Since 2015, Aequivalent has been supporting Swiss companies with a clear mission: to secure recruitment through reliable, compliant background checks tailored to the local context.
To mark our 10th anniversary this year, we asked 10 questions to our founder Michael Platen. An opportunity to look back at our DNA, what makes our approach unique and the vision that drives us to innovate every day to remain the benchmark for background checks in Switzerland.
1. Ten years after its creation, what are you most proud of when you look back at Aequivalent’s history?
What I’m most proud of is having grown the company without losing our DNA or initial vision: helping clients improve the quality, safety and efficiency of their hiring. When you’re growing and become more international, it’s often tempting to focus solely on efficiency or compliance. At the risk of neglecting user feedback and human contact, or thinking that 80% is enough. Yet, it’s often the remaining 20% that make the real difference. It’s this attention to detail that creates a unique experience for our customers and their teams. If we’ve succeeded, it’s thanks to a team that grew with us, remains committed and shares our determination to stay “state of the art”, whether in terms of HR processes, information security, legal compliance or software development.
2. Aequivalent was founded and grew in Switzerland. How does this local presence make a difference for your clients?
Our Swiss roots mean we truly understand the local market and the entire ecosystem around background checks. That makes us effective reliable, and close to our clients. But it’s also a mindset. Our Swiss approach — rigorous, serious, yet pragmatic — is particularly appreciated and many clients ask us to apply it internationally as well. Today, over a third of the checks we handle involve candidates abroad. International clients are often impressed by the quality of our platform and our support. Our Swiss image is also a real asset for clients and their employees: Switzerland is seen as trustworthy, safe, serious, and independent. And at Aequivalent, everything is 100% Swiss, with no outsourcing abroad of screening, software development, or data hosting.
3. Compliance requirements evolve quickly. How does Aequivalent help companies stay on top of these changes without adding complexity?
Our platform helps companies to effectively integrate human risk management into their processes and achieve compliance. Compliance obligations are often perceived as burdensome. But when they are integrated intelligently, with a good understanding of the business, advanced digitalisation and without redundant effort, they become a real driver of value. It’s also crucial to know the legal boundaries of background checks, both in Switzerland and abroad. For many HR teams, that’s a real headache! With our expert support, that pain disappears. In fact, we’re increasingly seeing Compliance, Risk or Security departments making the initial contact with us, and then putting HR in touch. The result? Everyone is happy.
4. Your platform is known for its flexibility. What kind of specific needs are you able to address today?
Every client has different needs, depending on industry, budget, internal processes, digital maturity or legal framework. That’s why we’ve built a platform that’s 100% flexible and adaptable. Today, we support small family-run SMEs as well as multinationals with subsidiaries in 15 countries, across all sectors. Clients can order self-service checks (e.g. Swiss criminal records or debt enforcement register extracts), use standard programs or build custom programs — always with a full report. They get real-time progress of their dossiers, can customise alerts, add internal evaluations, manage multiple HR users and entities, export statistics, customise invoicing, etc. And thanks to our API, which connects the Aequivalent platform to the customer’s HR system, their teams can integrate verification at any stage of the HR process: recruitment, onboarding, file renewals or onboarding of external consultants.
5. In a market where speed is everything, how do you balance speed, quality and reliability?
It’s all about structure and transparency. To move fast, you need clear and efficient workflows, with centralised information that’s accessible anytime, so decisions can be made quickly and confidently. With a structured use of background checks, we estimate our clients can reduce their time-to-hire by up to 66%, while improving quality. And without compromising reliability: our verification rate reaches 97%, which is unique and enables a truly controlled risk management approach.
6. At a time when everything is being automated, why did you choose to keep a team of experts in Switzerland?
Proximity to our customers and quality of communication are key for us. All our teams are based in Yverdon-les-Bains and Bern, which is a real strategic choice. It’s also how we remain focused on the added value of our services and the continuous improvement of our processes. And that makes all the difference.
7. Transparency is one of your core values. What does that mean in practice?
To us, it means no false promises, neither explicit nor implicit. It also means committing to a process of continuous improvement that benefits all stakeholders. I deeply believe in this philosophy as a way to ensure integrity and trust at every level. Even if I’ve sometimes been disappointed, I couldn’t imagine doing things differently. Concretely, our platform shares updates in real time. Our case managers are trained and encouraged to act quickly, communicate proactively and clearly, and follow well-defined procedures. This culture of committed transparency is one of our biggest strengths with all stakeholders. It also means that mistakes are allowed, as long as we address them openly and actively improve.
8. What are the most significant developments you’ve introduced in the first half of this year?
The launch of the Swiss Combo Check, revealed this spring at the HR Festival in Zurich, is a real pragmatic innovation in our self-service offer. It allows HR teams to order simultaneously 2 official Swiss documents in just a few clicks – the criminal record extract and the debt collection register extract – and verify an ID. Simple, fast and 100% online. We’ve also worked extensively on improving the quality of our integrations with major HRIS platforms like Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Lucca, Adequasys and PeopleWeek. These integrations save HR teams valuable time and offer seamless user experience.
9. We often hear about “pre-hire” background checks. But what’s your view on post-hire re-screenings?
In an organisation, people make all the difference, for good or bad. And because their individual situations can change, it’s essential to maintain an ongoing view of human risks. In small companies, where people are very close to their colleagues, potential risks are generally spotted quickly. But in large organisations, where employees tend to work in silos, or even remotely, this is much less obvious. That’s why periodic checks during employment make perfect sense — and in some cases, they’re even legally required. It’s a preventive approach that contributes to the sustainability of the organisation, the safety of employees… and the confidence of customers or patients.
10. What are the next steps in Aequivalent’s growth?
Our vision will not change: we want to remain close to our clients and users, while continuing to promote best practices in recruitment, digitalisation, HR compliance and information security. Today, we’re helping more and more companies to digitise and streamline their processes, by integrating their international subsidiaries directly. In the longer term, I believe in a future where candidates have greater control over their credentials, their verifiable records, through digital identity solutions and secure wallets. This would ensure both authenticity and privacy of data. It’s fully aligned with our vision and our DNA.
Date of publication: august 2025
Author: Aequivalent’s Marketing and Sales team