Should Employers Conduct Their Own Social Media Screening?
Finding ideal employees can be challenging in the best of times, and identifying those who are qualified and seem to be good matches for your organization can be even more difficult. Reviewing social media details is an increasingly common approach to exploring a potential hire beyond an application or interview.
What Is Social Media Screening?
As it sounds, social media screening is a type of background screening that allows employers to evaluate job candidates by reviewing their activity on social media platforms.
Why Organizations Like Social Media Screening
Social media screening offers a more casual, sometimes more realistic look at candidates than formal applications and interviews can provide. In reviewing social media activity, employers can explore a potential hire's personality and interests, helping determine if that individual may be a good fit for a particular position and organization.
Risks of Social Media Screening
Employers can certainly find information in social media accounts to help inform their hiring decisions. Unfortunately, employers can also open themselves up to liability if they use information they've found on social media in making hiring decisions. Using this information can be risky because:
- Protected information, such as race, gender, religion, age, disability, or political views is likely to be found, and may illegally influence hiring decisions
- Social media accounts located online may not actually match the candidates under consideration
- Even when a potential hire's social media accounts are correctly identified, there's no guarantee that the information posted represents that person or their views
- Perceptions of a candidate may not accurately predict their future job performance
How To Protect Yourself From Social Media Screening Liability
Of course, the simplest protection is to not use social media screenings, though this drastic solution limits the valuable information that is available. You can still take advantage of the behind-the-scenes aspects of social media reviews by engaging a reputable background screening company to perform these searches accurately and in compliance with relevant regulations.
At Employers Reference Source, Inc., we offer social media screenings along with a full suite of background checks and other employment tools. Contact us today to use our expertise to simplify your hiring decisions.
