雇主经常发现自己处于“人才紧缺”之中。 一项研究估计 ，到 2030 年，将出现数千万员工的人才短缺问题。许多公司已经表示，他们无法轻易找到有才华、有能力和合格的候选人来填补各种职位。Adecco 是一家研究这些问题的人事代理机构，它 告诉当地的哥伦比亚广播公司附属机构 ，接受调查的公司在填补职位空缺之前通常需要面试多达 15 名候选人。
持续低失业率无助于雇主吸引人才。为了寻求解决方案，一些企业对招聘采取更宽松的限制。在这种情况下，有犯罪记录的人不再自动成为不受欢迎的人——相反，企业在做出决定之前会仔细查看背景调查所揭示的内容。在某些情况下，如果申请人过去曾有过旧的、非暴力的或最不相关的信念，但似乎与他或她的工作能力无关，企业可能会认为申请人可以接受，而他们不会这样做前。
雇主的转变也可能包括缩减其他政策：申请人向雇主提出常见问题，例如“公司什么时候进行药物测试，在招聘之前还是之后？” 在人才短缺期间可能会遇到令人惊讶的答案。根据Fast Company的一份报告 ，越来越多的企业正在停止药物筛查或大幅缩减药物筛查。
根据 Fast Company，在被问及他们对基于背景调查的限制性招聘政策的立场时，近一半的企业 (49%) 表示他们现在正在放宽这些政策。例如，较早的毒品定罪现在不太可能对就业构成障碍。虽然暴力重罪在许多工作场所仍然是一种自动取消资格，但趋势表明更加注重细节。
过去，背景调查中的任何负面标记都足以解雇候选人；毕竟，总会有另一个申请人。企业现在认识到，背景不完美的个人可能具备团队成功所需的技能和特质——公司不能放弃获取人才的机会。
尽管在人才危机期间，许多企业已经感受到重新评估他们如何衡量申请人的犯罪历史的压力，但背景调查不会在招聘过程中失去其地位。相反，许多企业正在针对背景调查生成的特定信息启动重新评估流程。这种重新评估与“禁止盒子”运动的兴起相一致，该运动提倡推迟雇主何时以及如何使用背景调查的立法。
由于经济远非静态，劳动力市场的主导趋势迅速转变。企业在未来应对这些变化时，可能会自由地选择他们考虑招聘的对象。在这两种招聘环境中，保持适当的工具和程序以进行有效的聘用前审查至关重要。
One study estimates that there will be a shortage of talent of tens of millions of employees by 2030. Already, many companies report that they cannot easily identify talented, capable, and qualified candidates to fill a variety of positions. Adecco, a staffing agency studying these concerns, told a local CBS affiliate that the companies surveyed typically needed to interview as many as 15 candidates before filling a position.
Persistently low unemployment rates don’t help employers attract talent. Seeking solutions, some businesses embrace looser restrictions on hiring. In these circumstances, someone with a criminal record is no longer automatically undesirable—instead, businesses take a closer look at exactly what a background check reveals before they make decisions. In some cases, when an applicant has old, non-violent, or minimally-relevant conviction in his or her past that appears unconnected to his or her capability to do a job, businesses may deem the applicant acceptable when they would not have done so before.
Employer shifts may include scaling back other policies, too: applicants asking common questions of employers such as, “When do companies drug test, before or after hiring?” may encounter surprising answers during a talent shortage. According to a report by Fast Company, more businesses than ever are discontinuing drug screenings or significantly scaling them back.
Per Fast Company, nearly half of businesses (49%) that were asked about their stance towards restrictive hiring policies based on background checks said that they were now relaxing those policies. Older drug convictions, for example, are now less likely to pose a barrier to employment. While violent felonies remain an automatic disqualifier in many workplaces, trends point to a shift towards greater attention to detail.
In the past, any negative marks on a background check were enough to dismiss a candidate; there would always be another applicant, after all. Businesses are now recognizing that an individual with an imperfect background may have the skills and attributes necessary for their team's success—and companies can't afford to pass up the opportunity to acquire talent.
Though many businesses have felt pressure to re-evaluate how they weigh an applicant's criminal history during a talent crisis, background checks will not lose their place in the hiring process. Instead, many businesses are initiating a re-evaluation process regarding the specific information generated by a background check. This re-evaluation aligns with the rise of the "ban the box" movement, which advocates legislation that delays when and how employers may use background checks.
With an economy that is far from static, dominant trends in the labor market shift rapidly. Businesses may experience the freedom to be more selective with whom they consider for hiring purposes as they respond to these changes in the future. In either hiring environment, maintaining the appropriate tools and procedures for effective pre-employment vetting is crucial.
