Beyond Background Checks: A New Approach to Workforce Trust

Talent acquisition has long been treated as a supply chain – but trust is rarely treated as part of the infrastructure. In this episode of the HRO Today Educational Podcast, HRO Today CEO, Elliot Clark, speaks with President of Consulting Services for Procom, Carolyn Levy, about why assurance, verification, and transparency are becoming essential in modern talent acquisition. The conversation explores how remote work, increasingly sophisticated fraud, layered supplier ecosystems, and changing hiring behaviors are exposing new risks for employers. Rather than relying on one-time checks, Levy suggests that organizations should evaluate trust continuously across the hiring lifecycle and ask stronger questions of workforce partners. The discussion also looks at what verification can look like in practice – from reference checks and identity validation to evidence-based candidate review and continuous assessment designed to build greater confidence throughout the talent supply chain.