Verifile’s review of 2022: The demand for background checks soars as businesses face increased scrutiny
From Eyal Ben Cohen, Verifile Founder and CEO
2022 was yet another year of rapid change, both here at Verifile and for our clients. The ongoing effects of the pandemic and fluid labour market combined with a volatile economy, meant HR teams were – and continue to be – under pressure.
In 2022, we also saw high-profile news items that raised awareness about these issues. For example, the UK Supreme Court ruled employers can claim compensation from candidates involved in CV fraud. HR teams now want better background checks, faster, and to extend their provision. Many want more than pre-employment screening. They are also implementing measures such as rechecks, annual assessments, and ongoing vetting of staff.
At Verifile, we’re extremely proud of the work we do. Our mission is to make the world a more honest and safer place. We exist to empower businesses to make fully informed decisions quickly and efficiently. We do this by combining accurate data with a human touch. The thing my team appreciates most about our work is making a real difference to people’s lives. We believe in a world in which honesty and openness prevail, and we champion truth and accuracy. This ethos drives all that we do.
So, let’s kick off with the data. How do our 2022 figures reflect the trends we can see in the industry?
The demand for background checks is growing
The last few years have seen major changes in the employment market. Our 2022 figures support the view that we’re still in a period of intense transition.
In 2022, more clients also used us for tasks previously carried out in-house, such as checking CVs and obtaining references. For example, we checked 59% more CVs in 2022 than 2021.
In 2022, more of our customers recruited further afield as a result of staff shortages in the UK. As a result, we carried out 27% more checks globally (over 500k). We also checked candidates in more countries. In 2022, we carried out checks in 172 countries compared with 155 countries in 2021.
Despite the increased pressure as a result of the growing demand, we have continued to improve our processes. In 2022, only 4% of all CV-related checks – employment, education and membership – closed without an official response. This translates to a reduction of 12% when compared with 2021. I’m particularly proud of this, as it means our verification rate in 2022 was 96%, which compares favourably with the industry standard of 60-80%.
Why is the demand for help with background checks increasing?
In 2022, employers in the major economies continued to recruit in high numbers as a direct consequence of post-pandemic effects on business and people. But the trend that has made the biggest impact on the number of CVs being checked is the increase in outsourcing. Resource-hungry HR teams are under pressure to streamline as many of the manual processes under their control as possible.
Checking CVs thoroughly is an extremely labour-intensive process if carried out in-house. In fact, it’s highly-time consuming, even if employers only collect references without properly verifying them first. Over the last few years, HR teams have been under increasing pressure to recruit and retain more staff and to carry out more thorough checks. This means keeping these manual processes in-house has become a major constraint.
As a result, many of our customers who previously used us only for DBS and similar records checks have asked us to take over their global screening programmes. And I'm pleased to say, many got much more value out of our partnership than they expected. We didn’t just take mundane tasks off their hands. We delivered consistent, high-quality, more insightful results than they can achieve in-house.
The increasing importance of background checks in numbers
A recent study revealed 1 in 5 people in the UK have either lied on a CV or know someone who has lied on a CV in the last year. This is a 17% increase compared with 2021.
Our metrics support the view that the number of discrepancies submitted on CVs is increasing.
➔ 60% of CVs checked in 2022 had at least one discrepancy, compared with 55% in 2021.
➔ 27% had at least one major discrepancy in 2022, compared with 23% in 2021.
➔ Only 39% had no discrepancies, compared with 43.5% in 2021. This means the number of CVs with no discrepancies has decreased in the last year by 11%.
And when it comes to education, employment and membership checks, the numbers are even more alarming.
When comparing 2022 with 2021 there has been:
➔ 28% increase in education checks with a red traffic light (major discrepancy)
➔ 13% increase in education checks with a red or amber traffic light
➔ 23% increase in employment checks with a red traffic light (major discrepancy)
➔ 13% increase in employment checks with a red or amber traffic light
➔ 19% increase in membership checks with a red traffic light (major discrepancy)
➔ 7% increase in membership checks with a red or amber traffic light
The increasing use of APIs
In 2022, more of our customers looked to gain efficiencies via automation and their use of technology. As a result, we saw an increase in the number of our clients accessing our services using APIs.
In 2022, customers submitted 31% of orders using APIs. This is a 34% increase on 2021.
See related: Helping LSBU save time and money with paperless DBS checks
What do our clients want? Reliable results – delivered faster.
It’s safe to say one of the key demands our customers make is for faster results, which we’re delighted to deliver.
Over the last 3 years, there has been an increase in customers using quick database checks. These tend to be much faster and, in several cases, provide instant results:
Over the last 3 years there has been:
Looking back – and planning for the future
When I look back on a year in business, I always think we could have done more! Having said that, I am extremely proud of the service the Verifile team provides for our customers.
We don’t sell hype. Hard work and effective results mean our customers stay with us year after year and continue to promote us to their peers. We’ve grown rapidly based on our reputation, and I have to be happy with that!
Over the last 5 years, we’ve seen a 300% increase in the number of candidates checked annually. There has been a 257% increase in the number of checks carried out each year. Verifile continues to grow, win new business, and support our customers as they take on more of the benefits of employment screening.