InfoLink Screening Services, Inc.

SAN CLEMENTE, CA - Sunstone Hotel Properties uses a background screening program to ensure that it hires the best employees available and simultaneously instill in guests a feeling that the 53 properties it ones and operates are safe.

When Sunstone initiated a background screening program in 1997, it was primarily for management positions and was administered by the central management support office (MSO), said Nida Palpallatoc, human resources manager.

In February 2001, the screening program we expanded to include all applicants “because we wanted to hire the right people for the positions,” Palpallatoc said. “We also wanted to reduce turnover by deterring some applicants, [and] we felt our guests would feel safer.”

Sunstone chose an on-line system by the Chatsworth, CA-based InfoLink Screening Services for the expanded program which is administered at each property. Palpallatoc noted Sunstone liked the “user-friendliness” of the system and easy-to-understand report formats.

The program has different checks depending upon the position. For example, criminal checks are done on all prospective employees. Those whose duties include driving are checked wit the appropriate departments of motor vehicles, and employees who handle money undergo credit checks. A GM applicant has criminal, credit and DMV checks done.

Sunstone has a contact person at each property who is entrusted with password access to the system; supervisory personnel at the central MSO also have password access.

The Sunstone properties use an application booklet which includes the company’s standard four-page application; applicant authorizations for general background screening and credit screening; and a summary of applicant’s rights under the screening program.

Plus, there are operating policies to help ensure accuracy and efficiency for those conducting screenings at each property. There is also a “decision matrix” to help property managers access and handle, in an appropriate way, those applicants with negative background results.

Billings are centralized and paid from the human resources budget at the MSO. Palpallatoc estimated that 4,000 screenings have been done since the program was expanded to include all applicants. “It varies by season, but generally between 200 and 400 checks are done each month,” she said. The cost per applicant can run from $15 to $30 depending on the number of checks conducted.

Palpallatoc noted the screening program is saving time in the hiring process at Sunstone’s properties, which are spread across 10 states. There is also a plaque posted at each property advising applicants of the screening process, she noted.

It appears the system is reducing turnover, as well. While Palpallatoc declined to reveal the turnover rate at Sunstone’s properties, she said, “It has been cut 10% since the program [to screen all employees] began.”