5 Screening Resolutions You Can Keep This Year

We've all been there. January 1st arrives, and suddenly we're making grand declarations about running marathons, finally organizing that disaster of a junk drawer, and absolutely, definitely, this-time-for-real eating more vegetables. 

By Valentine's Day? The running shoes are gathering dust, the junk drawer has somehow gotten worse, and those vegetables are now a sad science experiment in the back of the fridge.

Here's the good news: Your screening program doesn't have to follow the same trajectory.

Unlike giving up carbs or learning to meditate at 5 a.m., these five screening resolutions are actually achievable - especially when you've got the right partner in your corner. No willpower required. Just a smart strategy.

Let's make this the year your background check program finally lives up to its potential.

Resolution #1: "I Will Actually Stay Current on Compliance Changes"

Every January, HR professionals everywhere make the same noble vow: This year, I'm staying on top of compliance. You subscribe to the newsletters. You bookmark the regulatory websites. You might even attend a webinar or two in those optimistic first few weeks.

Then reality hits. The requisitions pile up, hiring managers start calling, and suddenly those compliance updates are collecting digital dust in a folder optimistically labeled "Read Later." (Spoiler: You won't read them later.)

Meanwhile, three states quietly changed their ban-the-box rules, Clean Slate legislation expanded somewhere you have employees, and the EEOC issued new guidance while you were putting out fires in recruiting.

How to Keep This One

Stop trying to be your own compliance department. Partner with a screening provider who eats, sleeps, and breathes regulatory changes - so you don't have to white-knuckle your way through every update.

The right partner doesn't just process checks and disappear. They proactively alert you to changes affecting your industry and your state before those changes become your emergency. They track the shifting landscape of Fair Chance hiring, salary history bans, and marijuana legalization so you can focus on what you actually got hired to do: building great teams.

Resolution #2: "I Will Close the Gaps in Who We Screen"

You know the drill. Every year, someone brings up the fact that you're not screening volunteers, or contractors, or that revolving door of seasonal workers who have the same access to your facilities as full-time employees. Every year, there's a budget meeting.

Someone asks, "Do we really need to screen them?" And every year, the same gaps remain. It's not that anyone thinks it's a good idea to leave these populations unscreened. It's just that adding another line item feels like a battle, and there are so many other battles to fight.

How to Keep This One

Work with a provider who makes comprehensive screening affordable and scalable. When screening isn't a massive budget discussion every time you want to add a population, the conversation shifts from "can we afford this?" to "how do we want to implement this?"

Volunteers, contractors, seasonal workers, gig employees - they all interact with your people, your facilities, and your reputation. A partner with flexible pricing and scalable solutions turns comprehensive screening from a budget nightmare into a straightforward operational decision.

Resolution #3: "I Will Actually Use All the Screening Tools Available"

Somewhere in your contract, there are services you're paying for but not using. Exclusion list monitoring for healthcare compliance. Continuous screening that could catch issues between hires. Driving record checks for the people who actually drive on company business.

Social media screening that could reveal red flags before they become headlines. They all seemed like excellent ideas when you signed up. Then inertia happened. "We've always just done the basic criminal check" became the unofficial policy, and those valuable tools sat there, unused and unloved.

How to Keep This One

A good provider doesn't just sell you a menu of services and wave goodbye. They conduct regular reviews to ensure you're actually getting value from what you're paying for. They spot underutilized tools and help you implement them without adding to your already-overflowing plate.

Think of it as a screening program audit - but one where someone else does the heavy lifting and brings you solutions instead of problems.

Resolution #4: "I Will Implement Real Individualized Assessments"

You know you need a documented, defensible process for evaluating candidates with criminal records. The EEOC has been crystal clear. State laws are getting stricter by the year. Fair Chance, Ban the Box, and Clean Slate aren't going away - they're expanding.

But building that framework from scratch? Between hiring demands, compliance requirements, manager complaints, and everything else on your plate, creating a proper individualized assessment process keeps sliding to the next quarter. And the quarter after that.

Meanwhile, every time a candidate with a record hits the desk, it's a different person making a different gut-call decision. That inconsistency isn't just unfair to candidates - it's a legal liability waiting to happen.

How to Keep This One

Partner with a provider who offers built-in individualized assessment frameworks. The right screening company has already done the heavy lifting - creating compliant evaluation criteria, documentation templates, and decision matrices that protect both candidates and your organization.

Tools like the Individualized Assessment Decision Matrix™ guide you through the factors that matter: nature of the offense, time elapsed, relevance to the position, and evidence of rehabilitation. No more reinventing the wheel with every adverse result. No more inconsistent decisions that can't survive legal scrutiny.

Resolution #5: "I Will Speed Up Hiring Without Cutting Corners"

The pressure to move fast is absolutely relentless. Hiring managers wanted their candidates approved yesterday. Every day a position sits open costs real money - in productivity, overtime, and morale. The temptation to skip steps, rush reviews, or "just this once" bypass verification is constant.

You've heard it before: "Can we just skip the employment verification? They seem trustworthy." Here's the thing - they always seem trustworthy. That's literally how this works.

The false choice between speed and thoroughness has tortured HR teams for years. But it doesn't have to be this way.

How to Keep This One

Choose a provider built for speed and thoroughness. Human-verified results don't have to mean slow results. Technology-enhanced workflows with expert review can deliver turnaround times measured in hours, not days - without sacrificing accuracy or completeness.

When your average turnaround is under two days and the majority of checks completed same-day, suddenly you're not choosing between making hiring managers happy and protecting your organization. You get both.

The Resolution That Makes All Others Possible

Here's what nobody tells you about New Year's resolutions: The ones that actually stick aren't about trying harder. They're about setting yourself up for success.

You don't keep your fitness resolution by sheer willpower - you keep it by finding a workout buddy who actually shows up, a gym that's on your commute, a routine that fits your life. Your screening resolutions work exactly the same way.

The right background screening partner doesn't just process checks. They become your compliance ally, your audit safety net, your "I've got this handled" when everything else feels chaotic. They keep the promises you make to yourself about running a better, faster, more compliant program - because that's literally their job.

This year, make one resolution: Find a partner who helps you keep all the others. Your gym membership can lapse. Your screening program can't.

Ready to make this the year your screening program finally lives up to its potential?

Let's talk about what's possible. Contact CIChecked | (518) 271-7546 | info@cichecked.com