Every day, the career of a celebrity, executive or newly enrolled college student is derailed because of a social media post. It might be one over 10 years old that no longer reflects their views.
We interviewed Bianca Lager, President of Social Intelligence, a firm that conducts pre-employment background checks by screening social media. Social Intelligence assesses employment risk using Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)-compliant screening processes. Their mission is to “mitigate potential threats to businesses without violating a candidate’s personal freedoms.”
Social Intelligence is used to ensure the culture and reputations of organizations will not be harmed by making a hire that may identify a candidate’s potentially problematic online activity.
What types of clients use Social Intelligence’s services?
We serve enterprise, law enforcement, non-profits and small businesses. They utilize our service because we remove the subject’s identifying, protected-class information from the report to ensure an unbiased screening process. Then, we only review and flag publicly available, user-generated content in four categories:
· Racist, Sexist, or Discriminatory Behavior
· Sexually Explicit Material
· Threats or Acts of Violence
· Potentially Illegal Activity
What surprises your team the most during your screening processes?
Daily, we are surprised by the content we see online. Shock value is sometimes an aim users have. I can speculate some do it intentionally to seek attention. Another reason for shocking content is the lack of attention devoted to who their audience is and whether their accounts are public or private. For example, Facebook has a lot of settings. You can decide with every post whether the content you share will be public. Some people don’t spend the time they should learning how their privacy settings work.
Often, social media users do not realize their accounts could be viewed, evaluated and assessed by decision-makers in their professional worlds. This could be problematic or even detrimental for them.
What should readers be aware of in terms of their own social media use?
In addition to evaluating whether they need a public social media presence, they should give care to the context of what they are saying and how it might be perceived by someone who is not part of their network. They should ask themselves:
How does this behavior impact my workplace? Might it be seen as controversial? If it were said out loud in the office would it cause concern?
Represent your ethical values in a positive way. Avoid creating a hostile and unpleasant work environment. Consider making your accounts private.
What do employers need to know about the social media screening process?
70% of employers in the U.S. report that they use social media to review online behavior in today’s digital world, but most are screening candidates’ social media in an inefficient or illegal way. It’s a legal requirement for any business to receive consent to conduct a background check for employment purposes, and that includes applying online information to a hiring decision. A third-party is needed to ensure the privacy of the candidate and mitigate any risk of discrimination accusations against your team.
Left: Bianca Lager, President, Social Intelligence
For more insight, see Social Intelligence’s downloadable eBooks and White Papers, which cover topics like: “How HR Can Prepare for Fall Hiring Season” and “What Every Employer Needs to Know About Social Media Background Checks”.
Social Intelligence’s Social Intel Blog is also a gold mine of relevant information. Some of the posts that caught our eye include: 20 ways to fail a social media background check, and Your Political Posts about Trump Could Get You Fired. Follow Social Intelligence on Twitter @socialintelco.
Related reading: “Fame Us:” The Push for Social Media Stardom
