Online Screening And Risk-Benefit Analysis

Many individuals believe a right to privacy needs to be clearly established, in order to protect both the employer and employee (Clark & Roberts, 2010). Some guidelines for recruiters to consider when performing background checks via social networking sites are: to not conduct a check unless it is directly related to the job, to provide notice to the candidate prior to the check, to ensure the information collected is accurate, to not violate confidentiality, and to avoid intrusive data collection (Clark & Roberts, 2010). When recruiters have explained to the jobseekers that they will be looking into their social media account it may be wise to get the jobseekers to give consent for this. Have applicants sign a written consent form prior to conducting social network screening (Slovensky & Ross, 2012).
With social networking sites evolving, it is important to understand, develop, and implement expectations for employees and employers alike to ensure a fair and positive environment.
Davison et al.,(2012) recommend that:
1. Employers should develop policies regarding appropriate and inappropriate uses of online searching.
2. Conduct job analysis and determine job-relevant characteristics and then decide whether online screening could help them retrieve job-relevant.
3. Conduct a risk-benefit analysis to determine if the legal risks of online screening outweigh the potential benefits.
4. Standardize assessments of internet screening media and use multiple raters.
5. Employers should verify information found online.
6. Inform applicants that online media screening will be used for selection (Davison et
al.,2012).