background check pricing.
Some background check companies offer a low package price upfront, but then add on a bunch of hidden fees later. For example, you might have to pay extra for more than three verification attempts. Those background check companies may also charge extra fees for clarifying vague background check results. If so, your organization is probably being overcharged.
To understand the reasons for each expense, you should ask about specific charges, including any hidden fees. Ask to see a list of extra fees levied by third parties and courts, and work with your provider to determine which are necessary for your program and which you should avoid.
Budget for background check fees in advance.
To get a quality and accurate background check, there are times when obtaining information from additional sources is unavoidable. For example, if a social security number (SSN) trace reveals new address information for a candidate, your screening company may need to conduct a criminal search in an additional county, which will incur a fee. Or if screeners get a “hit” for criminal activity in a candidate’s background, they will need to perform a court search to verify the data, which can also generate a fee.
An experienced background screening company can help you anticipate instances where you are likely to incur court and third-party fees. To get more clarity about when and why you will incur those fees, work with your background screening partner to set a budget for screening, which includes a list of which fees will be necessary to deliver the most complete background checks possible.
Conduct regular reviews of your background screening program.
To feel informed and empowered rather than taken advantage of, it’s essential to work with a background screening partner who offers transparent pricing and makes an effort to help you understand pass-through fees. Through scheduled quarterly reviews of your screening program, your screening provider can educate you about new product and service enhancements, and offer ideas for managing your screening costs over time. By identifying which kinds of screening products and services are right for your organization, you can understand related costs upfront and make sure they’re not a surprise later.