GoodHire (which begins at $29.99 for the Basic edition) started as a small business-focused employment background check service platform that has since evolved to support businesses of all sizes.
The company was founded five years ago and now claims more than 75,000 business customers for its simplified, self-serve, pre-employment background screening-focused workflow.
This workflow is designed specifically for human resources (HR) managers.
This fact and its excellent selection of resources for specific industries combine to make GoodHire our Editors' Choice pick in our employment background check service review roundup, along with Checkr.
Large businesses can take advantage of GoodHire's prebuilt integrations with market-leading HR and applicant tracking system (ATS) software, including BambooHR, iCIMS, GetHired, Jobvite, and Lever, as well as a few more aimed at applications that specialize in small to midsize businesses (SMBs).
Finally, GoodHire is one of only a few competitors we reviewed to support an individual desiring to run a background screen on themselves in preparation for a job search; these individuals can do so by using GoodHire's True Me platform.
However, on the integration front, GoodHire customers will be dependent on integrations that have been prebuilt by the company.
If you're looking to build custom integration for legacy or in-house-developed apps, then you'll need to look toward services that are geared more in that direction, such as Accio Data or Checkr.
Using GoodHire
Similiar to the recently-developed Checkr, GoodHire has a clean, modern user interface (UI), which is mostly light gray with black text and green checks that indicate completed searches.
Another nod toward its modern design is GoodHire's mobile-friendliness, with built-in compliance mechanisms that enhanced my positive first impressions.
The Candidate Portal is welcoming, with all kinds of information that will set potential hires at ease, including relaying how long it will take for them and the HR manager to receive the screening results, what their rights are if adverse items show up, and how to go about disputing the information if it's incorrect.
GoodHire also provides a unique feature called "Comments for Context" that gives a candidate an opportunity to explain any marks or glitches in his or her record before the employer's decision-making or Adverse Action process is initiated.
This way, it gives the candidates an opportunity to get out in front of the issue by initiating a conversation.
Although the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires that candidates must be given copies of their background check if they ask for one, GoodHire sends candidates copies as a matter of course.
Just like A Good Employee.com (49.95 for the Plus Edition at A Good Employee) , GoodHire has a company Resource Center that's available on its public website.
It is an excellent source of documents such as Contractor Consent forms and Volunteer Consent forms, which goes well beyond just providing Pre-Adverse Action and Adverse Action Notice letters.
Test Results
Getting started with GoodHire was a breeze and didn't require much of a learning curve.
I established an account, they verified my business, and entered a credit card for charges.
After that short process, I could immediately start running checks.
The company's commitment to compliance is baked into the product's design.
From the start, the platform asked me to check a box indicating that I was ordering the report in compliance with legal reasons for doing so when submitting my financial data.
For even tighter compliance, the UI actually recommended I have the candidate complete the order.
Consistent with local compliancy requirements, the platform asked the candidate to disclose the company's business zip code or address and asked if the work the applicant would be doing would be primarily done from that location.
It caught when I input my own email address (which was serving as the employer's email) as the candidate's email address.
A prompt asked me to input a different one.
I immediately received notice that my applicant had submitted his data and that the report data search was underway.
Standard turnaround time for the report I ordered from GoodHire was estimated between 1-3 days, but I noticed that the county courts' turnaround times were much longer than GoodHire's stated completion date.
The completed report was turned around in five days, which was longer than the website originally quoted (1-3 days) but within a much shorter timeframe than the county courts' stated turnaround time.
GoodHire makes smart use of the databases it accesses.
For example, a compliance team determines whether or not it should surface a record based on the context of where the candidate lives and the employer location is.
The search is then based on regulations and hiring laws that pertain to those specific circumstances.
For instance, in California, employers are not allowed to make a hiring decision based on an incomplete record such as a non-conviction.
GoodHire would not surface that record for a California search.
Simple But Powerful
The simplicity of the Hiring Manager Dashboard didn't sacrifice detail.
When checking on my candidate's report, I found that GoodHire had created an Education Center that appeared right below the primary data.
It actually showed me all of the counties whose databases it had scrubbed in the National Criminal Databases Search looking for data on my applicant.
Similar information was available for the Terrorist Watch List.
I could have easily gotten sidetracked mulling over it all.
None of the other products did this.
It also provided me with email updates regarding when I'd receive my completed report.
A weakness that GoodHire shares with A Good Employee is that it isn't a fit for companies with multilingual needs.
But, because of its ease of use and its philosophy of going above and beyond for both candidates and employers, it earned our Editors' Choice designation.
The company actually tied for Editors' Choice with Checkr because the UI stressed simplicity without sacrificing functionality.
GoodHire's competitive pricing, educational resources, and fair-mindedness toward hiring managers and candidates also gave it a distinct advantage.
Pros
Competitively priced
Has a "friendly" vibe similar to Checkr's
Easy-to-use applicant portal
Extensive Resources section
View More
The Bottom Line
GoodHire wins our Editors' Choice award with its excellent feature value that includes a low learning curve and self-checks on top of maintaining FCRA compliance.
GoodHire (which begins at $29.99 for the Basic edition) started as a small business-focused employment background check service platform that has since evolved to support businesses of all sizes.
The company was founded five years ago and now claims more than 75,000 business customers for its simplified, self-serve, pre-employment background screening-focused workflow.
This workflow is designed specifically for human resources (HR) managers.
This fact and its excellent selection of resources for specific industries combine to make GoodHire our Editors' Choice pick in our employment background check service review roundup, along with Checkr.
Large businesses can take advantage of GoodHire's prebuilt integrations with market-leading HR and applicant tracking system (ATS) software, including BambooHR, iCIMS, GetHired, Jobvite, and Lever, as well as a few more aimed at applications that specialize in small to midsize businesses (SMBs).
Finally, GoodHire is one of only a few competitors we reviewed to support an individual desiring to run a background screen on themselves in preparation for a job search; these individuals can do so by using GoodHire's True Me platform.
However, on the integration front, GoodHire customers will be dependent on integrations that have been prebuilt by the company.
If you're looking to build custom integration for legacy or in-house-developed apps, then you'll need to look toward services that are geared more in that direction, such as Accio Data or Checkr.
Using GoodHire
Similiar to the recently-developed Checkr, GoodHire has a clean, modern user interface (UI), which is mostly light gray with black text and green checks that indicate completed searches.
Another nod toward its modern design is GoodHire's mobile-friendliness, with built-in compliance mechanisms that enhanced my positive first impressions.
The Candidate Portal is welcoming, with all kinds of information that will set potential hires at ease, including relaying how long it will take for them and the HR manager to receive the screening results, what their rights are if adverse items show up, and how to go about disputing the information if it's incorrect.
GoodHire also provides a unique feature called "Comments for Context" that gives a candidate an opportunity to explain any marks or glitches in his or her record before the employer's decision-making or Adverse Action process is initiated.
This way, it gives the candidates an opportunity to get out in front of the issue by initiating a conversation.
Although the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires that candidates must be given copies of their background check if they ask for one, GoodHire sends candidates copies as a matter of course.
Just like A Good Employee.com (49.95 for the Plus Edition at A Good Employee) , GoodHire has a company Resource Center that's available on its public website.
It is an excellent source of documents such as Contractor Consent forms and Volunteer Consent forms, which goes well beyond just providing Pre-Adverse Action and Adverse Action Notice letters.
Test Results
Getting started with GoodHire was a breeze and didn't require much of a learning curve.
I established an account, they verified my business, and entered a credit card for charges.
After that short process, I could immediately start running checks.
The company's commitment to compliance is baked into the product's design.
From the start, the platform asked me to check a box indicating that I was ordering the report in compliance with legal reasons for doing so when submitting my financial data.
For even tighter compliance, the UI actually recommended I have the candidate complete the order.
Consistent with local compliancy requirements, the platform asked the candidate to disclose the company's business zip code or address and asked if the work the applicant would be doing would be primarily done from that location.
It caught when I input my own email address (which was serving as the employer's email) as the candidate's email address.
A prompt asked me to input a different one.
I immediately received notice that my applicant had submitted his data and that the report data search was underway.
Standard turnaround time for the report I ordered from GoodHire was estimated between 1-3 days, but I noticed that the county courts' turnaround times were much longer than GoodHire's stated completion date.
The completed report was turned around in five days, which was longer than the website originally quoted (1-3 days) but within a much shorter timeframe than the county courts' stated turnaround time.
GoodHire makes smart use of the databases it accesses.
For example, a compliance team determines whether or not it should surface a record based on the context of where the candidate lives and the employer location is.
The search is then based on regulations and hiring laws that pertain to those specific circumstances.
For instance, in California, employers are not allowed to make a hiring decision based on an incomplete record such as a non-conviction.
GoodHire would not surface that record for a California search.
Simple But Powerful
The simplicity of the Hiring Manager Dashboard didn't sacrifice detail.
When checking on my candidate's report, I found that GoodHire had created an Education Center that appeared right below the primary data.
It actually showed me all of the counties whose databases it had scrubbed in the National Criminal Databases Search looking for data on my applicant.
Similar information was available for the Terrorist Watch List.
I could have easily gotten sidetracked mulling over it all.
None of the other products did this.
It also provided me with email updates regarding when I'd receive my completed report.
A weakness that GoodHire shares with A Good Employee is that it isn't a fit for companies with multilingual needs.
But, because of its ease of use and its philosophy of going above and beyond for both candidates and employers, it earned our Editors' Choice designation.
The company actually tied for Editors' Choice with Checkr because the UI stressed simplicity without sacrificing functionality.
GoodHire's competitive pricing, educational resources, and fair-mindedness toward hiring managers and candidates also gave it a distinct advantage.
Pros
Competitively priced
Has a "friendly" vibe similar to Checkr's
Easy-to-use applicant portal
Extensive Resources section
View More
The Bottom Line
GoodHire wins our Editors' Choice award with its excellent feature value that includes a low learning curve and self-checks on top of maintaining FCRA compliance.
