Way back before the world became as connected as it is today, there was no mystery as to how criminal background checks were conducted. Researchers would go in person to courts to access information on special terminals (or, if we go back even further, hardcopy records).
Then, more and more counties started putting their records online. While online databases offered some relief, the burden on researchers remained high. Years ago, you’d find rooms filled with researchers manually scouring the websites of courts and law enforcement agencies, running searches, pulling data, formatting reports, and so on – a significant bottleneck for Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) seeking to scale their operations. Hiring more researchers meant growing overhead costs without a proportional increase in efficiency.
That’s where automated background checks come into play.
With automation, CRAs can replace or supplement human researchers with the assistance of digital tools, loosen their dependency on costly manual labor, and scale their businesses up and down much more efficiently.
Automated background checks have taken the background screening industry by storm, transforming turnaround times and making lives easier by reducing the need for human researchers. Let's explore the basics and advantages of automation.
The Basics of Automated Background Checks
Cutting-edge automated background screening tools dispatch computerized “agents” to acquire conviction and sentencing information, pending cases, and other relevant data from court and law enforcement websites.
The procedure is known as “scraping.” The automated bots are programmed to recognize and collect pertinent information the same way human researchers would copy data from their computer screens. The software then compiles and formats the data into actionable results according to the client’s specifications.
The entire process is a form of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) — a technical term that just means software emulating human interactions with digital systems.
Advantages of Automated Background Checks
The main benefit of automated background screening is operational efficiency. Automated systems return results nearly instantaneously. And, unlike human researchers limited by working hours, automated systems operate 24/7. In a competitive landscape where clients demand quality background checks as quickly as possible, lightning-fast turnaround times lead to happier clients and provide an advantage for securing more business.
Automated background checks also tend to be more accurate than human-driven ones. Not to be dismissive — there are some excellent criminal background check specialists out there! — but human researchers are fallible. Machines perform flawlessly every time. (And when automated systems do get out of sync, a well-built program will flag these issues for debugging.)
Cost is another advantage, as the price of CPU power is negligible when compared to human labor. Additionally, well-designed automated systems have robust data security features that continuously monitor for and prevent unauthorized access, ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive data.
The Human Touch Still Matters
It’s hard to understand why in this day and age, but not all court records are online. And for the ones that are, many fail to meet the individual quality standards necessary for automation. So, for the foreseeable future anyway, there will continue to be a need for human researchers.
However, with automated systems handling a growing percentage of your data gathering, you can scale back your team to your most experienced specialists (perhaps rewarding them with higher salaries) and assign them to focus on the trickier cases. In this way, background check automation offers CRAs a “best of both worlds” approach.
Unlock Efficiency with Automation
When it comes to automation capabilities for your CRA, there are two primary options: build and manage a system yourself or partner with a data provider. Both options have their pros and cons - keep an eye out for an upcoming blog that will dive into those details.
If you embrace the data provider route, check out InformData. We offer the most comprehensive automated library of criminal background check information, covering the widest reach of counties...without sacrificing quality. If you’re interested in learning more about how our system and technology can benefit your organization, contact us today to chat!
