Sterling Talent Solutions' SterlingOne has several aspects to it but we reviewed its employment background check service capabilities, which are most often used by human resources (HR) managers.
The company also offers Kennect, a screening service set up specifically for small to midsize businesses (SMBs).
This service is for conducting up to 10 applicant screenings.
Sterling Talent Solutions is one of the larger employment background check service providers and works across multiple industries, including financial services, healthcare, retail, and technology.
While this makes for a solid solution for many, some weaknesses in the user interface (UI) and pricing serve to keep SterlingOne behind our Editors' Choice winners Checkr and GoodHire in our employment background check service review roundup.
SterlingOne comes in three custom packages for HR managers along with an extensive a la carte menu of add-on services.
As tested, Package 1 costs $50, Package 2 costs $175, and Package 3 costs $85.
SterlingOne's lowest-priced package costs $25 and will give you a Social Security Number (SSN) trace, access to the National Criminal Database, and a Department of Justice (DOJ) Sex Offender search.
An actual customer would need to contact Sterling Talent Solutions to get true pricing, which could vary from what we just stated.
If you're looking to integrate SterlingOne into a third-party HR software package or perhaps an applicant tracking system (ATS), then you might be in luck as the company does offer some integrations with leading third-party players, such as Oracle and SAP SuccessFactors (Visit Site at SAP) .
However, these integrations are all prebuilt.
Though, if you want to build a custom integration with an unsupported third-party product or your own legacy application, then you'll need to rely on SterlingOne's On-Demand application programming interface (API).
We didn't test this but the company says it's based on open standards; however, using it may incur additional costs.
Using SterlingOne
Beside the employee background screening portion of the product, the SterlingOne UI includes sections for other HR-related capabilities, which might make it more confusing than more single-purpose competitors such as A Good Employee.com.
This can make it a little confusing when searching for the employee background checking and screening tasks if a user isn't familiar with the product's dashboard.
That said, SterlingOne integrates with ATSes such as Bullhorn Staffing and Recruiting and Workday so you won't be stuck with a kludgy workflow.
The tool's mobile UI is quite functional, easily navigated, and nicely designed.
To order an employee background check package on my demo test account, I found the "Quick Launch" option in the Applications menu and created a new candidate by filling in pertinent information.
It then popped me over to "Records," which consisted of several expandable folders such as Application History, Hiring Process, Onboarding History, Screening History, and Ticket History.
I selected "Add Screening" and was given a choice of three custom packages.
After employers select their package, they are automatically directed to the "User and Candidate Authorization" forms, which they can email to the candidate.
Employers can also input the data themselves once they have provided the individual with disclosure and received their authorization.
Our reports showed as "Pending" in the customer dashboard.
Another option to initiate a search is to scroll down to "Screening" on the dashboard.
Candidates' first impression of their potential employer is often via the Candidate Portal.
SterlingOne's Candidate Portal is branded to the customer and is nicely laid out, mirroring the customer dashboard, making individual screening statuses, tasks, alerts, and deadlines for drug tests easily viewable.
Compliance and Data Handling
SterlingOne is all about compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) as well as federal, state, and local regulations.
Nothing can be purchased without first having provided the applicable disclosures and obtaining the individual's authorization.
This authorization is blanket approval, with one exception: credit.
It also provides Pre-Adverse Action and Adverse Action Notice letters for use.
Historical data reported varies based on jurisdiction, although seven years is the industry standard.
There are some jurisdictions (California being one) in which screeners have a hard seven-year cap.
There are others that do allow for an employer to take into consideration information that's older than seven years.
In this case, there's no limitation on SterlingOne providing data older than seven years and the company will do so if the client requests it.
The company has built its own proprietary back-end system called "Court Direct" which, it says, gives it an advantage over other vendors we reviewed regarding turnaround times.
Because this test account was a demo account, we weren't able to assess turnaround time like we could for Checkr ($35.00 at Checkr) or GoodHire.
SterlingOne's employee background checking and verification capabilities are extensive, and its integrations with widely used HR software solutions make it an attractive option.
The user interface (UI), while nicely integrated with other offerings such as post-employment monitoring, is less streamlined than those of either of our Editors' Choice winners Checkr or GoodHire (29.99 For the Basic Edition at GoodHire) .
On the other hand, if employers need some of these other services, then this software is a good choice because they can work off a central dashboard.
Pros
Integrates with applicant tracking systems
Good mobile user interface (UI)
Branded portals with custom dashboards
The Bottom Line
SterlingOne's pre-employment background screening capabilities can be an asset for an HR department that wants employment background check services, although companies may want to go with one of the more comprehensive custom packages instead of the entry-level option.
Sterling Talent Solutions' SterlingOne has several aspects to it but we reviewed its employment background check service capabilities, which are most often used by human resources (HR) managers.
The company also offers Kennect, a screening service set up specifically for small to midsize businesses (SMBs).
This service is for conducting up to 10 applicant screenings.
Sterling Talent Solutions is one of the larger employment background check service providers and works across multiple industries, including financial services, healthcare, retail, and technology.
While this makes for a solid solution for many, some weaknesses in the user interface (UI) and pricing serve to keep SterlingOne behind our Editors' Choice winners Checkr and GoodHire in our employment background check service review roundup.
SterlingOne comes in three custom packages for HR managers along with an extensive a la carte menu of add-on services.
As tested, Package 1 costs $50, Package 2 costs $175, and Package 3 costs $85.
SterlingOne's lowest-priced package costs $25 and will give you a Social Security Number (SSN) trace, access to the National Criminal Database, and a Department of Justice (DOJ) Sex Offender search.
An actual customer would need to contact Sterling Talent Solutions to get true pricing, which could vary from what we just stated.
If you're looking to integrate SterlingOne into a third-party HR software package or perhaps an applicant tracking system (ATS), then you might be in luck as the company does offer some integrations with leading third-party players, such as Oracle and SAP SuccessFactors (Visit Site at SAP) .
However, these integrations are all prebuilt.
Though, if you want to build a custom integration with an unsupported third-party product or your own legacy application, then you'll need to rely on SterlingOne's On-Demand application programming interface (API).
We didn't test this but the company says it's based on open standards; however, using it may incur additional costs.
Using SterlingOne
Beside the employee background screening portion of the product, the SterlingOne UI includes sections for other HR-related capabilities, which might make it more confusing than more single-purpose competitors such as A Good Employee.com.
This can make it a little confusing when searching for the employee background checking and screening tasks if a user isn't familiar with the product's dashboard.
That said, SterlingOne integrates with ATSes such as Bullhorn Staffing and Recruiting and Workday so you won't be stuck with a kludgy workflow.
The tool's mobile UI is quite functional, easily navigated, and nicely designed.
To order an employee background check package on my demo test account, I found the "Quick Launch" option in the Applications menu and created a new candidate by filling in pertinent information.
It then popped me over to "Records," which consisted of several expandable folders such as Application History, Hiring Process, Onboarding History, Screening History, and Ticket History.
I selected "Add Screening" and was given a choice of three custom packages.
After employers select their package, they are automatically directed to the "User and Candidate Authorization" forms, which they can email to the candidate.
Employers can also input the data themselves once they have provided the individual with disclosure and received their authorization.
Our reports showed as "Pending" in the customer dashboard.
Another option to initiate a search is to scroll down to "Screening" on the dashboard.
Candidates' first impression of their potential employer is often via the Candidate Portal.
SterlingOne's Candidate Portal is branded to the customer and is nicely laid out, mirroring the customer dashboard, making individual screening statuses, tasks, alerts, and deadlines for drug tests easily viewable.
Compliance and Data Handling
SterlingOne is all about compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) as well as federal, state, and local regulations.
Nothing can be purchased without first having provided the applicable disclosures and obtaining the individual's authorization.
This authorization is blanket approval, with one exception: credit.
It also provides Pre-Adverse Action and Adverse Action Notice letters for use.
Historical data reported varies based on jurisdiction, although seven years is the industry standard.
There are some jurisdictions (California being one) in which screeners have a hard seven-year cap.
There are others that do allow for an employer to take into consideration information that's older than seven years.
In this case, there's no limitation on SterlingOne providing data older than seven years and the company will do so if the client requests it.
The company has built its own proprietary back-end system called "Court Direct" which, it says, gives it an advantage over other vendors we reviewed regarding turnaround times.
Because this test account was a demo account, we weren't able to assess turnaround time like we could for Checkr ($35.00 at Checkr) or GoodHire.
SterlingOne's employee background checking and verification capabilities are extensive, and its integrations with widely used HR software solutions make it an attractive option.
The user interface (UI), while nicely integrated with other offerings such as post-employment monitoring, is less streamlined than those of either of our Editors' Choice winners Checkr or GoodHire (29.99 For the Basic Edition at GoodHire) .
On the other hand, if employers need some of these other services, then this software is a good choice because they can work off a central dashboard.
Pros
Integrates with applicant tracking systems
Good mobile user interface (UI)
Branded portals with custom dashboards
The Bottom Line
SterlingOne's pre-employment background screening capabilities can be an asset for an HR department that wants employment background check services, although companies may want to go with one of the more comprehensive custom packages instead of the entry-level option.
