New Report from First Advantage Spotlights Global Background Screening Trends

2020 Research Includes Key Insights from APAC, EMEA, LATAM, India and Canada

ATLANTA (August 6, 2020) - First Advantage, a global leader in background check and drug screening solutions, today released the third installment of its five-part series examining the industry’s leading trends. To develop the report, First Advantage surveyed its customers, cross-referencing these responses with aggregate data from 71 million 2019 global searches across 200 countries and subnational entities.

The new research analyzed screening behaviors specific to APAC, EMEA and LATAM as well as India and Canada, identifying trends from each region. The report reveals the top five global takeaways, which include:

·         Growing global screening: First Advantage noted an 8 percent increase in global orders compared to 2018. Excluding orders from the U.S., this was driven by sizable gains in LATAM (63 percent) and EMEA (26 percent).

·         Increasing order complexity: There was a 3 percent increase in average background checks per order, year over year, with an uptick in EMEA of 1.1 more checks per order (6.5 to 7.6).

·         Faster time to completion: 10 percent shorter average turnaround time per order over 2018, with a 20 percent decrease observed in EMEA and an 18 percent decrease in Canada.

·         Varying discrepancy rates: Checks can have discrepancies up to 46 percent depending on the country or industry. The Business Services industry in LATAM presented the highest discrepancy.

·         Global candidate base: Up to 24 percent of checks were “out of region” as APAC, Canada and EMEA saw higher numbers of candidates with history outside of each respective region.

First Advantage compared and contrasted these trends by region in addition to analyzing the ordering trends of each. Drilling down, the report spotlights the profile of a typical candidate in 2019 versus 2018, providing an in-depth look at global screening strategies.    

First Advantage Executive Vice President of Global Operations Tom Ellis commented, “Recruiting and hiring processes vary tremendously from country to country and region to region. In creating our global report, First Advantage aims to offer insight to those employers interested in learning more about what’s changing in the world around them as it relates to background screening. The industry has seen significant changes year-over-year—with the global pandemic causing the greatest shift to date—but by investigating the data with a global lens, First Advantage is in a unique position to identify key insights and keep our partners abreast of industry changes.”

Part 3 of the First Advantage Trends Report is available for complimentary download by visiting learn.fadv.com/2020trends.

About First Advantage
First Advantage provides comprehensive background screening, identity and information solutions that give employers and housing providers access to actionable information that results in faster, more accurate people decisions. With an advanced global technology platform and superior customer service delivered by experts who understand local markets, First Advantage helps customers around the world build fully scalable, configurable screening programs that meet their unique needs. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, First Advantage has offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

To learn more, please visit fadv.com.