Social Media Background Checks in the Security Industry

Sterling Talent Solutions, our partner, conducted a recent survey that revealed that 89% of organizations run employment background checks. Yet just one-third of the employers surveyed are performing social media checks on their candidates. Like it or not, social media is here to stay, and more people have an online presence today than ever before.

We conduct thousands of social media hiring reports a month, and we’ve found that our product is a particularly good fit in several industries. Those include, but are not limited to: Healthcare, Education, Law Enforcement, Energy, and Finance. Today we’ll wrap up this series by focusing on the Security industry.

Security and social media in the news

Security guards are often the eyes and ears of a community or corporation. These individuals should align themselves with their company’s values and do their part to protect the public. Unfortunately, countless negative news stories about employees in the security industry have circulated over the past few years.

Many security employees have gotten into trouble because of their social media posts. This was the case in 2014 when a Sears security guard was fired after he posted photos of breastfeeding customers on his Twitter account. He pulled the images from Sears’ security camera footage. A security guard at a New Mexico hospital was also terminated after engaging in a Facebook conversation about his job. The man worked in the Behavioral Health Center where children and adults received therapy. In a Facebook post, he called the children “demons” and said that he wished he could give them Nyquil.

Just about everyone is equipped with a cell phone these days. People are constantly recording their surroundings, which makes it likely that an employee’s red flag behavior will end up online. We’ve all seen the footage of the United Airlines passenger who was dragged off an airplane by security guards. Last year, an NFL security guard was captured on video behaving inappropriately by fans in the stands. He was subsequently fired.

How can social media background checks help?

Security companies are judged on their past performances. In the case above, the hospital dismissed the entire security firm that they were using because of one guard’s actions. Our social media hiring reports identify individuals who display behaviors that could lead to instances of workplace violence, substance abuse, and other liabilities. Social Intelligence helps keep lawsuits at bay by ensuring that you hire the right individuals for the job the first time around.

During the report process, we search each candidate’s social media accounts for any red flag behavior such as racist, illegal, violent, or sexually explicit content. If we discover any such behavior, we capture the content (as pictured below).

Our FCRA compliant social media background checks present actionable adverse information about potential employees so that you can make a better informed hiring decision. Call us today to learn more about our product, or request a sample report here.