In today’s increasingly digital workplace, employees need easy access to their verified credentials more than ever. Whether a nurse needs to show proof of licensure at a hospital or a repair technician demonstrates their qualifications to a customer at home, having secure, accessible, and verifiable credentials on hand is essential. 

Traditional methods of carrying paper documents or relying on disconnected digital records are outdated and fraught with challenges such as forgery, loss, and inefficiency. By adopting comprehensive digital identity verification and credentialing systems, employers can empower their employees to maintain and present their essential credentials seamlessly while on the job.

The Rising Need for Enhanced Verification Methods

Misrepresentation and falsified credentials are not rare occurrences—they’re alarmingly common. A recent ResumeLab survey found that 7 in 10 U.S.-based workers admitted to lying on their resumes, with 37% confessing to doing so frequently. Additionally, 33% admitted to lying once or twice, and only 15% claimed they had never considered lying. These statistics highlight the ongoing need for accurate and reliable verification of professional credentials throughout an employee’s tenure.

Take a Baltimore County resident and Pikesville High School’s former athletic director, who managed to gain employment in several schools using fake resumes and false identities. This illustrates the critical need for continuous, reliable verification of credentials, not just at the hiring stage, but as an ongoing practice within the workplace.

Digital Identity Verification is a Key Solution

Digital identity verification offers a robust solution to the challenges posed by traditional methods. By leveraging technologies such as multi-factor biometrics and blockchain, digital identity verification ensures that an applicant’s identity is accurately established at the outset of the hiring process. This approach enhances security and streamlines the overall workflow, making it faster and more reliable.

Digital credentialing securely stores and verifies an individual’s qualifications and certifications. Digital credentials are made tamper-proof and easily verifiable, ensuring that the information presented by job applicants is both accurate and trustworthy. This emerging technology offers several critical benefits:

Efficiency and Speed: Digital credentials can be verified almost instantly, significantly reducing the time required to vet candidates. This efficiency is crucial in fast-paced hiring environments where time is of the essence.

Cost Savings: Traditional verification methods are slow and expensive, often involving administrative fees and costs associated with accessing official records. Digital credentialing, on the other hand, reduces these costs by automating the verification process and eliminating the need for manual checks.

Enhanced Security: Emerging digital identity verification vendors that leverage blockchain technology ensure that digital credentials are secure and immutable, meaning they cannot be altered or falsified. This level of security is vital for maintaining the integrity of the hiring process, particularly in industries where compliance with regulatory standards is critical.

Portability: Digital credentials are easily portable, allowing employees to share their verified qualifications when working on the road without the need for repeated verification. This portability empowers employees to use their credentials to make the most of the skills they have developed.  

Mitigating Risks and Enhancing Trust

The integration of digital identity verification and credentialing into pre-employment screening processes is a significant step forward in mitigating the risks associated with hiring. By ensuring that all credentials are thoroughly vetted and verified, organizations can protect themselves from the dangers of fraudulent hires and maintain a workforce built on trust.

Furthermore, these technologies contribute to a more transparent job market. Employers can trust that the credentials presented by job seekers are genuine and have been verified by a reliable source. This trust reduces the operational risks associated with hiring and ensures that qualified and honest individuals fill job positions.

The impact of these technologies is particularly pronounced in highly regulated industries such as healthcare, financial services, and education, where compliance with stringent regulations is mandatory. By leveraging digital identity verification and credentialing, organizations in these sectors can enhance their compliance posture and avoid the severe penalties associated with non-compliance.

The Future of Employee Credentialing 

As the job market continues to evolve, the adoption of digital identity verification and credentialing systems will become increasingly important. These technologies not only address the current challenges faced by employers and job seekers but also lay the groundwork for a more efficient and secure hiring process in the future.

The future of employment screening lies in the widespread adoption of digital technologies that streamline processes, reduce costs, and enhance security. Digital identity verification offers a promising foundation for creating a more transparent and trustworthy job market. These technologies enable the creation of verified credentials that are tamper-proof, easily accessible, and secure, paving the way for a new era of employment screening.

The integration of digital identity verification and credentialing into employment screening processes is not just an innovation; it is a necessity for the future of work. By embracing these technologies, organizations can build a more efficient, secure, and reliable workforce, ensuring that the individuals they hire are truly qualified and trustworthy. 

About the Author

RJ Frasca is Vice President of Channels & Partnerships at Shield Screening, a leading full-service employment screening company specializing in providing quality and dynamic background screening solutions to meet the demands of today’s job market. Frasca brings decades of marketing and product management experience in employee screening to his role at Shield Screening, enabling strategic foresight into emerging industry trends and positioning him as one of the most authoritative thought leaders in the industry.