Background Checks:
The fair, data protection-compliant solution for trustworthy decisions
Our AI-powered platform gives you the foundation to transform weeks of manual screening into deep insights — in just minutes. For secure hiring and business decisions — fast, objective, and always fully compliant with data protection regulations.
Clients
Key Benefits
Fast Results
Screening in minutes instead of weeks – "Processing time is critical in hiring", reduces time-to-hire by up to 50%.
Cost Savings
Automation can cut costs by up to 70% – "thousands of GDPR compliant checks without thousands of work hours".
Scalability
Modular background checks solution – from startups to enterprises.
GDPR Compliance
Public sources, data-minimised and transparent – "Checks with integrity and legal compliance."
Better Candidate Experience
Optimized processes and clear communication – “Candidates have never complained.”
Risk Reduction
Identifies red flags and reduces poor hiring decisions by 30–40%. "Hire with confidence" thanks to accurate results that minimise human error and bias.
Partners
Companies and Institutions we enjoy working with and trust
"I'm impressed by the Complete Check. It helps us quickly identify fraudulent counterparties in transactions, effectively protecting our clients from losses. In litigation and internal investigations, we use this approach to specifically uncover weaknesses in the individuals involved, which provides our clients with significant advantages."
Prof. Dr. Urs Schenker
LL.M., Partner & Anwalt Walder Wyss Ltd.
GDPR-compliant background checks are essential for minimizing risks and making informed decisions
€43,000
Average cost of a bad hire (Forbes Study, 2025)
70%
Cost savings through automation.
30–50%
Faster time-to-hire
Bad hires cost companies an average of €43,000 per case — including turnover and productivity losses. In today’s digital hiring landscape, reliable insights are often missing.
Indicium solves this: Our AI-powered platform checks public sources — registries, networks, press articles — in minutes, verifies information, and uncovers risks such as false claims (up to 70% of applicants, SHRM Study, 2023) or inconsistencies, while fully respecting data privacy.
Designed in Europe for teams in any industry, Indicium delivers fair, automated, and fast checks — integrating seamlessly into HR systems, producing audit-proof reports, and ensuring transparency and fairness where it matters most
Contents
1. What is a Background Check?
2. What is a Pre-Employment Check?
3. Why is it important?
4. Typical Components of a GDPR-Compliant Background Check
5. What should you consider in a Background Check?
6. How does a Background Check work?
7. What does a Background Check reveal?
8. Use Cases
What is a Background Check?
Alternative terms and synonyms
Pre-employment Screening
Background Check
Applicant Screening
Employee Screening
Due Diligence Check
A Background Check is a structured and GDPR-compliant screening of a person’s history to ensure trustworthiness and uncover risks such as inaccurate information or inconsistencies.
In Europe, with its strong focus on data protection, background checks are limited to public sources — such as official registers, professional networks, and press sources — making them ideal for pre-employment screening, due diligence, or evaluating partnerships.
The goal: to make informed decisions without legal risk.
Indicium makes this process accessible — AI-powered, automated, and fair, for organizations of any size.
What is a Pre-Employment Check?
A Pre-Employment Check is a process used to verify the information and background of a potential employee before hiring.
Its purpose is to assess the candidate’s trustworthiness and suitability for the role and to uncover risks such as misrepresentations or discrepancies in their application.
In Europe — particularly in the DACH region — the focus of such checks is on GDPR compliance. This means that the verification is limited to publicly accessible sources.
A Pre-Employment Check helps ensure informed hiring decisions that meet legal requirements while also supporting a positive candidate experience.
Why is this important?
Bad hires come with high costs and significant risks: They cost an average of €43,000 per case, lead to productivity losses, and can increase the likelihood of internal fraud (31% of employees, ACFE Report, 2024).
In today’s digital hiring landscape, key facts are often missing — “a lack of integration and media gaps” delay processes.
Traditional checks are inefficient: slow turnaround times, high manual effort, and compliance conflicts (e.g. GDPR). Indicium solves this: automated, fair checks reduce risks, save time and costs (SHRM Report, 2024) — “70% cost savings over three years” — and lead to better decisions.
For European companies, fairness builds trust and helps avoid penalties.
Typical Components of a Background Check
Tailored to your needs:
Employment History
Verification of previous positions to identify gaps or inconsistent information — found in up to 70% of applicants.
Criminal Records
Checks of relevant registers, such as police clearance certificates.
Education Credentials
Verification of degrees and certifications through official institutions.
Reputation Screening
Analysis of public press, sanctions lists, and professional networks.
Financial Stability
If relevant to the role, assessment of creditworthiness to evaluate financial responsibility.
Social Media Screening
Limited to public, job-relevant content to avoid bias.
What Should You Consider in a Background Check?
Modular, fair, and fully compliant— tailored to your needs:
Indicium ensures all of this
modular, audit-proof, and fair.
Candidate Experience
Clear processes prevent deterrence — “A positive experience strengthens your employer brand.”
Relevance
Only check what’s relevant to the position; involve works council for existing employees.
Consent
Often not required if there is legitimate interest; transparency builds trust.
Data protection
GDPR-compliant with data minimization — no private investigations.
Prioritize fairness and legal security
Legal compliance, GDPR transparency, and trust-building.
How does a Background Check work?
The standard process
Consent (if needed), data collection, verification, report creation, decision-making — often slow and error-prone.
With Indicium – Fair and Efficient:
Setup
Quick integration into HR systems.
Start
Enter minimal data (name, CV).
Check
AI scans public sources within minutes.
Result
Interactive report with insights.
What does a Background Check reveal?
A transparent, interactive report: verified facts, risk flags, and recommendations — with the option to include supporting documents.
Accurate results. Fewer errors.
Use Cases
There are diverse and various scenarios, all of which focus on trust and security.
Hiring
Verify applicants – "Reduces bad hires by 30–40%."
Employee Screening
Run regular checks – "A hands-off process."
Due Diligence
Screen business partners – "Minimizes fraud risks."
Sensitive Industries
Fair for all – "Improved compliance".
"At Ufenau Capital Partners, we rely on sound risk analyses to safeguard investments, partnerships, and personnel decisions. Indicium's automated and data-driven reports provide us with efficient, GDPR-compliant, and in-depth insights. This strengthens our HR due diligence process and our HR and pre-employment checks when recruiting talent and executives, enabling us to make informed decisions."
Head of Talents, Ufenau Capital Partners
Christina Mankus
"Indicium helps us assess critical risks efficiently and with legal certainty – with a level of depth that truly impresses us. It's a real added value for our compliance processes."
Erlen Capital Management
Bruno Schneller
"In the world of wealth management, trust, transparency, and actionable insights are paramount. Indicium's technology helps us uphold these principles by providing deep, data-driven insights into the individuals and entities we work with. Their automated risk reports efficiently compile publicly available information in full compliance with GDPR. This tool has strengthened our risk assessment framework for client onboarding, investment partnerships, and recruitment."
Arctos Capital
Julian Bär