In today’s digital age, people have a digital footprint that can often stretch back a decade or more. With social media, it’s never been easier for people to express themselves, voice opinions, and connect with like-minded people. While social media platforms can be useful tools for individuals, families, charities, and businesses, they can also have a negative impact. An ill-judged tweet, comment, or Facebook post can come back to haunt individuals years after the event. Mistakes made online when you are young can damage your adult reputation.
For companies, having members of staff with a negative social media presence can be damaging. Businesses or organisations can find themselves implicated by association, often leading to brand damage. The cost of removing an employer with a persistently problematic social media presence can be significant. To counteract this issue, identifying potential red flags during the recruitment process can reduce the risk of problems arising at a later date.
Social Media Checks are an increasingly common form of pre-employment screening. By examining the social media profiles of would-be candidates, employers can gather additional information beyond what is provided through application forms and interviews. Not only do they identify any potential issue arising from someone’s past use of social media, but they can also give employers a more comprehensive understanding of a candidate.
Social media checks can reveal any red flags, such as discriminatory comments, evidence of substance abuse, or inappropriate activity. It can pick up patterns of behaviour, or membership of any problematic online groups that don’t share your company values or which are contrary to your brand image.
Social media checks can also help to verify that the employment history, educational background, and professional achievements listed on a candidate’s CV are genuine. This helps to mitigate some of the risks associated with hiring individuals who may have misrepresented their qualifications.
On the more positive side, businesses often find that potential candidates have social media profiles that support their application. They may be posting about industry developments, sharing positive content, and fostering a good personal and professional image.
Using social media checks as a key element of pre-employment screening gives companies a full understanding of candidates, supporting recruitment decisions, and building confidence in new employees.
Conducting social checks during the pre-employment screening process can be time-consuming for companies. They may also lack the essential technical skills and know-how to conduct a thorough social media search. As well as the obvious high-profile social media sites, more specialist and niche sites also exist. Candidates may also use pseudonyms or so-called ‘sock puppet’ accounts, to mask their identity. Professional social media checks can uncover all of these hidden accounts, ensuring that no stone is left unturned.
At Agenda Screening, we can conduct thorough social media checks to ensure that your potential employees can be trusted. Our pre-employment screening process can incorporate social media checks to give you a fuller picture of the honesty and integrity of would-be candidates.
Contact us to find out more about social media screening and how it can support your recruitment process.
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