The Evolution of Technology & the Background Screening Industry
The background screening industry began when technology as we know it now, was not yet in the big picture. Analyzing the evolution of an industry vs. the evolution of technology allows us to understand why it is harder for some to embrace changes and innovation. When a method or modus operandi has been working well for years, many might argue, why change it? Changes come with uncertainty, fear of failure, and usually in the business world, with money involved. But, throughout the years, countless companies in different industries have proven that lack of innovation is what ultimately leads to failure.
Back in 1908, The Negligent hiring law first appeared in a case. This case was about an apprentice’s prank that accidentally killed an employee. The employer was found guilty because he kept the apprentice employed, despite having witnessed his action. Since then, from 1911 to 1933, the law was expanded to cover violent acts against customers by an employee. In 1951, the court advised that the employer was to be held responsible for hiring employees at “unfit” positions. For example, in that same year, a case about a delivery man who “made an indecent attack” on a housewife occurred, and the employer was found guilty.
In 1970, while the first computer EVER was released to the public by Apple, employers across different industries began focusing on providing a safer work environment and started scrutinizing resumes and job applications for false information. By the late 1970s, a lot more employers were found responsible for negligent hiring, and the FCRA law was passed.
Due to all the new laws and trends in the background screening industry, a growing number of employers began to recognize the need to involve professional background screening service providers in the hiring process. At the same time, in 1990, the internet was created. The fact that the internet was introduced when background checks had already become a normal practice for companies, affected the embracement of this new technology by the industry. The internet was a great tool for background screening companies to market their businesses across their country and internationally, yet it took several years for the industry to start using internet databases to find candidate information and automate reports.
In 1993, the Brady Act was signed, mandating federal background checks on firearm purchasers. This Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act required criminal checks by the FBI and state agencies on those who wanted to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer.
When talking about the screening industry, we need to talk about databases. There have been several advances in database technology throughout the years, but in the early ’90s, there was a database created that would have a more significant effect than any other, at least for the online market. In 1995, the first version of MySQL was released by a Swedish company (who funded the open source project) — MySQL AB. This software was the first significant database of the internet and continues to be used by companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. The open-source license gave freedom to website developers, which meant that they did not need to rely on companies like Oracle and Microsoft anymore.
A few years later, the Web 2.0 emerged, this was the shift to user-generated content and a more user-friendly internet for everyone. For databases, it meant the needs of developers and administrators had changed. There was a vast amount of data being added to the Internet by users every second. Cloud computing unlocked massive storage and processing capabilities which changed the way databases are used. These advances in database technology affected the background screening industry widely, as now companies began to change the way they stored and exchanged data, as well as the methods used to gather it. (Examples of Web 2.0 sites would be Wikipedia, Youtube, and Facebook.)
The first social media which was created in 1997 was Six Degrees, made by Andrew Weinreich. Six Degrees was the first online business that attempted to identify real relationships between real people using their real names.
In 1998, Google was launched. This had a huge impact in the world since thanks to Google’s algorithm and ease of use, lots of people began to use the web much more as well as understand the power of the internet. This is when online advertising increased and was transformed. For the screening industry, it meant an increase in online and remote jobs and more companies wanting to transform processes that used to be manual, to online, including background checks.
Then, Facebook was created in 2004, ever since, all the other social media we know was created and advanced. An enormous number of people started using phones, downloading apps, and computers, using the internet. This gave birth to a new type of background check, social media checks, which is now one of the most common in the industry.
In 2008, the Blockchain Technology was invented by Satoshi Nakamoto to serve as the public transaction ledger of the cryptocurrency bitcoin. Several companies in industries such as supply chain, banking and finance have been adopting blockchain ever since. This technology is one of the latest database technologies that has come out and it is growing at full speed. The background screening industry has not yet adopted this technology as other industries have, but as we saw that background checks rely mainly on large databases, blockchain can be extremely useful to increase security, transparency and traceability of data.
In 2016, the General Data Protection Regulation entered into force in Europe. The GDPR reinforces a wide range of existing rights and establishes new ones for individuals. Changing the way in which background screeners have to handle personal data when performing reports on European territory.
After all this evolution and regulations, 87% of senior business leaders say that digitalization is a priority. Is digitalization a priority for your company?
What else would you add to this timeline?
