Apolitical struggled with a cumbersome background-checking provider, facing manual processes, lengthy delays, and poor user experience, leading to widespread dissatisfaction for all involved. To comply with new regulatory standards, they were required to conduct background checks in line with BPSS standards on all staff members, partners, and event speakers, resulting in the need to complete over 200 checks. The People Team spent hours on the phone with their background-checking provider trying to get support on each check and faced huge hurdles at every stage when verifying an individual's credentials. 

When requesting information from people or asking for a reference, they were asked to complete checks using a clunky, horrible system that felt like even more of a burden. This was a common theme with 50% of the people who went through their background checking process complaining about the provider used. After hearing so much feedback, and experiencing the poor user experience first-hand, they knew they needed to find a better solution.

The Apolitical team required a streamlined platform capable of swiftly conducting BPSS checks for event speakers, particularly for events planned on short notice. When staff or speakers have changed roles frequently or moved countries they need to be able to verify employment and education globally without waiting weeks to get any information.  

Driven by the ongoing frustrations for candidates and the team, Lauren Benson-Armer, People Lead at Apolitical, researched other background-checking providers. Apolitical found Zinc appealing because it, like them, was a tech-first company rather than just a compliance platform. They wanted a tech-forward process that reflected well on their business and wasn't burdensome. Zinc stood out because their support, even during the trial, was far better than what they had before.