The primary problem with traditional background investigations is they only offer a surface level review of a candidate. For positions in law enforcement, a more thorough review is necessary.
Unfortunately, the background investigation process is lengthy and requires a lot of tracking and documentation. To thoroughly vet a candidate, agencies must review their personal history statement (PSH), online activity, physical abilities, medical history, and much more.
Conducting a thorough investigation with manual processes and disparate tools is painfully tedious and time-consuming. Many agencies today still use these outdated methods, and it results in hiring delays and unfilled critical positions.
As an example, agencies often rely on paper and fillable forms. Paper documentation is stored haphazardly, lacks audit trails, and slows down the hiring process. Even when investigators use spreadsheets or databases, these disparate tools aren’t visible to recruiters or hiring managers. This fragmented approach increases the risk of human error. It’s far too easy to miss an important detail, mistype, duplicate work, or forget to communicate.
An effective recruitment process requires collaboration between multiple people: hiring managers, HR staff, and investigators. Given their different roles and responsibilities, they also require different tools. But if the tools aren’t integrated or part of a larger cohesive ecosystem, then it’s extremely difficult for cross-functional collaboration to occur.
This creates information silos and limits visibility into hiring progress. Without an integrated system, it’s hard to monitor where candidates are in the pipeline, leading to delays and applicant churn.
For example, after HR screens for minimum qualifications, how do they hand-off a candidate to background investigators? If the investigators aren’t notified promptly, it could be days before they start vetting a candidate.
When multiplied over the course of a hiring process, background investigation inefficiencies add up. And it’s time that law enforcement agencies can’t afford. Approximately 80% of agencies are understaffed and facing the challenges that come with it: burnout, turnover, and reduced policing efficacy.
The problem is, law enforcement jobs are also hard to fill. Application data from 2023 showed that 50% of public safety jobs only received 6.5 applications on average (that number doesn’t even include qualified candidates). And from 2021 and 2022, applications to police officer jobs decreased by 18%. So when qualified candidates do apply, you need to make it count.
To address these issues and make every applicant count, agencies need to modernize their police officer background investigation process. By eliminating inefficiencies, public safety agencies can fill vacancies faster and better serve their communities.
How modern software streamlines background investigations
Background investigation software like Vetted streamlines the lengthy vetting process so you can fill critical jobs faster. It helps police departments manage, track, and optimize the pre-employment investigation and hiring processes for new employees.
Vetted provides a secure place for applicants and investigators to share protected information without adversely affecting time-to-hire. It saves you time and resources while giving you the confidence that you’re hiring the best candidates for your community.
It also comes with a variety of differentiating features that simplify and automate the vetting process, including:
- Automated correspondence
- Pre-populated forms
- Real-time tracking
- Social media/Online presence reporting
- Configurable workflows
- And more!
One of the best parts about Vetted is that it works the way you do, with configurable personal history questionnaires, task lists, reference packets, etc. Keep reading to explore more benefits for your police department.
Key benefits of Vetted for agencies
In the public safety job market, there’s a low supply of qualified candidates but high demand for them. That makes it a job seeker market, where multiple agencies compete for the same few applicants who have their “pick of the litter.”
NEOGOV’s background investigation software, Vetted, actually gives your agency a competitive edge over others. By reducing the time to complete investigations, you can hire qualified candidates faster, instead of losing out to other agencies.
One of the ways it accelerates hiring is by integrating with NEOGOV Insight, the leading applicant tracking system in the public sector. With this integration, all hiring can be managed in a single platform. Applicants will only need to enter their information into Insight, and it will automatically flow into Vetted.
Vetted comes with a host of other benefits as well, including the ability to flag inconsistencies or potential issues throughout the investigation. By catching these early, you can refocus your attention on other qualified candidates.
Vetted helps you adhere to reporting and compliance requirements, making it easy to define and document why a candidate was approved or denied. Being able to track and manage this process protects your agency from accusations of unfair hiring practices.
Vetted also makes the application process simpler. Applicants can easily upload documents, complete their personal history, and submit for review.
Each of the benefits above create a more positive candidate experience, which makes your agency a more desirable place to work. And you can start enjoying these benefits in 45 days or less. That’s how long it takes to implement the Vetted product on average, which is lightning fast compared to other solutions.
Get started today
Like much of public safety today, law enforcement is facing a recruiting and retention crisis. In fact, the pool of active candidates is so small that 60% of agencies have focused recruiting efforts on passive candidates from other agencies. It seems to be working. According to NEOGOV survey data, the top reason responders leave their job is to work for another agency.
By streamlining police background investigations, vetted can help your agency hire qualified candidates before they find another job. Schedule a no-obligation consultation today to learn how your agency can make better hiring decisions in less time.
