When it comes to protecting your business, your workplace, and your employees, you want to collaborate with a screening agency who has earned accreditation by the prestigious Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) Only 117 firms across the United States have earned the PBSA seal of approval. Active Screening is proud to be one of the screening companies to complete the rigorous compliance standards.
PBSA is a professional organization made up of background screening firms who work on a variety of issues important to the industry:
- Adhere to compliance laws like Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
- Promote ethical business practices
- Better awareness of consumer protection and privacy rights
- Grow screening practices internationally
- Provide educational tools
Founded in 2003, PBSA is the organization behind the sole accreditation program for Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRA’s) like Active Screening in the United States. PBSA describes its accreditation program like this:
“Governed by a strict and thorough set of professional standards, the Background Screening Agency Accreditation Program (BSAAP) has become a widely recognized seal of approval that brings national recognition to an employment background screening-affiliated organization for its commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards and continued institutional improvement.”
Accreditation isn’t easy to come by. It has to be earned, proven, and maintained. In order to pass accreditation standards and procedures, Active Screening had to operate at an exceptional level in all avenues of its practices and showcase this ability to the Background Screening Credentialing Council (BSCC). Active Screening had to demonstrate compliance at every level of its operations through desk and on-site audits by an independent auditor.
Here are five reasons why you should be using a PBSA-accredited screening firm like us:
Outstanding compliance record
You can be assured that the letter of the law is being followed during every step of the screening process. Accredited firms are not merely knowledgeable about important hiring compliance procedures like the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), consumer privacy policies and Adverse Action, they have passed a series of external and internal audits that demonstrate consistent excellence in handling compliance procedures.
Read more about Active Screening’s outstanding compliance record in this interview with our Director of Compliance, Benton Mobley.
Best in class Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
In order to earn accreditation, Active Screening, like the other top screening firms, must operate with best-in-class policies. That means we have to formally document all policies and procedures and ensure these procedures adhere to industry best practices. If, during the accreditation process, a company finds an area in which it needs to improve, PBSA is there to help by offering an extensive run of continuing education.
Continuing education
Accredited agencies have the option to attend countless continuing education programs and trainings to empower their own employees to better serve clients and set new standards within the background screening industry. They also have unlimited access to monthly Webinars and the PBSA library.
Commitment to federal improvements
PBSA and its accredited agencies believe in helping Washington lawmakers better understand their end goals (to provide safe workplaces) and the procedures they use to make this happen. Sometimes the information seems confusing so PBSA and the accredited firms are always working toward clarifying the language used in the pre-employment screening industry and stay on top of legal trends that may affect hiring and privacy.
Data security
One of the hallmarks of PBSA-accredited firms is their commitment to protecting the security and storage of Personally Identifiable Information (PII). At Active Screening, all sensitive information such as social security numbers and date of births are obscured on all reports that are accessible via the Internet. The network is protected by multilayer IDS, IPS device and firewall systems, the operating systems are updated on a regular basis to ensure the latest security patches are installed. Our servers are password protected and reside in a secure environment protected from unauthorized access, natural disaster, fire or other compromising conditions. Our environment is co-located at facilities in different regions of the United States, so in the event of a regional disaster personal data remains secure.
Click here for more information about the PBSA.
Hundreds of clients can’t be wrong. Read these testimonials to hear why people love working with Active Screening!