How Often Should You Run A Background Check For Contractors? The Answer May Surprise You

Background Screening | December 2, 2021

You are doing background checks on your contractor network, which is great news! Now you need to decide how often your organization should conduct a background check for contractors because unfortunately, once is not enough. 

Since the nature of risk is continual, the program that covers your background checks for contractors should be an ongoing effort. As individuals change, their life circumstances may as well and while many individuals with steady, ongoing income may remain completely compliant with your network requirements, there is always that small percentage that will not. It is this group we are trying to identify because they are the ones who bring risk and liability to your organization. So how do you protect yourself? Simple, you need to rescreen individuals again during their engagement with your organization.

A Background Check for Contractors: The Two-Year Rescreen Cycle

Typically, the initial background screening done on a contracted individual is robust often covering criminal, driving, sex offender, and possibly even drug testing information. For most networks, we see this exact same screening package be repeated throughout their engagement with the individual. For most customers, this rescreening is done on a two-year cycle, meaning the contractor will submit these same types of checks every two years.

Some organizations, however, may decide to do a lesser version of their screening, perhaps only searching 3 years of criminal records instead of the standard seven years. This may be done because the previous screening covered at least 7 years of residential address history and the current background check need is to just cover information from that last screening to the present day, sometimes it is a cost consideration or a need to meet other external requirements with their customer. For some, we may also see screenings done at 6 months or even one-year intervals, instead of the more common two years. These requirements are most often driven by agreements they have with their respective clients.

In addition to the rescreening requirement, organizations may also want to consider the addition of the continuous criminal record monitoring option that is available. Since criminal record information is the most impactful information that may impact a contractor’s participation in your service network, criminal monitoring ensures proactive management of those risks as well. 

Continuous Criminal Monitoring Fills the Gaps Between A Background Check for Contractors

Continuous monitoring information is provided in near real-time from county jails, courts, and the Department of Correctional Facilities. The information is dynamic and rapidly changing and can provide a timely indicator of potential risks within your network that may need attention. PlusOne Solutions’ sources cover more than 90 percent of the population and are a suitable search to identify potential behavior that may pose a risk to your business, customers, brand, and reputation. This information is restricted to county-level criminal information and does not cover all the screening elements a traditional background check would.  For this reason, these continuous background screenings are encouraged in addition to any traditional background check program you have in place and can work well to fill the gap between complete rescreens.

What is Your Organization Doing to Reduce Risk When Working with Contractors?

While one background check is better than nothing, as organizations quickly learn, the implementation of a program that includes ongoing background checks for contractors is where true risk mitigation and due diligence will be realized and liability will be reduced. Contact us today to learn more about the risk mitigation solutions that we can provide for your organization.

Contents are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Users are reminded to seek legal counsel with respect to their obligations and use of PlusOne Solutions services.

About PlusOne Solutions

PlusOne Solutions has been an industry leader in the risk management field by specializing in compliance programs that meet the complex challenges of geographically dispersed contractors, vendors, and employee networks. PlusOne Solutions protects companies from possible financial, legal, and reputational risks associated with contractor and vendor relationships while creating safer work environments. To learn more, visit https://www.PlusOneSolutions.net.