February 14th, 2022 | Joy Henry, US Head of Technology and Business Services

Top 3 Challenges Gig Platforms Can Address with a New Screening Vendor

If there’s one thing the last few years have made abundantly clear about the gig economy, it is that the popularity of people choosing to leave their full-time jobs and switch to gig work has dramatically increased. In 2021, it was estimated that around one-third of the US population had participated in some form of temporary work and approximately 1 in 10 adults in the UK work for a gig platform, solidifying that the demand for gig platform jobs is growing at substantial rates across the globe (1).

From 2010-2020, the gig market grew 15x faster than the traditional job market (2). Due to the high volume of candidates now entering this workforce, gig platforms are diligently seeking more efficient ways to improve the onboarding process and reduce friction to meet their hiring goals, while maintaining trust and safety in the workplace. Many platforms are looking to achieve this by implementing a new background screening partner who can act as a consultant and enhance their program’s efficiency — but with that comes a lot of hesitations.

Whenever HR teams must consider switching background screening vendors, questions begin to emerge about the potential pain points involved in implementing any new software. Staff often ask themselves, “Does our team have the bandwidth to successfully implement a new solution while staying on top of our existing projects? How much does implementation cost, and will it save us other costs in the future? What about the unknown – what risk factors could arise after switching?”

Sterling has developed a strategy to answer these questions. Let’s explore the answers as we look to relieve a platform’s stress and successfully execute an implementation designed to help gig companies meet the demand of high-volume hiring.

1. Bandwidth – How much does our team need to be involved during implementation?

Since the majority of gig platforms are currently in the growth stages of their business, gig HR teams have limited bandwidth. Often people wear multiple “hats”, making it difficult to suddenly take on new responsibilities. That’s why it’s a big ask to add an implementation project to their list; it’s a major factor when considering switching to a new background screening partner. Because of this, Sterling designs a customized workflow that involves the gig company only as needed, while considering their ability to move the implementation along.

Sterling’s Approach: Before selecting Sterling as your background check and identity verification partner, your sales executive will introduce a program manager and success engineer who both specialize in client implementation. They will help outline what a successful implementation process should look like, while accounting for any special circumstances needed for each gig platform. The Program Manager serves as the main point of contact to coordinate and execute tasks within the implementation process. Meanwhile our Success Engineer can speak directly to your developers about technical questions regarding back-end setup for your platform.

2. Cost – What will this implementation cost?

Cost is a major concern for any gig platform evaluating new software to integrate with their existing platform, especially when it comes to implementation fees. A lot of vendors impose hidden fees limiting the amount of time you can spend with a support representative, or the number of hours a vendor will work on your customized integration. Naturally, this adds additional pressure to an already stressful situation.

Upfront fees are a big decision when evaluating new background screening vendors. That’s why it’s important to find a background screening partner who offers extended support with no additional cost, long after your implementation is complete.

Sterling’s Approach: Our implementation, including customized or turn-key options, is offered at no additional cost to our clients. Sterling believes in this approach so strongly that we include dedicated program managers and success engineers to be main points of contact to help better understand your platform and goals you are trying to achieve. That way we can review and improve your program from the start. We also include unlimited support throughout the process and create customized channels of communication so new clients can easily reach us.

Check out our estimated annual Savings Calculator here.

3. The Unknown – What risk factors are we not considering?

The unknown, especially for gig businesses in their early stages, can be dangerous not only from a financial standpoint, but from a partner standpoint. For instance, gig companies should always ask, “What if a new vendor fails to provide quarterly or monthly reviews of my program? How will I know if this solution will be effective when onboarding high volumes of gig candidates? Will we be able to scale globally with this partner?”

These are understandable concerns for gig companies. Because every platform is different, background screening partners must be flexible and willing to adjust implementation plans quickly to keep the process seamless and help ensure an achievable go-live timeframe.

Sterling’s Approach: Our gig economy team has years of experience working with complex gig platforms requiring a unique approach to implementation. This industry knowledge helps us to reduce unknown circumstances and optimize not only the implementation process but an entire program designed to reflect the goals of our client’s business.

Conclusion

Sterling understands that gig platforms have many valid concerns when switching to a new background screening partner (or implementing a new one). That’s why we leverage our years of experience in the gig industry to help ensure a smooth vendor transition and program implementation. Additionally, our solutions are designed to scale with our clients, whether they’re in the start-up phase or are already established brands. If you want to learn more about our implementation process and how we onboard hundreds of gig platforms a year, contact us today, or check out our gig economy page.

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Sterling is not a law firm. This publication is for informational purposes only and nothing contained in it should be construed as legal advice. We expressly disclaim any warranty or responsibility for damages arising out this information. We encourage you to consult with legal counsel regarding your specific needs. We do not undertake any duty to update previously posted materials.

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