Sterling isn't so sterling! Lots of room for significant improvement

The majority of the customer facing operations are based in India. This has perpetuated communication issues on my behalf as well as on the behalf of candidates who are going through the background check process. I often get complaints from candidates that they are concerned about supplying information to individuals in other countries which is understandable in light of the scams that exist today. I believe it also impacts the ability to get employment verifications completed in a timely manner.

Employment verifications are slow and often we cancel them and complete the verification on our own. As mentioned, I think part of this issue is that when they reach out for verifications, previous employees are hesitant to call back. When Sterling is not able to get a verification, they then ask for tax documents which is invasive and unnecessary. When this happens, I am typically able to make a phone call myself and accomplish in 10 minutes what they could not in 5 days. Prior to Sterling purchasing Talentwise, my initial provider, this was never an issue.

Sterling provides rapid drug screening service, which we take advantage of and appreciate. However, often candidates show up at a lab to complete testing and the facility does not offer rapid testing. Sterling could do a much better job of sending candidates to a facility that can provide the service.

There is a severe lack of personalized customer service. I have no relationship with my dedicated "business relationship executive team" in India. They are simply individuals who I don't know by name that pick up the phone, practically read from a script when I call with a problem, and put me on hold for 5 minutes at a time trying to find an answer to something they don't know. Again, this is something I significantly miss about Talentwise.