Top Echelon / Checkr Integration User Guide

Welcome to Checkr!

This guide will walk you through the Checkr | Top Echelon integration process, and outline how to use the integration as well as the Checkr dashboard for the background check process. 

The Checkr Help Center is a great resource for any questions that may not be covered in this user guide. If you have any questions not covered in this guide that are specific to Top Echelon, submit a request to contact us.

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• Prerequisites
• Enable Checkr setup
• Create a Checkr account
• Account Hierarchy
• Order Background Checks
• International Packages 
• Domestic Package with International Verifications
• Review A Background Check
• Resubmit a Background Check
• Checkr Features
• Use the Checkr Dashboard
• Checkr’s Candidate Experience
• Resources

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This guide describes how to set up Checkr to use within Top Echelon, such that Top Echelon users can initiate and view Checkr background checks from within the Top Echelon interface. 

Prerequisites

The following items are required to initiate Top Echelon | Checkr integration. Please ensure you have the following before proceeding.

To enable the Checkr Integration: 

• Access to Top Echelon with admin rights turned on for “Manage System-Wide Integrations”

To use the Checkr Integration to run / review background checks: 

• Access to Top Echelon with admin rights turned on for “Use Checkr Integration”

Enable Checkr setup

To integrate your Checkr account within Top Echelon Recruiting Software, please follow the steps below. 

1. Login to your Top Echelon account. 
2. Expand the Sidebar in the top right corner of the page and click on the Settings icon.
3. Click to expand the Addons & Integrations section and then select Checkr. 

4. On the settings page, click the integrate with Checkr button. This will open a pop-up window. 

5. The pop-up window will open and ask you to Sign Up or Sign In. 

• If you are already a Checkr customer, select Sign In to connect your current Checkr account to Top Echelon.
• If you are not a current Checkr customer, select Sign Up to create a Checkr account, and add your billing and credentialing information

6. Once the Sign Up or Sign In process is complete, the window will disappear and you will remain on the Checkr Integration page. 
7. If you Signed Up for a new Checkr account, you will receive a notification in the bottom right hand corner of your screen saying: “Your information has been submitted to Checkr. We’ll notify you when the account has been verified and ready to use”. The Checkr Integration Tile will also reflect the following, “Connection pending. Please wait until your Checkr account is credentialed”. 
   1. You will get a notification in the software via the ‘bell’ icon when your account is ready to use. 

8. If you Signed In to an existing Checkr Account, you will be able to use your account right away and you will see “You are currently integrated with Checkr” within the Checkr Integration Tile.

Create a Checkr account

If your company does not yet have a Checkr account, one must be created before integration with Top Echelon.

To create an account for use with Top Echelon:

1. Click Sign Up when prompted.
2. Enter your name and company contact information, and click Continue.

4. Enter payment information. Invoices for background checks will come directly from Checkr, and not from Top Echelon. (Payment information may be edited on the Checkr dashboard after the account has been created.)
5. Provide the requested credentialing information. This information is required by law to ensure that only legitimate companies, with legitimate business needs, can run background checks.
   • Note: Select Purpose: Pre-employment to use Checkr to run background checks for hiring/employment purposes.
6. Click Continue to submit your information to Checkr for review. Once the credentialing process is complete, Checkr will notify both Top Echelon and you, and you may begin ordering background checks through the Top Echelon platform. 
7. Credentialing typically takes 1-2 business days. If Checkr needs additional information, they will reach out to you directly by email. 

Account Hierarchy

The Top Echelon integration allows users to set up different "nodes" inside of their Checkr account to have displayed in the Top Echelon background check ordering workflow. Nodes can be used to designate different locations, teams, or groups that order background checks within your organization. Checkr requires you to assign packages to nodes once they are created, and will then display which node ordered which package on your Checkr invoice. 

Each time you order a background check within Top Echelon, you will be asked which node to order the check from, and then select from a pre-populated list of packages available to that node. Invoices will show the background checks ordered by each node within 2 billing cycles after setup. 

To order a background check with Account Hierarchy and nodes:

• Fill in the work location of the candidate as you normally would for any background check through Top Echelon.
• Select which Hierarchy node you would like to order from.

The list of available Packages will automatically generate based on the node you select. Select the background check package you want to run. If you do not see any packages populating, you will need to assign the appropriate packages to that node in your Checkr dashboard before proceeding.

For more information on Account Hierarchy, nodes, and how to configure your account, see Checkr's Payment & Billing, Adverse Actions, and Manage Account Settings Help Articles.

Order Background Checks

Once your Top Echelon and Checkr accounts are connected, a new Checkr card will be present in all People records. From here, you’ll be able to order checks and view results.

To order a check: 

1. From your Top Echelon dashboard, open any Person record. 

2. In the newly available Checkr card, you will see the following options: 
   1. “Run Background Check”
   2. “View Background Results” - Please note, you will see the “View Background Results” option regardless of whether background checks have been run on the candidate. 
3. Select “Run Background Check”. 

4. The Invite Candidate window that appears,  select the type of check you would like to request in the Select a package drop-down menu.
5. Enter the candidate’s email address (this is automatically pulled if present in the record)
6. Enter the candidate’s state (this is also automatically included if present in the record)
7. Click Submit. 

Completing this step will email the candidate to initiate the background check process. The candidate will then provide the other necessary details directly to Checkr, with no additional steps required on your end!

Once the candidate provides their information, Checkr will begin to process the background check. Most background checks typically take 3-5 business days to complete. You'll receive a notification once your report is ready.

International Packages 

Checkr defines international background checks as background checks run on candidate’s living and working outside of the United States. If your candidate works in the United States but has out-of-country history, for example attended school internationally, you should request a package that includes an education verification with out-of-country history enabled.

Checkr currently offers the following international screenings for candidate’s with work locations outside the United States:

• International Criminal
• Adverse Media Search - may be enabled to automatically run if criminal not available
• Identity Document Verification
• Global Watchlist
• Education Verification
• Employment Verification

Domestic Package with International Verifications

If your candidate works in the United States but has out-of-country history, Checkr currently offers an out-of-country history setting that can be added to any domestic criminal search or verification. The option can be applied for candidates who will perform their work inside the US, but who have an address history outside the US. Screening types that can be run on domestic screenings with out-of-country history include: 

• Education Verification
• Employment Verification

Review A Background Check

If a check has been completed, you can click View Background Results in the candidate’s record to open the report details. 

1. This will open a new window where all checks run on this candidate will be listed. 
2. A window will open to show the progress and result of a background check for a candidate. 
   1. The window displays: 
      1. The name of the package ordered the status of the invitation to the candidate,

1. the status of the report's progress and its ETA, and
2. the result of the report and its completion timestamp
3. A link to the candidate in the Checkr Dashboard if the invitation has not yet been completed, and a link to the report once it has been initiated.

If the check is completed, click view report to access the full details. This will open the Checkr dashboard. Here you’ll be able to view detailed check results as well as manage your Checkr account. 

For more information on reports and report statuses, see How do I interpret a background report in the Checkr Help Center which covers:

• Report layout
• Clear and Consider statuses
• Engage the candidate or begin the adverse action process

Most background checks will be completed within 24 hours, but the time to complete can range from a few minutes to a few weeks, depending on the type of check ordered, the geographic location of the candidate, and/or county courthouse operations. 

Resubmit a Background Check

To resubmit a background check for a candidate, the steps of ordering a background check are reiterated below.

1. From your Top Echelon dashboard, navigate to ‘People’ and select the candidate that you would like to request a background check for. This will open the candidate’s profile.
2. Within the candidate profile, there are various cards. Navigate to the Checkr card. 
3. Within the Checkr card, you will see the following options: 
   1. “Run Background Check”
   2. “View Background Results” - Please note, you will see the “View Background Results” option regardless of whether background checks have been run on the candidate. 
4. Select “Run Background Check”. 
5. The Invite Candidate modal will open and you will be asked to input the following: 
   1. Select a country
   2. Select a state
   3. Select a city (option)
   4. Select a package
   5. Enter Email
6. Click ‘Submit’. By clicking ‘Submit” you have formally invited the candidate to begin the background check process. 
7. To close, you will receive a confirmation screen “Invitation Sent - The candidate was invited to the background check” and you can select “Close”. 

Checkr Features

Use the Checkr Dashboard

While the Top Echelon integration allows users to order background checks and view their status, the following features are available only within Checkr: 

• Background check invitation links
• Full background check report results
• Adverse Action initiation and processing tools
• Checkr settings 
  • New and existing user management
  • Billing information
  • Email notification preferences

For a quick overview of the Checkr Dashboard, please see Getting started with Checkr

Checkr’s Candidate Experience

The Checkr candidate experience overview describes the Checkr candidate experience of the background check process. It includes information about the Checkr Candidate Portal and Help Center where candidates can self-serve and address common issues that can stall or delay their background checks. The overview also includes common reasons candidates contact Checkr and how to address these issues.

The overview includes:

• An overview of the candidate process
• General information about the background check process, including exceptions and disputes
• An overview of the Checkr Candidate Portal
• An introduction to the Candidate Experience team
• A list of some of the most common candidate questions
• Links to the most frequently used pages in the Checkr Help Center

Resources 

For a quick overview of the Checkr Dashboard, please see Getting started with Checkr