Why Social Media Searches?
Historically, and understandably, employers have been wary of undertaking social media searches. How to adopt a consistent, comprehensive and unbiased approach? How not to stray too far into the private lives of their employees? How to avoid viewing information about protected characteristics, else risk exposing themselves to accusations of discrimination? But with new artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, the landscape of social media searches has changed.
Using social media to assess cultural fit and mitigate reputational risk is no longer a ‘nice to have option’. Increasingly, it’s being seen as a core element of the screening process. Supplementing rather than replacing existing screening procedures.
Why Neotas?
A number of different companies are now operating in the social media checking space. We’ve taken the time to engage with most of these companies, so we could understand their different offerings and approaches. We wanted to satisfy ourselves – on your behalf – that our chosen partner was offering the most compliant and competitive service. We believe Neotas does exactly that, offering you:
- Zero false positives.
- Protected characteristics kept confidential.
- Business relevant results only.
- Flexible risk categories.
- Undisclosed social media handles identified.
- Fast, efficient and affordable solution.
- No more ‘last to know’ scenarios.
- Global, multi-lingual solution.
- Advanced technology.
- GDPR and privacy compliance.
All this means you can confidently:
- Confirm candidate suitability.
- Remove bias from your hiring decisions.
- Protect your employees and brand.
- Avoid costs associated with bad hires.
How it works?
Neotas social media searches consult publicly available, open-source data only. They’re run against 10 clearly defined categories – eight risk categories and two positive indicator categories. Each risk category will be ‘red flagged’ if any relevant content is identified. And all red-flagged content will be fully evidenced, actionable and documented in a comprehensive report.
Risk categories (8).
- Extreme views / opinions
- Hate and discriminatory behaviour
- Illegal activities
- Inappropriate / undesirable content
- Potential addiction or substance abuse
- Sexually explicit content
- Violent content
- Other
Positive indicators (2).
- Charitable work
- Volunteering role
FAQs.
We’ve set out helpful responses to some of the most frequently asked questions – by clients and candidates – in relation to social media searches as part of an employment screening exercise