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4 Questions To Ask About Your Volunteer Background Check Policy

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Nonprofits, schools and plenty of other organizations rely on the services of volunteers to function. A strong volunteer base can be an organization’s greatest resource to help achieve its goals.

Before your organization recruits any volunteers, however, consider how background checks fit into your recruitment process. Screening volunteers ensures security for your organization and helps you build a reliable volunteer base. Find the best volunteers with these four questions to ask about your volunteer background check policy.

What screenings should we run on volunteers?

At a minimum, your organization should run a standard background check on every potential volunteer. One Source’s TotalCheck service includes checks of county, state and federal criminal records, the national sex offender registry, global watchlists and a verification of personal information.

Some volunteer positions may require screening beyond a standard background check. Take inventory of the roles and expectations for all of your volunteer positions to determine if you will need additional screening: Will volunteers need to operate a vehicle? Screen their driving record. Do your volunteers need any kind of professional training? Verify their education credentials.

Every volunteer opportunity is unique, so work with your background check agency to tailor screenings to each position’s requirements.

How often should we screen volunteers?

Dedicated, consistent volunteers are certainly an asset to any volunteer organization. However, periodically rescreening every long-term volunteer safeguards your organization and customers/clientele. It may seem tedious or intrusive to rescreen volunteers, but it’s the only way to ensure continued safety within your organization.

You do not have control over what your volunteers do outside your view, and the risk of misplaced trust could be detrimental to your organization. It’s always better safe than sorry, so try to rescreen your volunteers once a year.

How can we keep our volunteers’ reports secure?

Background checks can contain Personal Identifiable Information (PII), so it’s important to make sure that information is stored securely. One Source provides a secure portal for you to store, search and view completed reports.

Reports can’t be exported to your volunteer management system software, but One Source’s secure portal can work in tandem with your system to keep your volunteers’ information safe and organized.

What offenses would prohibit someone from volunteering?

Before you can decide whether to accept a potential volunteer, you need to develop consistent guidelines about how you handle volunteer rejections. Think about what infractions on a background report would be deal breakers for you. If your organization works with children, you may not be allowed to hire volunteers with any kind of criminal record. If your organization aims to help former convicts, your guidelines could be less strict.

No matter where you draw the line with volunteers’ backgrounds, just make sure your policy is relevant to the work the volunteers will do and never waver from it. Because of that, tart with those four questions to improve your volunteer background check policy. To find the best screening plan for your organization and to learn more about our offerings for nonprofits, contact One Source Client Relations.

How To Manage 5 Background Check Red Flags

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The vast majority of employers can’t afford to take applicants’ word for it when they say they’re trustworthy. It might seem harsh, but there’s too much at stake when hiring a new employee. That’s why up to 98% of businesses run background checks on all job candidates.

While job seekers may be familiar with the background check process, it can be hard to understand why different businesses look for different things on background reports. If you’re convicted of a crime or have a note on your record affecting your ability to do a job, you could be flagged by that company.

Businesses may respond differently to the same background report, so it can be helpful to know how certain aspects of your report may affect your job search. No one can really “fail” a background check, but a report can fail to meet the requirements of a specific employer. Inform yourself before your next job search with this guide on how to manage 5 common background check red flags. 

A Criminal Record

One of the most common screenings employers use is criminal background screening. This may be concerning to anyone with a criminal history, but employers must take the nature of a crime into consideration before making any employment decisions.

Some industries like security, education or elder care do want a completely clear record because employees will work with vulnerable populations. If an applicant’s conviction is not relevant to a job’s requirements, however, the majority of employers will give the applicant the chance to explain their record.

Credit History

In some cases, employers can see an applicant’s credit report as part of their background check. Generally, your credit history won’t impact your chances of getting hired. It will only if you apply for a job to manage the company’s finances or credit.

Driving Record

A few speeding tickets or parking infractions won’t be a red flag to most employers. However, not every business looks at applicants’ driving histories. An employer will likely only look at your driving record if you will need to operate a vehicle for the job. Be aware of your driving history if you know driving will be part of the job requirements.

Employment History

Background checks can show employers an applicant’s verified employment history with dates of employment, job titles, and more. Therefore, it is in your best interest to be completely honest on your resume.

Drug Screening

Some businesses may require applicants to pass drug and alcohol tests before they can be hired. Many employees in civil service, public schools, road construction, and law enforcement must pass drug and alcohol tests to work.

Applicants have lots of rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to protect them at all stages of hiring. If you think you have been removed from consideration for a position unfairly, you are free to dispute your background report. That’s how to manage 5 common background check red flags. For more, reach out to One Source Client Relations to learn about your rights under the FCRA.

OSCC Quarter 3 Report

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Each quarter, we run a report to review the results of our One Source Certified Contractors (OSCC) program. This program is a rigorous check used to help decipher eligibility for site access with our TotalCheck background screening packages and the option of drug screening. From schools to construction sites, OSCC offers the screening you would normally require for your employees, to contractors who might otherwise go un-screened.

Minimum requirements include:

  • No felony or misdemeanor convictions for crimes involving weapons, drugs, violence, theft, robbery, burglary, terroristic threats or sexual offenses*
  • A negative drug test for amphetamines, cannabinoids, cocaine, opiates and phencyclidines (if drug screening option has been chosen by site)

Quarter 3 findings:

The Quarter 3 Report shows the OSCC program has continued to increase safety for many organizations. In Quarter 3, the total number of applicants screened reached well over 4,500 applicants. From this total, 343 applicants did not meet the minimum requirements, therefore denied site access. The OSCC screening process is to help organizations make educated decisions when it comes to the contractors they have on-site.

 

Check out the breakdown of the 343 applicants who failed to gain site access through our screening below.

To learn more about these results or our OSCC program, contact our OSCC Team.

 

*Please note, this is not an exhaustive list.

 

NEW & IMPROVED: Our One Source Certified Contractors (OSCC) User Guides have been updated. Check out our updated guides here!