Background screening helps companies make informed decisions, safeguard their workplace, and build a reliable team. But let’s be honest, maintaining quality hiring practices while staying within budget can be tricky. Luckily, there are ways to protect your organization and your budget. Smart screening doesn’t mean cutting corners. It means knowing where to invest your dollars to get the most value.
What Goes into Background Screening Costs?
Before you start trimming your screening budget, you need to understand what you're actually paying for. Background checks involve several moving parts that contribute to the final cost.
- Time and labor. Some screening components (verifying employment history and checking references) require manual effort. These can take hours per candidate. That time adds up quickly, especially in high-volume hiring situations.
- Third-party fees. Many checks (ever dealt with The Work Number?) rely on access to external databases or services. For example, motor vehicle records, criminal history searches, and education verifications often involve fees charged by courts, institutions, or third-party vendors. Those fees filter down to your organization.
- Technology and compliance. Using a reputable background screening platform helps reduce risks and automate parts of the process. But this tech also comes with a price tag, especially if your vendor offers added services like adjudication assistance or adverse action tools.
Tips for Managing Your Background Screening Costs
HR pros are left with the conundrum of gaining insights into job candidates via background checks while working within budget confines. The good news is there are strategic ways to get the information you need without draining your budget.
Tip #1: Customize Background Checks by Role
A forklift driver, seasonal retail employee, or entry-level call center representative likely doesn't need the same deep-dive screening as a CFO or accountant. Customizing your background checks based on job roles lets you significantly reduce unnecessary expenses.
Create packages based on role sensitivity, regulatory requirements, or access to company assets. For example:
- Basic package: ID verification, basic criminal history.
- Standard package: Employment and education verification.
- Executive package: Adds credit checks, global watchlist searches, social media screening, and more in-depth professional reference checks.
A reputable background screening vendor can help you build screening packages that align with your risk level and budget constraints.
Tip #2: Use Innovative Screening Processes
Employment verifications can be one of the costliest (and slowest) parts of a background check. That’s where Employment Pro from Data Facts comes in. This service gives you a smarter, more efficient way to verify past employment, either as a complete replacement for traditional methods or as a supplemental service to reduce third-party costs.
Instead of paying hefty fees for every single verification through multiple vendors, Employment Pro streamlines the process with a user-friendly interface, automation, and support from a team of experts ready to tailor the solution to your business.
Tip #3: Focus on Key Screening Components First
One of the most budget-savvy things you can do is prioritize your screenings to eliminate unqualified candidates early in the process. This "progressive" or tiered approach allows you to delay the most costly checks until a candidate has passed the basic criteria.
Here’s how it works:
- Stage 1: Conduct a basic screen (identity check, criminal record, motor vehicle records search).
- Stage 2: After the candidate clears Stage 1, move on to more expensive components like employment and education verifications
- Stage 3: For high-risk roles, add drug testing and social media screening as final steps.
This method lets you “weed out” unsuitable candidates without wasting time and money on full-scale checks for every applicant.
Tip #4: Leverage Volume-Based Pricing
If your company hires frequently, you may be eligible for bulk pricing or discounted rates through your screening provider. Many vendors offer tiered pricing models based on the volume of checks performed each month or quarter.
By building a relationship with a trusted vendor, you may be able to lock in cost-effective options that scale with your business.
Tip #5: Use Technology to Streamline the Screening Process
Technology is your best friend when it comes to cutting down on time-consuming, repetitive tasks during background screening. Look for a seamless integration between your background screening vendor and applicant tracking systems (ATS). These integrations allow candidate information to flow directly from your ATS into the background check system, automatically populating forms, initiating screens, and updating status without the need for manual input.
This reduces duplicate data entry, lowers the risk of manual errors, and speeds up turnaround times.
Look for a screening provider that plays nicely with your existing HR tech stack. You'll save administrative hours, eliminate bottlenecks in the hiring process, and create a more efficient, candidate-friendly workflow.
Tip #6: Follow Compliance Rules
We get it. Compliance doesn’t always feel like a budget topic. But staying compliant with background check regulations is one of the smartest financial decisions you can make.
Non-compliance with FCRA, EEOC, or state-specific screening laws can lead to costly lawsuits, fines, and reputation damage. Even an honest mistake (like conducting a background check without written consent) can get expensive fast.
Partner with a background screening vendor that is SOC 2 Type II certified and accredited by the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) to ensure they maintain the highest level of compliance excellence. Your screening provider should stay up-to-date on the latest compliance requirements and offer tools like adverse action assistance, consent form templates, and audit logs. Protecting your company from legal risk is just as important as protecting it from bad hires.
Creating an Effective, Budget-Friendly Background Screening Process IS Possible
Background screening doesn’t have to bust your budget. By understanding the cost components and making strategic choices, you can create a screening program that’s both effective and affordable.
