“ The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in California employs over 1,800 sworn employees and 2,000 non-sworn/support personnel. The RCSD conducts over 2,500 pre-employment applicant investigations every 12 months, which traditionally takes over a dozen background investigators. With an administration change, our department underwent an analysis that resulted in reassigning many sworn employees back to patrol and other high-demand units. In reducing the number of sworn background investigators, eSOPH became essential in allowing the remaining RCSD and contract investigators to process more background investigations with fewer investigators. The quality and thoroughness of the background investigations could not be compromised, despite the reduction in background investigators and the case load not decreasing. eSOPH not only allows our investigators to handle more cases at a given time, but our investigators also gained tools they didn’t have before, which directly continues to support our mission of conducting quality, thorough background investigations on applicants to both sworn and non-sworn/support positions. The ability for a unit supervisor to electronically review files from anywhere they can access the internet has proven to be a significant benefit. There’s no longer the need to transfer large paper files up the chain and for other supervisors to lose access to that file as it makes its way through the approval process. We also like that the file is secure on an electronic system – there’s no sensitive paper file tracking to be concerned with. I estimate the eSOPH background system has saved the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department 50% in time savings per background investigation. This is a significant resource savings to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Truly, I can’t say enough good things about the eSOPH system and what it has done for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. ”

“ The Fort Collins Police Services subscribed to eSOPH in late 2019. We recently completed our first full use of the system for both sworn and civilian hiring processes. The feedback from our investigators has been unmitigated appreciation for the simplicity of its use and the investigative opportunities eSOPH has afforded us. The time the system saves us is being used to conduct deeper and more diligent investigations than our schedules allowed before deploying eSOPH. The organization of those investigations among a half dozen investigators has been streamlined and standardized, making us ever more efficient. In short, eSOPH has made our jobs easier and has improved the quality of the applicants we ultimately hire. Thank you, eSOPH! ”

“ The Corona Police Department has been using eSOPH for critical background investigations for approximately one year. Almost immediately upon using the eSOPH system we noted a dramatic reduction in the time taken to complete background investigations for our police officer and public safety dispatcher positions. Our investigators found the system easy to learn and adapted well to the change. Using the eSOPH system has improved the accuracy and thoroughness of our investigations and has allowed our small investigations team to handle multiple background investigations at a time without confusion or delay in the process. All users, from the investigator to management and beyond, have found this to be an easy and highly cost-effective system to supplement our hiring process. I highly recommend agencies consider implementation of the eSOPH system into their hiring practice. ”

“ The use of eSOPH in our background investigations has greatly increased efficiency. Since implementing eSOPH, background investigators are able to access their applicant’s information at any time either in the field or at the office. This has been especially important during the Covid-19 pandemic. eSOPH has simplified our record retention and data storage for efficiency. The program is available 24/7 for our investigators, applicants, references, employers and other entities called upon to assist in the investigation. The 24-hour access is invaluable for responses. ”

“ The Forest Grove Police Department needed to find the best way to standardize our background investigations without convoluting or adding unnecessary time to the process. eSOPH not only has standardized our process, but we have increased our capability to hire qualified applicants in a more timely and efficient manner. The automation eSOPH gives our investigators is genius and a background investigator’s dream come true. The ability to customize eSOPH to what you need and to digitally share and receive information in a secure format has been long overdue. eSOPH provides our agency the most complete look at an applicant’s character and suitability for the position the applicant has applied for. The final product eSOPH produces is the most professional report a hiring authority can hope to receive. ”

“ The use of eSOPH in our background investigations has greatly increased our speed and efficiency. Prior to eSOPH, countless hours were spent calling references and playing phone tag. Since implementing eSOPH, we have seen an increase in reference responses as references can electronically access the questionnaires and complete them at their own desired time. The background investigators are able to access their applicants’ information at any time, either in the field or at the office. Our record retention and data storage is easier than ever, and being able to electronically and securely share files with other agencies using eSOPH has been a great benefit as well. ”

“ eSOPH was much easier to deploy into our workflow than we had expected. The system is very intuitive for the average user, making the transition quite easy for us. As a supervisor / manager, the benefits of eSOPH are easy to see right away. I have all of the working background files at my fingertips and can run workload and status reports regularly. A traditional background begins after the Personal History Statement has been submitted and various reference mailers are sent out. This is a process that normally takes weeks to accomplish. With eSOPH, a background begins as soon as a candidate is entered into the system. We are actually working the file as the candidate is supplying information. The best improvement we have seen since adopting eSOPH is the quality of the data being provided electronically by references. In this day and age of computer technology, more people are accustomed to typing on a computer or a handheld device, and as a result we are getting much greater detail in the feedback we receive about a candidate. ”

“ eSOPH has simplified the organization of our background files and process immensely. Having the ability to access an applicant’s file at any given moment, either on a smartphone or a computer, has increased our investigative efficiency. The web-based program allows for the Investigators to have all necessary information at their fingertips while they are in the field or office. The program’s ease of scanning and uploading documents to each categorized folder in an applicant’s file makes locating them a breeze; a nearly paperless system. Additionally, eSOPH’s user-friendly navigation, and its ability to share with POST representatives and other agency background Investigators, saves a tremendous amount of travelling time. The program’s ability to immediately review the status of each applicant, the workload of any given Investigator, and its ability to create statistical reports, has eliminated the need for Excel spreadsheets, whiteboard lists, or the numerous update emails and phone calls previously used to manage the Background Unit. I highly recommend eSOPH to any agency whose desire is to eliminate paper and become more organized and time-efficient. ”

“ Over the last two years, eSOPH has provided great options for our background investigations in gathering data and will also allow us to easily share information with other agencies related to applicants. We enjoy the fact that much less paper is processed with the email resources offered on eSOPH. We include a generic release to law enforcement agencies for the applicant to complete with the packet initially. This allows us to respond to other agencies quickly and with less effort. One great benefit is the ability to process the completed backgrounds through Civil Service electronically and expand our options for polygraph and psychological vendors to review the report without printing paper documents; it is so quick and simple. We are excited to see the new upgrades and improvements. Implementation of upgrades for eSOPH has been great and we certainly appreciate the quick help and response to questions or concerns. I am excited for the upgrades since they are well thought out and make eSOPH responsive to the real-world concerns. The recent addition of the Word document as an option has improved our ability to change and communicate more easily for documents, letters, etc. We have improved our timeline for completing backgrounds. ”

“ eSOPH has been used by our department for the past eight years. It has definitely streamlined and expedited the background process. eSOPH has saved investigators time by having the information inputted on the front end by the applicant. Dozens of references can be sent out by the investigator with the click of a button. All files – paper, audio, or photos – are in one location and accessible by any authorized person from anywhere. Storage issues and clutter are minimized, and work in the field or on the road is simplified. eSOPH is constantly improving based on the input from the users, and they have always been responsive to any questions or problems. Once a background investigation has been completed, all the information can remain in the cloud for easy retrieval or simply exported to a CD. Finally, reports can be run showing statistical information on the people that are being hired and disqualified. ”