Zellis, the UK and Ireland’s leading provider of payroll and HR solutions, has announced a partnership with the social media and internet background checking specialist, Neotas. The partnership will allow Zellis’ customers to quickly screen candidates’ social media and online presence, whilst eliminating unconscious bias in the process by using a trusted third-party application.
Research shows that 70 per cent of UK employers routinely perform social media checks on job applicants. If employers perform these checks in-house, they could leave themselves open to claims of discriminatory or unconscious bias. Using an accredited provider like Neotas ensures that the checks are GDPR compliant, that protected characteristics remain protected, and that only data associated to role-related risks are reviewed.
Neotas have developed an advanced AI-powered platform that rapidly analyses data from over 300 social media platforms in 190 languages. The checks highlight clear risk indicators in a range of categories, including abusive or discriminatory language, violence, or undisclosed criminal behaviour. The technology also highlights positive indicators such as charitable work and/or volunteering, to give recruiters a holistic view of the applicant.
Ian Howard, Co-Founder of Neotas, said: “The wrong hire can prove damaging to an organisation’s company culture and reputation, as well as being a costly mistake. By partnering with Zellis, we are excited to work with a very well-established firm that recognises the power of social media searches in preventing the hiring of damaging or dangerous individuals. Our checks are powered by leading-edge technology, making them highly accurate and cost effective. Through this partnership, we are now able to help new clients mitigate risk more effectively; helping us in our mission to make social media background searches more widely used and not just a ‘nice to have’.”
John Petter, CEO, Zellis, added: “The popularity of social media background checks has risen exponentially over the past few years; it’s vital that these checks are being conducted accurately and without bias. Our partnership with Neotas is just one more way Zellis is continuing to provide its customers with the technologies they need and meet the evolving needs of modern business. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Neotas, and to introduce our customers to a faster, more efficient feature for their background checks.”
