HR Tech Company Certn Capitalizes on Global Market Growth

Shifts to virtual recruitment, work-from-home drive dramatic increase in need for advanced hiring tools

In just months, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about years of change in the way companies operate. The act of hiring and retaining talent is no exception, with 86% of organizations conducting virtual interviews to hire candidates during the pandemic (Gartner 2020 HR Survey). Virtual recruitment and increasing work-from-home arrangements, however, come with many challenges.

From false credentials and mismatched skills to theft and cybercrime, hiring the wrong person could cause damage to an organization in terms of productivity, team culture, brand reputation, or worse. Nearly 77% of HR professionals accept that there are increased risks of fraudulent activity because of work-from-home arrangements.

Preventative measures such as background and credit checks are becoming an integral part of the hiring process, a trend further accelerated by virtual recruitment practices. According to Allied Market Research, the global employment screening services market is expected to reach $7.64 Billion by 2026.

Portfolio company Certn capitalizes on these opportunities for growth, helping businesses perform fast, comprehensive background checks and ongoing risk monitoring. Named one of Canada's Companies-to-Watch in Deloitte's Technology Fast 50™ Awards, Certn uses machine learning and AI to create the most comprehensive and predictive applicant profiles available.

"We are extremely proud to recognize Certn as a 2020 Companies-to-Watch winner, not only to celebrate their early stage growth in these uncertain times, but also their staggering potential moving forward," said Erica Pretorius, partner and national leader for the Technology Fast 50™ program at Deloitte Canada.

Certn is certainly worthy of this award. The company has demonstrated unprecedented growth this past year and has become the new standard in human risk intelligence. In 2020 alone, Certn has:

• Performed more than 200,000 background checks globally
• Increased its own headcount 400% to nearly 100 staff
• Signed five strategic HRIS partnerships that include Workday, Oracle Taleo, JobAdder, Greenhouse and Njoyn
• Expanded technical integrations to partner platforms such as iCIMS and Taleo
• Added more than 500 enterprise clients to the fold

COVID-19 has brought new challenges for hiring managers and HR teams. The lack of human interactions due to remote working conditions has increased the importance of not only screening potential new hires, but also to rescreen existing staff. In addition, challenges persist in conducting background checks: 69% of respondents are concerned about the length of time it takes to get results, 46% are concerned about data accuracy and 8% are concerned about costs.

Certn addresses all of these issues. In addition to deep HRIS integration, the Certn SaaS platform provides easy-to-read, comprehensive reports containing real-time data from more than 200,000 relevant sources in more than 200 countries. In just minutes, the data will verify candidate identity, education and employment history, and can include domestic and international reference checks, credit reports and criminal background checks.

As remote work models drive further digitization of operations in businesses large and small, the demand for online background checks will continue to increase, and Certn is well positioned to translate this demand into continued growth.

To learn more about Certn and their platform visit certn.co.

Wesley Clover invests in a range of technology companies, and they bring impressive innovation to markets and clients around the globe. I/O is our way of sharing some of the best insights. I trust you will enjoy them.

Terry Matthews, Chairman