Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Company background:
- Where is your company headquartered?
- Is your company privately held? If a subsidiary, what is the name and location of your parent company?
- How long has your company been providing background checks?
Service:
- How are your company's services typically being used by your customers?
- What type of paperwork or information is required from the client or applicant to perform your services?
- Can a background screening company ensure consistent service regardless of an applicant's city, state, or country of residence?
- Why aren't background checks instantaneous?
- Do all background screening firms do direct court retrieval?
- Are there any additional charges for your services?
- Do you offer an on-line system for results and reporting?
Quality assurance:
- Can a background screening company offer a guaranteed turn-around time for criminal background checks?
- How does your company track its performance standards? What types of corrective actions are taken if performance standards are not met?
- What type of controls does your organization have in place to maintain the confidentiality of all information obtained from your clients?
- Is there any other information concerning your company that you feel would be beneficial to your clients?
Company Background
Where is your company headquartered?
Human Resource ProFile, Inc. ("HRP") is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio on a five-acre complex owned by the Company. [top]
Is your company privately held? If a subsidiary, what is the name and location of your parent company?
HRP is now and has been a privately held corporation since its inception in 1991. HRP is a self-governed firm and not a subsidiary of any other corporation or enterprise. [top]
How long has your company been providing background checks?
HRP was founded in 1991 on the premise that:
- it would start by exclusively providing criminal background screens, and
- it would deliver results in less than five days (unheard of at the time). It is believed to be the first company in the country to achieve both, servicing accounts nationwide. Although its services have expanded to include other pre-employment products, HRP still maintains criminal background screens as 85% of its revenue base. [top]
Services
How are your company's services typically being used by your customers?
HRP offers a broad range of services, but the services typically chosen by our customers are our Multi-County Criminal Check (includes the SSN Verification), State Repository Criminal Check, Employment History, Education Verification, Credit History (Employment-style report), Moving Violation Report (MVR), Workers' Compensation History, Professional Licensure Verification, and Federal Exclusion Searches.
At the most basic level, the first task our clients want to achieve is to ward off applicants that shy away from employers who perform background checks. Second, our clients want to verify the information entered on an application. If HRP's results reveal any discrepancies or missing data, the applicant can automatically be disqualified. The end result is a thorough and consistent hiring policy, which in turn, leads to an avoidance of having to defend against costly discrimination and wrongful discharge lawsuits, negligent hiring and negligent retention lawsuits brought by third parties, and bad publicity concerns.
Although several of the tasks that HRP performs can be performed within the client's own operations, HRP offers not just greater efficiencies in performing these tasks, which leads to reduced cost to the client, but also provides value-added services:
- HRP offers to its clients, free of charge, the handling of disputed reports as relates to criminal records, SSN verifications, credit histories, etc. This vital piece of the FCRA needs to be handled professionally, and it is HRP's philosophy to treat the potential employee with the same care as we would treat our clients. Instead of the client having to deal with potentially irate applicants, the client can have the applicant call HRP on our 800 phone number, and we will walk the applicant through the necessary steps to resolve any disputes. HRP provides its clients with a complete FCRA adverse action kit.
- HRP offers to its clients, free of charge, the use of our in-house programming staff to consult and develop integration tools and other automated efficiencies appropriate to our partnership with our clients. The client will have our programming staff at their disposal for addressing any technical issues and concerns that may arise.
- HRP offers to its clients, free of charge, the use of our legal research network to provide background information as relates to legal issues in our industry, to offer potential solutions for a vast array of legal situations, and to perform the time-consuming legwork of communicating with state and federal agencies to resolve developing issues, just to name a few. Additionally, HRP's legal staff constantly monitors changes to the FCRA and reviews any legal cases or pending legislation involving the FCRA. This means our clients will be kept up to date on all the FCRA, EEOC, and ADA changes, etc., helping them remain within the guidelines of these laws.
- HRP offers to its clients, free of charge, an account representative to handle its questions and concerns promptly and efficiently. Therefore, they will have a HRP account representative at their disposal at any time for any issue that may arise, making sure that their internal processes are not affected by any of these issues.
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What type of paperwork or information is required from the client or applicant to perform your services?
Initially, HRP requires a signed Service Agreement between HRP and its client. This agreement does not obligate the client to use HRP's services (i.e., contracts are not required for HRP's screening services). Then, HRP provides to its clients (free of charge) a Pre-Employment Profile Form (a release form) and an (FCRA required) Important Disclosure Form. NOTE: When the FCRA was last amended in 1997, our firm undertook an extensive notification and training program for our clients. The release and disclosure forms we utilize are well researched and conform to FCRA requirements. Some of HRP's clients choose to use their own pre-employment forms and application, but oftentimes incorporate the language found on HRP's forms.
The single-page HRP Pre-Employment Profile Form is the only document needed to perform our County Criminal Searches, Statewide Repository Checks, Federal District Courts, Moving Violation Reports, Workers' Compensation Histories, Education Verifications, and Professional License Verifications. Only when an Employment History Check and/or Business/Personal Reference Check is requested does the client need to forward any additional paperwork to HRP. [top]
Can a background screening company ensure consistent service regardless of an applicant's city, state, or country of residence?
HRP is an international service provider. HRP has a full time staff of trained and experienced employees to consistently meet our clients' requirements. In addition to our direct researchers, HRP maintains a vast network of contract court runners and paralegals (collectively called HRP "vendors") to perform the physical court searches. HRP maintains other vendor accounts that specialize in many other areas as may be required by our customers.
Domestically, HRP's Quality Assurance Department monitors the performance of searches in all 4337 counties nationwide. Internationally, HRP utilizes its business partner network to accomplish the various types of searches requested. [top]
Why aren't background checks instantaneous?
While much progress has been made in the electronic accessibility of information, most searches still require human involvement. For criminal searches, some companies perform a database search for arrests and convictions. HRP avoids these searches because they are oftentimes not up-to-date, are arrest-only information, and/or are incomplete in their conviction and sentencing information. So while the allure of instantaneous checks is great, HRP will only perform complete, accurate, and up-to-date searches for its clients, and will strive every day to deliver these quality searches as quickly as possible.
Additionally, when perform business reference and employment history checks, the HRP staff is trained to make every attempt to speak directly with supervisors or managers of the applicant. The goal is to obtain more investigative information on the applicant than can be obtained from a third-party information broker.
Again, the instant check is instant, but not very useful. [top]
Do all background screening firms do direct court retrieval?
No, all background firms do not hand-search court records. HRP considers this a bad practice because each county courthouse system uniquely houses their information. Local court runners are best qualified to understand these qwerks and perform a thorough background search. [top]
Are there any additional charges for your services?
Unless flat rates are required, HRP does pass along additional charges incurred in various court jurisdictions. These charges are monitored for accuracy continuously. Whether these mandatory court costs will affect clients' pricing will depend on the counties of residence searched. Occasionally, we run into an educational institution or employmer that has contracted a third-party information provider that charges a fee for the verification. HRP makes every effort to avoid these services in that they typically do not provide the investigative information we are looking to obtain for our clients.
Some of HRP's clients have special projects as related to criminal conviction histories such as obtaining copies of complaints, etc. HRP will negotiate terms of such services on an as-needed basis. [top]
Do you offer an on-line system for results and reporting?
If so, how does it work? Yes, HRP offers several methods for for results and reporting. Originally, HRP developed proprietary software for request, results, and reporting. HRP still maintains its original product line because it includes modem-based technologies for location without Internet access and Internet-based solutions. The options have now expanded to online and web-based solutions. All of our technology solutions are governed by the belief that only the most minimal information needed to perform a background screen should be requested from the data entry personnel (one product only requires two pieces of information to initiate a search!).
Please note: HRP maintains its own programming staff that continuously researches and develops new features and products. The products offered have been developed for enterprise-level corporate needs. Some clients configure their accounts to address risk-management issues surrounding confidentiality of personal information. In these environments, the data entry personnel are not allowed to access requests not entered by them or to access any of the results of the background checks. A more advanced feature is the ability of Team Managers to perform remote, real-time monitoring of data entry personnel activities within the system. [top]
Another reporting solution for HRP's clients is to have results integrate seamlessly with the client's database(s). HRP always is interested in providing solutions that fit our clients' electronic needs, and toward that end, HRP maintains an in-house I.T. and programming staff. [top]
Quality Assurance
Can a background screening company offer a guaranteed turn-around time for criminal background checks?
What type of discount or rebate can be offered for results returned after a guaranteed turn-around time? While most county court systems are modernizing and achieving 24-48 hour turnaround, some courts are still not able or willing to speed up their results. Some even require the request be mailed to them. The same can be said for some state repositories. These facts and other factors outside our control (holidays, disasters, flooding, destruction of records, difficult to access archives, criminal conviction records in courts slow to produce files, etc.) make for a situation wherein HRP cannot guarantee the exact turnaround time for all criminal background checks.
However, in the event that factors are within our control (internal system failures, training issues, vendor relations, etc.), HRP will issue full credit for any subject (unless a criminal record is found) that falls beyond five business days. [top]
How does your company track its performance standards? What types of corrective actions are taken if performance standards are not met?
HR ProFile's Quality Assurance Program was implemented over a decade ago, and constantly modifies and improves as our systems evolve and provide us with additional data. The program evaluates internal operations, internal and external systems, and internal and external researchers.
All reports are typed and reviewed by a trained staff member of HRP. The staff is trained to identify errors or incomplete information on a report. Criminal record typists are subjected to a criminal record typing test twice a year. The test measures every example of the various criminal searches performed. Employees are graded and weaknesses are added to their training schedule.
HRP's Quality Assurance Program tracks reports against HRP standards as they pass through our systems. Reports are generated to identify problem areas. A mandatory staff meeting for all production members is conducted every business day, during which the reports are disseminated that track the performance of the staff, systems, and researchers.
The Quality Assurance Program also measures and tracks the performance of our court researchers. Researchers are submitted test subjects (with known criminal histories) on a weekly basis. Researchers are challeged to explain why a detail was missed and how it will be avoided in the future. Researchers receive a written scorecard each week to demonstrate their maintenance of HRP standards.
Researchers are re-tested continuously. Additionally, other measures are taken to meet our standards:
- Any admissions offered by the applicant are tracked and verified until the record is either found or found to be somewhere other than where the applicant listed or in a year different than what the applicant listed;
- Our firm tracks the 24 to 48 hour turnaround time by daily reports at the staff Team Meeting. Status reports are forwarded daily to vendors for subjects that are due back that day or are in danger of passing into an overdue status;
- Customer service surveys and customer service consultants are utilized to review our customer service and quality programs.
HRP's goal is to maintain the highest standards in the industry and become the world-class provider of services within our industry. Our firm readily imposes our standards on those responsible for their part in our work product. Internally, the corrective actions taken if performance standards are not met range from remedial training up to and including dismissal from the firm. Externally, we have the ability to cancel any contract with vendors not performing to our standards. [top]
What type of controls does your organization have in place to maintain the confidentiality of all information obtained from your clients?
Upon joining the firm, each employee is required to sign a Confidentiality and Non-Compete Agreement. Additionally, external agents also sign a contractual agreement designed to assure complete confidentiality.
Once an order is entered into the system, the information is tracked only by a cryptic Client ID Account Number. All internal personnel see only this account number in processing data, viewing reports, and delivering results. All external agents do not receive any client ID or other client information. Additionally, each step of the process is segmented such that detailed information from the client is only seen by the minimum amount of individuals needed to process and conduct the search.
Electronic transfer of data along phone or Internet lines utilizes the highest available encryption levels. Alternatively, the use of designated fax machines, the use of designated transmittal times, and/or the placing of a call directly to the client prior to the transmittal of reporting results are other options made available to our clients. Physical records are stored in secure locked record storage rooms or the vault. Electronic results are stored on secure file servers. [top]
Is there any other information concerning your company that you feel would be beneficial to your clients?
HRP is a dynamic organization that has evolved into one of the premier employment screening firms in the nation. While many of our competitors offer a larger selection of products, they lack the ability to cater to the specific needs a client might encounter. HRP is a solutions-oriented firm, and one very good example is the partnership that has been forged over the past five years with one of our healthcare clients. The relationship started by the very fact that, at a time when they needed an advanced technological solution as related to doing its background checks, every company except for HRP said it could not be accomplished or worse they were unwilling to try. HRP created a solution customized to this client's specifications and environment, at no additional cost to the client. As a continuing component of our partnership with our healthcare clients, HRP provides many other services surrounding state and federal agency rulings, assistance during facility audits, etc., at no additional charge to the client. HRP is confident of its ability to produce similar solutions for its other clients.
HRP is a member of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau, and maintains a million dollar liability insurance policy in the event of a serious error by HRP or its employees. [top]
