October 5th, 2021 | Ken Schnee, General Manager - Technology, Media, Entertainment, and Hospitality

Why Run Background Checks in the Media and Advertising Industry?

We have witnessed drastic changes to the labor market, most notably the shift from an employer-driven market to a candidate–driven one. Many employees are beginning to re-prioritize what they value in the workplace as a result of the majority of workers wanting flexible working options, an increase learning and development, and news ways to measure productivity. In this candidate-driven market, employers are even more concerned with time-to-hire, optimizing the candidate experience, building teams on a foundation of trust and safety, and finding quality candidates that are strong representations of their brand.

The Media and Advertising industry, which represents sectors like film, radio, television, and print, is often in the spotlight due to its public nature. With the 24-hour news cycle, expansive reach of the internet, and increasing consumption of digital content, it’s important that Media and Advertising companies maintain integrity and have trustworthy employees that are trustworthy and embody and represent their brand. And with candidates driving the hiring trends, these companies must be agile in the processes of hiring and monitoring employees in order to secure strong candidates quickly. Robust background checks are an important first step in the process of vetting the right candidates for your organization and helping you build your teams on a foundation of trust and safety.

Factors to Consider in Today’s Evolving Labor Market

1. The Importance of Background Checks

Criminal checks can mitigate risk, protect your brand’s reputation, and allow you to hire with confidence. A strong background check provider will deliver a better picture of a candidate’s criminal history while still being mindful of turnaround times, accuracy, compliance complexities, and candidate experience. When working in a fast-paced industry such as Media and Advertising, it’s imperative that robust and quick background checks are implemented to get the right candidates hired quickly.

2. Social Media Presence

Just as candidates research your company when applying to jobs, more employers are leveraging social media searches to make informed hiring decisions. With so much of our lives broadcasting across social media, and especially in the Media and Advertising industry, there is a plethora of publicly-available information that background check providers are utilizing to help minimize the risk of a bad hire. This deep dive uses  A.I., language processing, and image recognition to screen for risky behavior online, and flags problematic posts before they become a part of your company’s culture — or worse, in the headlines. Partnering with  a background check provider that runs compliant-driven social media screening can increase your confidence that the people you’re hiring are fit to represent your brand and contribute positively to your company and culture. Social media searches pose no threat to the candidate experience, with no effort required on behalf of the candidate and a fast turnaround time to complete the search.

3. Putting Compliance First

Compliance is constantly evolving. When looking for a background check provider in today’s remote-first world, it’s important to place priority on built-in compliance capabilities that follow regulatory requirements and save you time. The company you partner with should also have a team of compliance experts that keep you informed of current legislative and regulatory changes and offer tools and best practice insights you can leverage to help you meet your compliance obligations.

New labor market realities have made it more important than ever to minimize margin of error, streamline hiring processes, and improve the candidate experience. Partnering with a strong background check provider can help you efficiently and compliantly screen employees and get them to work faster, which in the Media and Advertising industry is essential.

Interested in learning more about Sterling’s services for the Media and Advertising industry, or want to brainstorm how our industry-specific background checks can work for you? Our team is here and ready to talk. Click here to start a conversation.

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