Small Businesses Embrace Social Media Background Checks

Fox Small Business Center - When looking for new talent, every business owner wants to protect and maintain a company’s reputation and degree of professionalism. So in the burgeoning age of web 2.0, it’s only natural that it’s become standard protocol for employers to look up potential candidates on Google, LinkedIn, Facebook  and Twitter.

But what employers don’t understand is that this background-screening process they think is protecting their business could actually harm it by violating employment discrimination laws and in turn, land them in every business owners’ worst nightmare: a lawsuit. And while no business wants to be slapped with a lawsuit, small businesses and startups especially can’t afford the bad press or legal fees.

With this is mind, Max Drucker launched Social Intelligence, the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based company that conducts legally-compliant social media background checks that protect both employers and job seekers. “Protecting the job applicant is protecting the employer,” said CEO Drucker.

 

In fact, Drucker came up with the idea back in 2010 after Google-ing himself. “When you Google ‘Max Drucker,’ I do feel my privacy is violated,  but I understand that companies need to do these screens to maintain their competitive edge.”
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