Mitigating the risk of applicant fraud while creating seamless onboarding experiences
Overview
As a leading global online courier and delivery business, with gig workers employed across the world, our customer had a need to develop a streamlined, compliant, and consistent screening process.
The Challenge
The firm had a previous provider who had changed its offering, removing elements of the screening process which the customer required. Having already approached Sterling for background screening and criminal checks for Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, the business reached out in 2019 for support in the UK and Ireland.
As one of the world’s largest employers of gig workers, the business faced a number of challenges. The scale and volume of applications requiring vetting was both significant and ever-changing. The brand also struggled with high applicant dropout rates during its more traditional screening process, whereby candidates had to juggle a combination of in-person verification requirements and significant administration.
Added to these difficulties was the changing nature of Right to Work and Criminal Record checks in the UK. With the COVID-19 pandemic necessitating a swift move to online verifications, the customer required immediate solutions for its vast UK workforce.
The business was also keen to have a consistent platform across key regions that streamlined the process both for the business and its gig workers.
Solutions
While the customer’s core requirement was background screening, the scale and nature of the workforce meant that Sterling tailored its solutions for high-volume screening and ensure that they were well-adapted to the gig economy.
The team developed a robust screening process to keep the company compliant with UK regulations, adapting as required. During the pandemic, Sterling supported the business by pivoting from in-person to digital verification processes, communicating with both the business and applicants during this move in order to deliver a smooth transition.
With the nature of identity and employment fraud in the gig economy constantly changing, Sterling also recruited new members of staff and applied tailored processes and reporting tools to analyse data and monitoring trends. These measures help to ensure that new forms of fraud are being mitigated against in a timely manner.
Through its partnership with Yoti, Sterling was also able to provide a seamless end-to-end solution integrated with the customer’s own app, allowing the data entry and biometric assessment to be completed through a single platform rather than multiple channels.
Since taking over its screening in the UK and Ireland, Sterling has also supported on a number of smaller projects for the brand. This has included creating a flexible, tailored screening programme for substitute couriers, and implementing new processes in a short timeframe to comply with DAC7 rules. This work included collecting National Insurance numbers for all workers and future applicants, which Sterling now supplies to the client on a daily basis.
Results
As a result of its custom-built screening solutions, Sterling has been able to deliver a number of core results for this client, including:
- Reducing the turnaround time for screening from 9.3 days in 2019 to 3.2 days in 2024
- Vetting on average 115,000 unique applicants per year
- Increasing conversion rates by reducing the level of friction in the onboarding process
- Collecting payments for background screening from workers to reduce costs for the customer
As a result of the success of the last few years, the firm has now committed to a partnership with Sterling through to 2028.
Key Highlights
- A custom-built, robust, and scalable solution was developed for the client.
- Sterling used its global insights and industry experience to continuously evolve its fraud detection based on data and trend analysis.
- The company benefited from Sterling’s experience during the transition to digital identity.
- Applicants were able to utilise a dedicated gig website for guidance and advice.
- A seamless workflow was created by Sterling to improve efficiency.