现代技术已将背景筛选从手动、耗时的过程转变为提供可操作的背景数据以支持招聘和人才管理决策的过程。随着新的、更可靠的背景数据源的出现,背景筛选将变得比现在更加有效。
一个典型的例子是自主身份验证,这是 2021 年改变游戏规则的背景筛查趋势之一。当与筛选活动相结合时,自主身份解决方案提供了获得更准确的候选人背景数据并将其更快地交付给雇主的机会。
什么是自主身份验证?
自我主权身份描述了个人控制其识别信息的机制,包括如何共享以及何时其他人可以访问它。正如一位研究教授在最近的福布斯文章中所描述的那样,通过采用这种现代身份管理解决方案,“个人自己,而不是发布或存储某些凭证的组织,被授权共享某些 [他们的] 数字信息。”
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一个“数字钱包”
要了解自主身份验证的工作原理,请将每个人视为拥有一个账本或“数字钱包”,其中充满了识别信息。该钱包建立在区块链技术之上,可以记录和存储大量数据,并保护其免受未经授权的更改或黑客攻击。
个人存放在其数字钱包中的任何信息都有证明文件的支持,例如护照、出生证明和其他形式的身份证明。然后,这些文件将由授权的第三方(例如政府机构、大学或雇主)进行验证。任何可以访问个人数字钱包的人都可以确保该信息已被验证为准确无误。
动态信息存储
通过使用区块链技术,可以收集和分类大量有关个人的识别信息。它可用于各种目的,包括验证候选人的就业、教育和犯罪记录。
因此,背景筛选提供者将有可能直接向候选人索取预先验证和准确的数据,例如:
出生日期
社会安全号码
地址
教育和其他证书,例如专业执照
工作经历
虽然自主身份验证仍处于起步阶段,但预计未来几年将加速增长。Gartner 预测,到 2025 年,这种新的身份管理方法将与区块链技术无缝融合,以“实现传统机制无法实现的大量小型交易”。
自主身份验证正在改变背景筛查。
自我主权身份与背景筛选特别相关,因为它挑战了第三方数据库的概念,并将其列为验证个人背景数据的主要来源。当个人控制他们的信息并将其呈现为预验证和准确时,传统的背景筛选数据收集和验证过程将大大加快。
以下是自我主权身份验证可以改变当今背景筛查方式的一些具体方式:
简化身份验证
自主身份验证有助于为一个人建立一个一致的身份,从而减少对错误候选人进行背景调查的机会。无论您想雇用 Jon W. Smith 还是 John W. Smythe,自主身份验证都可以让您直接从源头获取背景数据——不是数据库,而是您打算雇用的实际 John W. Smith。
这种验证候选人数据的新方法也将第三方从就业和教育验证过程中移除。如果候选人可以立即向您的筛选提供者展示其经过验证的教育和工作经历,则几乎不需要向学校和以前的雇主打电话、发送电子邮件或传真验证请求。
减少身份盗用和虚假陈述
尽管努力防止它,身份盗窃正在蓬勃发展。根据 2021 年联邦贸易委员会 (FTC) 的报告, 2020 年向该机构报告的身份盗用和欺诈报告超过 470 万起,比上一年增长 45%。身份盗用会给背景筛查结果的准确性带来风险,但自主身份可以降低风险。
当候选人可以控制自己的数据并使用可靠的区块链系统安全存储数据时,其他人将更难窃取。此外,由于候选人背景数据的真实来源单一,候选人可能更难提供来自不存在或未经认可的机构的假证书和学位。
有权验证自己身份的候选人
目前,当背景调查过程在候选人的背景调查结果中发现某些暗示候选人可能是有风险的雇佣时,候选人有权审查结果并提供新的或更准确的背景信息。但是,如果背景筛选提供者直接从候选人那里接收背景数据,并且已被验证为准确,则无需依赖可能不准确的数据库和列表。候选人不会被可能威胁工作机会的背景数据弄得措手不及,他们可以提供他们知道准确和真实的背景细节。
简化的背景审查授权流程
根据《公平信用报告法》(FCRA),所有进行背景调查的雇主都必须向候选人提供披露文件,详细说明在就业中使用背景调查。在开始筛选过程之前,雇主还必须获得候选人的书面授权。
今天,雇主可以使用自动化的电子披露和授权流程来减少对纸质表格的需求,但更有效的流程可以取代它。自我主权身份系统的一个关键特征是个人可以控制和用于一系列授权目的的数字签名,包括背景调查。
减少对纸质身份证明文件的需求
今天的招聘和背景筛选过程需要交换许多文件和表格,无论是纸质还是电子形式。但是,自主识别系统可以存储候选人的所有身份证明文件,从而可以通过更少的文件交换来雇用和入职新员工。候选人可以简单地向授权方提供数字访问权限,而不是发送护照、出生证明或专业执照的副本来满足背景筛选和 I-9 验证流程。
减少对犯罪记录的物理法庭搜索的依赖
《公平信用报告法》(FCRA)要求背景调查只报告最准确和最新的背景信息。因此,只要犯罪历史搜索发现先前的罪行或“打击”,就必须在源头验证信息,例如在县法院。
但是,借助自主身份验证,可以避免法庭记录验证及其相关延迟。候选人可以直接访问他们的犯罪历史数据,而不是访问法院或检查法庭记录来验证犯罪历史,这些数据已经被法院或其他政府机构验证为准确无误。
跟上最新的背景筛查趋势。
如果过去的发展预示着未来,那么所有迹象都表明背景筛查的持续进步。区块链技术和自我主权身份系统的发展将为候选人提供更快的背景筛选和更顺畅的招聘流程。
A prime example is self-sovereign identity verification, one of the game-changing background screening trends of 2021. When combined with screening activities, self-sovereign identity solutions offer opportunities to obtain more accurate candidate background data and deliver it to employers faster.
What is self-sovereign identity verification?
Self-sovereign identity describes the mechanisms by which individuals possess control over their identifying information, including how it is shared and when others can access it. As one research professor describes in a recent Forbes article, by adopting this modern identity management solution, “individuals themselves, rather than the organizations that issue or store certain credentials, are authorized to share certain pieces of [their] digital information.”
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A “Digital Wallet”
To understand how self-sovereign identity verification works, think of each person as owning a ledger, or “digital wallet,” filled with identifying information. The wallet is built on blockchain technology, which can record and store large amounts of data and protect it from unauthorized changes or hacks.
Any information individuals place in their digital wallet is supported by documents of proof such as a passport, birth certificate, and other forms of identification. Those documents are then verified by an authorized third party such as a government agency, university, or employer. Anyone receiving access to the individual’s digital wallet will have the assurance the information has already been verified as accurate.
A Dynamic Information Store
Through the use of blockchain technology, large amounts of identifying information about an individual can be gathered and catalogued. It can be used for various purposes, including verifying candidate employment, education, and criminal history.
As a result, it will be possible for background screening providers to request pre-verified and accurate data directly from candidates, such as:
Date of birth
Social security number
Addresses
Education and other credentials, such as professional licenses
Employment history
Although self-sovereign identity verification is still in its infancy, it is anticipated to grow at an accelerated rate in the next several years. Gartner predicts by 2025, this new approach to identity management will seamlessly converge with blockchain technology to “enable a large number of smaller transactions to occur that would not be possible with traditional mechanisms.”
Self-sovereign identity verification is changing background screening.
Self-sovereign identity is particularly relevant to background screening because it challenges the notion of third-party databases and lists as the main sources for verifying individual background data. When individuals control their information and present it as pre-verified and accurate, the traditional background screening data collection and verification process will be dramatically accelerated.
Here are some specific ways self-sovereign identity verification can change how background screening is conducted today:
Simplified Identity Verification
Self-sovereign identity verification helps establish one consistent identity for a person, which reduces the chances of performing a background check on the wrong candidate. Whether you want to hire Jon W. Smith or John W. Smythe, self-sovereign identity verification allows you to obtain background data directly from the source—not a database, but the actual John W. Smith you intend to hire.
This new way of verifying candidate data also removes third parties from the employment and education verification process. If a candidate can immediately present their verified education and employment history to your screening provider, there will be little need to call, email, or fax verification requests to schools and previous employers.
Reduction in Identity Theft and Misrepresentation
Despite efforts to prevent it, identity theft is booming. According to a 2021 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report, over 4.7 million reports of identity theft and fraud were reported to the agency in 2020, up 45 percent from the previous year. Identity theft presents a risk to the accuracy of background screening results, but self-sovereign identity mitigates the risk.
When candidates have control over their own data and use reliable blockchain systems for storing it securely, it will be harder for others to steal. Furthermore, with a single source of truth for a candidate’s background data, it will likely be harder for candidates to present fake credentials and degrees from institutions that either don’t exist or aren’t accredited.
Candidates Empowered to Authenticate Their Own Identity
Currently, when the background check process identifies something in a candidate’s background check results suggesting the candidate may be a risky hire, the candidate has a right to review the results and present new or more accurate background information. But if the background screening provider receives background data directly from the candidate, and it has been verified as accurate, there’s less need to rely on potentially inaccurate databases and lists. Instead of candidates being blindsided by background data which could threaten a job opportunity, they can provide background details they know are accurate and authentic.
Streamlined Background Screening Authorization Process
As per the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), all employers conducting background checks must provide candidates with disclosure documents detailing the use of background checks for employment. Employers are also required to secure written authorization from candidates before starting the screening process.
Today, employers can use an automated e-disclosure and authorization process to reduce the need for paper forms, but an even more efficient process could replace it. A key feature of self-sovereign identity systems is a digital signature individuals can control and use for a range of authorization purposes, including for a background check.
Less Need for Paper Identification Documents
Today’s hiring and background screening processes require the exchange of many documents and forms, whether in paper or electronic form. However, self-sovereign identification systems can store all of a candidate’s identifying documents, making it possible to hire and onboard new hires with much less document exchange. Candidates can simply provide digital access to authorized parties rather than send copies of passports, birth certificates, or professional licenses to satisfy background screening and I-9 verification processes.
Reduced Reliance on Physical Court Searches of Criminal Records
Background checks are required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to report only the most accurate and up-to-date background information. As a result, anytime a criminal history search uncovers prior offenses or “hits,” the information must be verified at the source, for example, at a county court.
However, with the aid of self-sovereign identity verification, it will be possible to avoid court record verifications as well as their associated delays. Instead of visiting a court or checking court records to verify criminal history, candidates can provide direct access to their criminal history data, which has already been verified as accurate by a court or other government authority.
Keep pace with the latest background screening trends.
If past developments are any indication of the future, all signs point to continued advancements in background screening. The growth of blockchain technology and self-sovereign identity systems will enable faster background screening and a smoother hiring process for candidates.