"We remain committed to our mission of creating innovative solutions that enable companies to hire smarter and onboard faster. Sustainability is deeply embedded in our mission, and we look forward to continuing to deliver a superior customer experience aligned with responsible business practices."
— Scott Staples, Chief Executive Officer
Human-powered, human-centered. People are at the heart of everything we do.
First Advantage is a leading provider of employment background screening, identity, and verification solutions, managing one of the earliest and most important interactions between an applicant and an organization. Enabled by its proprietary technology, First Advantage delivers innovative services and insights that help customers mitigate risk and hire the best talent: employees, contractors, contingent workers, tenants, and drivers.
We are focused on operating with leading sustainability practices around environmentalism, social awareness, and governance (ESG) — embedding these values into our corporate culture, strategy, and objectives.
Access our 2023 Sustainability Report
First Advantage's company corporate social responsibility and commitment to sustainable operations are reflected in our commitment to environmental, social, and corporate governance initiatives. Read through our 2023 report to learn more about our progress.
Sustainability Report At-A-Glance
The success of our company and the value we can provide to our customers lies in the strength of our global workforce. Our team members empower each other to be their authentic selves and treat all with respect, integrity, and fairness. We believe we benefit from diverse perspectives, which enhances the value proposition of our company. We continue to advance diversity initiatives with intentionality as well as inclusive workplace practices to support and retain top talent. This is especially evident in the work being done to expand and invest in our five Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) -- African, Black, Caribbean (AB&C), Generations, Pride, Women@FA, and our newest group, ¡VIVA!
Maintaining data privacy and security is a top priority at First Advantage. We have robust systems in place to protect against data security events for our customers’ data as well as their candidates’ data. First Advantage has an established Information Security Risk Program that includes components including but not limited to risk assessments, vulnerability threat identification and assessment (process-based and technical testing), and information security management framework and lifecycle that defines threat and risk criteria used to prioritize the implementation of controls and remediation. With ISO 27001, ISO 27701, and SOC 1, and SOC 2 certifications, we believe First Advantage’s risk management program is positioned to manage risks properly and proactively.
First Advantage provides long-term education programs for policy training, security and data protection awareness, and country-specific training. In addition, First Advantage continues to invest in management development, including its SOAR program for empowering people managers and building leadership skills.
First Advantage takes its responsibility to shareholders, customers, employees, and our customers’ candidates seriously. These obligations require robust governance principles and practice. First Advantage is committed to a strong board of directors, as shown by its well-qualified directors of diverse backgrounds who oversee the Audit, Compensation, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees.
As a global company, we are keenly aware of the impact that corporate operations can have on the surrounding environment. Knowing this, we work alongside a third-party consultant to analyze our company’s carbon footprint, including Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This assessment reflects our commitment to systematically seeking ways to manage, reduce, and positively influence our environmental impact.
We believe in continuing to foster our sense of internal community by giving back to the communities in which we live and do business. We encourage and support corporate volunteerism through our FA Cares program. This past year, multiple FA Cares events were planned so employees could participate in philanthropic activities across different regions. Additionally, the paid Volunteer Time Off Policy (VTOP) was offered to U.S. based employees for the first time.
We continued to place a deliberate focus on enhancing responsibility in our supply chain in 2023, as demonstrated through the implementation of software that can be used to track supplier diversity as well as standards and contractual language around human rights and supply chain and integrity. Our standards are high because the integrity and diversity of our supply chain is a priority for First Advantage.
Looking Ahead, 2024 and Beyond
Our people and products empower our company to prioritize innovation, inclusion and intentionality. By engaging with newer technologies, implementing policies that foster employee engagement, and being strategic in our decision making as we evolve as a brand, we intend to strengthen our workforce, so they continue to help customers to hire smarter and onboard faster. This does not happen without an ongoing commitment to enhancing our sustainable and human-centered practices.
As mentioned, data privacy and protection is a Company pillar, so we will continue to strive to ensure customer trust is maintained. This includes the newly designed, user-friendly Global Privacy Center, which will further expand in 2024.
To engage our own people, we plan on hosting ongoing events with our ERGs, as well as developing our VTOP program so it reaches our global employee base and grows our FA Cares community.
Our commitment to sustainability will remain strong while we continue to gather relevant information to enhance long-term climate planning as well as more robust overall reporting. Our goal is to continue delivering superior customer experience leveraging leading technology, automation, and analytics, and expanding our extensive global capabilities supported by our vast employee base. By keeping responsible business practices at the center of our strategy, we will adhere to our company values and continue to be a trusted background screening provider.