Whether you operate a parks and recreation agency, school district, hospital, or another public service organization, volunteers likely comprise a sizable part of your workforce. Though volunteers aren’t employees, they often interact with customers, patients, students, and the general public, making background screening a must.
Like pre-employment screening, volunteer screening is done best when you work with a capable, experienced screening provider who understands your needs. In this post, you’ll learn about the top things you should expect from your volunteer screening provider.
3 Critical Considerations When Selecting a Volunteer Screening Company
Whether they serve the local school district, YMCA, or religious organization, volunteers are everywhere. According to Nonprofits Source, one in four Americans volunteers their time, contributing an average of 52 hours each year. There is no doubt that some of these individuals volunteer in your school or organization. To ensure you’re screening them properly, find a background check provider with the following characteristics:
1. Relevant Experience
An experienced volunteer screening company understands the nuances of screening volunteers versus other hires. This includes familiarity with volunteer screening best practices, covering areas such as:
- Developing a policy to guide your volunteer screening processes.
- Establishing processes for communicating screening results and managing any disputes that arise.
- Implementing a self-funded volunteer screening program to better manage your budget
With experience comes deep knowledge about how to operate your volunteer screening program most effectively. BIB’s SecureVolunteer services have conducted more than 16 million background screens for nonprofits and schools, allowing us to continuously improve our services and deliver greater value to our customers year after year.
2. Comprehensive Volunteer Screening Services
Volunteers are not employees, but they often require many of the same components in their background checks. Therefore, it’s critical to select a provider that understands what should be in every volunteer background investigation. At a minimum, those elements include:
- Address History Trace: A report that lists the names, aliases, birth dates, and addresses associated with a specific social security number in the last seven years.
- County Court Searches: Based on the history trace, a search of each county court associated with the volunteer’s address(es).
- Criminal Record Database Searches: A database search of more than 450 million criminal records collected from thousands of sources.
- Sex Offender Registry Search: A real-time search of registered sex offender registries in all 50 US states and territories.
3. User-Friendly Technology That Improves Screening Efficiency
You can’t afford to get bogged down in manual background screening processes when you work with volunteers. Using the right technology makes it easier to request background screening services and get your volunteers up and running much quicker.
For example, BIB’s SecureVolunteer solution offers an easy-to-use platform to help you efficiently conduct background screening for all of your volunteers. In addition to a personalized applicant portal that makes it easy for volunteers to complete their background screenings, the platform also offers volunteer payment options that can help you manage your screening budget more effectively.
Improve Your Volunteer Screening Program
Like many other organizations, you rely on volunteers to help you deliver critical services and keep things running. But before your volunteers get to work, they must complete their background checks in a high-quality and efficient manner. When you work with a screening provider with expertise and a proven track record in volunteer screening, you’ll discover great volunteers and keep your workplace and facilities safe. To learn more, speak to a member of our sales team.
