Consumer Research

We recently conducted a survey in an effort to assess the need for screening within the homeowner-service provider relationship.  The majority of our respondents indicated that they would feel more at ease bringing a verified service provider into their home.

Based on our results, we believe that by and large, homeowners want assurance in advance: they want to know that the person who has come to do work is a qualified and verified professional; they want service representatives to go through background checks before they come through the door.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

1. To determine how homeowners feel about their safety and security when selecting an in-home service vendor.
2. To determine the degree to which the vendor’s background screening process influences the homeowner’s decision-making.

SUMMARY OF RESEARCH FINDINGS

►38% of participants expected service providers to always know the depth of an employee’s experience and specialized knowledge, as well as the status of an employee’s criminal background.

►Approximately two-thirds of survey participants indicated that they either sometimes or always considered whether or not a home service representative had undergone a criminal background check.

►62% of participants assumed that service providers routinely performed background checks on all employees.

►43% of respondents indicated that they have experienced a slightly or significantly heightened level of safety concern and property security in that last couple of years. This elevated concern was often attributable to some connection to a negative experience involving a home service worker: among said respondents, 60% reported having read or heard about crimes committed by home service representatives.

►93% of respondents indicated they would feel more comfortable about having a service worker in their home knowing that he or she had undergone a background check in advance.  Of those who would feel more comfortable knowing background checks had been performed, 70% said they would feel a great deal more comfortable knowing that home service companies had a background checking process in place.

►The majority of respondents indicated that they would be much more or somewhat more inclined to select a vendor that routinely performed criminal background checks on all its employees.

►Female respondents, generally speaking, showed a greater likelihood of:

• Having heightened safety concerns
• Considering whether or not a background check had been done
• Feeling a great deal more comfortable knowing a background check had been done
• Using a vendor that routinely performs background checks on its employees

►Those respondents inclined to select a vendor that conducts criminal background checks on its employees account for about 53% of the sample group. This group showed a greater likelihood of:

• Having heightened safety concerns
• Having heard or read about incidences where crimes have been committed during home service visits

• Having experienced discomfort with a service worker in the past
• Feeling uncomfortable knowing that a service representative had a criminal past
• Placing considerable importance on whether or not a background check had been done
• Assuming that service providers routinely perform background checks
• Feeling a great deal more comfortable knowing a background check had been done
• Willingly paying more for service completed by someone with a crime-free past

Safety and security remain high on the homeowner’s list of expectations: according to our findings, most homeowners would feel more comfortable knowing that service providers routinely examined their employees’ criminal backgrounds. Many respondents assume that criminal background checking is part of due diligence hiring, and the majority of participants indicated that they would feel more inclined to select a vendor with a background checking process integrated into its hiring process.

RESEARCH FINDINGS:

WHAT HOMEOWNERS EXPECT A SERVICE PROVIDER TO KNOW ABOUT ITS REPRESENTATIVES

Survey participants were asked what they expected a service provider to know about its representatives.  Table 1.0 (below) shows a complete breakdown of responses, which reflect a range of homeowner expectations.  Please note that the sum of percentages might exceed 100 due to multiple responses.

WHAT DO HOMEOWNERS EXPECT A SERVICE PROVIDER TO KNOW ABOUT ITS REPRESENTATIVES?

Our findings suggest that most homeowners expect service providers to know the depth of an employee’s experience and specialized knowledge, as well as the status of an employee’s criminal background.  To further clarify the latter expectation, survey participants were asked if they ever considered whether or not a home service worker had undergone a criminal background check prior to his or her appointment to a home visit. Their responses were as follows:

• 38% Always
• 28% Sometimes
• 34% Never
• <1% Don’t know/ refused

About two-thirds of survey participants indicated they either sometimes or always considered whether or not a home service representative had undergone a criminal background check. To further clarify what the homeowner expects a service provider to know about its representatives, we asked survey participants whether or not they assumed that home service workers routinely underwent criminal background checks. Their responses were as follows:

• 62% Yes
• 35% No
• 4% Don’t know/ refused

►More than half our survey participants assumed that service companies routinely performed criminal background checks on all employees appointed to home visits.

RESEARCH FINDINGS:

HOW A HOMEOWNER’S COMFORT IS ASSOCIATED WITH KNOWING A BACKGROUND CHECK HAS BEEN DONE

Survey participants were asked whether or not they would feel more comfortable with home service knowing that the worker in question had undergone a background check as a condition of his or her employment. Their responses were as follows:

The majority of survey respondents indicated they would feel more comfortable about having a service worker in their home knowing that he or she had undergone a background check in advance.  Respondents who indicated they would feel more comfortable knowing that home service companies had background checking provisions in place (93% of respondents), were asked how much more comfortable they would feel knowing that background checks were done prior to home service visits. Their responses were as follows:

Of those who would feel more comfortable knowing background checks had been performed, 70% said they would feel a great deal more comfortable knowing that home service companies had a background checking process in place. These numbers come as no surprise when compared to how respondents answered a related question: we asked respondents whether or not they would feel comfortable having a service worker in their home, knowing that he or she had a criminal background involving theft and/or violence. Their responses were as follows:

►The majority of survey participants indicated that they would not feel comfortable having a service worker at their home knowing that he or she had a criminal background.

RESEARCH FINDINGS:

HOW A HOMEOWNER’S USE OF VENDOR IS ASSOCIATED WITH KNOWING A BACKGROUND CHECK HAS BEEN DONE

Respondents were asked how a vendor’s background screening process (or lack thereof) would affect their vendor selection.  A 5-point scale was used, where 1 meant “much less likely to use” and 5 meant “much more likely to use.” An overall mean rating of 4.34 indicates that survey participants would be somewhat more likely to use a vendor that routinely conducts criminal background checks. The breakdown of responses was as follows:

Statistical testing revealed the following significant differences:

►The majority of respondents indicated they would be much more or somewhat more likely to select a vendor that performed criminal background checks on its employees.

►Households with incomes of $100,000 or more were more likely than households with incomes under $40,000, to use vendors that conduct criminal background checks (4.57 versus 4.23).

►Most female respondents indicated they would feel more inclined to select a vendor with a criminal background checking policy in place (60% versus 44%).

RESEARCH FINDINGS:

HOW THE TYPE OF WORK CORRESPONDS TO THE PERCEIVED IMPORTANCE OF BACKGROUND CHECKING

Survey participants were asked whether or not the nature of the household work influenced their feelings about the importance of criminal background checking. We asked respondents to compare the importance of background checking in circumstances where service representatives worked inside the home versus outside the home. Their responses were as follows:

• 42% Inside more important
• 1% Outside more important
• 56% Inside and outside equally important
• 1% Don’t know/ refused

Many respondents thought that background checking was more important for workers appointed to do work inside their homes; others indicated that background checking was of equal relevance to both in-home and around-home service circumstances.

RESEARCH FINDINGS:

HOW THE VENDOR’S BACKGROUND SCREENING PRACTICES IMPACT THE HOMEOWNER’S WILLINGNESS TO PAY

Respondents were asked if they would they would be willing to pay more, less, or the same amount for a service provider that conducted background checks on all its employees. Their responses were as follows:

• 27% Would pay more for the service
• 1% Would pay less for the service
• 71% Would expect to pay the same amount for the service
• 1% Don’t know/ refused

Statistical testing revealed the following significant differences:

►Approximately one fourth of survey respondents indicated they would willingly pay more for a service provider that performed background checks on all its employees.

►Approximately 70% of survey respondents would expect to pay the same amount for a service provider that performed background checks on all its employees (as they would pay for one that did not perform such checks).

►Generally speaking, households with children under age 18 (as compared to those with no children) expressed a willingness to pay more for a service provider that performed background checks on all its employees (34% versus 23%).

We asked those respondents who indicated they would willingly pay more for a service provider that routinely conducted employee background checks how much more they would pay for a vendor with background checking practices in place. Responses ranged from 2% to 50%, with an average of 10.9%; a detailed breakdown showed that 27% of respondents would willingly pay 5% more and 38% would willingly pay 10% more for service that provided for across-the-board criminal background checking.

RESEARCH FINDINGS:

IF AND HOW THE HOMEWONER’S SAFETY CONCERNS HAVE CHANGED

We asked survey participants if their concerns for personal safety and property security - as those concerns relate to having service workers in their homes - have changed in the last couple years. A 5-point scale was used, where 1 meant “much less concerned” and 5 meant “a great deal more concerned.” An overall mean rating of 3.63 indicates that respondents expressed slightly more concerns about safety. Their responses were as follows:

43% of participants indicated that their safety concerns had increased either slightly or significantly in the last couple years.  We asked these respondents what had elevated their level of concern; table 1.1 (below) shows a complete breakdown of responses. Please note that the sum of percentages might exceed 100 due to multiple responses.

TABLE 1.1:

REASONS WHY SOME HOMEOWNERS HAVE HEIGHTENED SAFETY CONCERNS

REASON	PERCENT
BASE FOR PERCENT	171
Read/ heard of a bad experience/ new reports	39%
Crime on the rise/ high crime level/crime in the area	18%
Had a bad experience	10%
Bad economy/ hard to make ends meet	8%
What’s going on in the world/ society/ can’t trust people	8%
Having children/ have children	8%
Age/ live alone/ frequently alone	4%
Increased drug use/ commit crimes to support habit	2%
Other*	12%
Don’t know/ refused	3%

Overall, the most frequently cited reasons for heighted safety concern among homeowners included:

• Read/heard about a bad experience (on the news, for example)
• Associated rising crime/high crime levels/high crime areas with high risk potential
• Had a bad experience in the past

Among our respondents, more females reported having heard or read about a negative experience than males (43% versus 32%). We asked survey participants if they had ever heard or read about any negative incidences wherein a service worker committed a crime while working in or around someone’s home. Their responses were as follows:

More than half of survey participants had read or heard about crimes committed by in-home service representatives.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A nationwide sample of phone numbers belonging to homeowners was purchased from a professional sampling service. The sample group was selected from four regions across the country: East, Central, South and West.  100 interviews were conducted in each region; ultimately, 400 interviews were completed from June 26 - July 30, 2008, resulting in statistical reliability at the 95% confidence level and standard deviation of ± 4.9%.

All interviewing took place at the Olson Phone Center in order to ensure consistent and accurate data collection. The Olson facility, equipped with a silent monitoring system, enabled supervisors to observe 10 to 15 percent of each interviewer’s work per shift. First, completed questionnaires were organized by said supervisors, who clarified open-ended responses and recorded structured responses; then, completed and organized questionnaires were sent to a data processing department, where all response information was entered into a database and processed using SPSS software.  The data was interpreted using multivariate analysis, and a written report of the findings - based on 400 interviews with homeowners across the nation - was presented.