What lies beneath

Everyone knows that to make a business work you need capital, a good idea and, most importantly, the ‘right’ people. Hiring the wrong person can seriously damage a business through misconduct, embarrassments with investors or, even worse, with the loss of a customer and not to mention the knock-on effects of low staff morale or lost opportunity costs.

The cost of employing a person might be high but, get it wrong and you could face three times the amount to get rid of them. While companies spend millions on hi-tech security, manned guarding and systems access, all of these attempts to reduce liability can be easily undone by employing the wrong person or by failing to perform basic checks. For smaller businesses, this could be critical.

In the business of providing background checking for pre-employment candidates on a daily basis, both new and potential clients are always intrigued by background checking horror stories. They can listen to a reel of tales of bogus doctors that have been turned up, those that have been banned several times for drink driving but are now applying for chauffeuring jobs and breakdown recovery drivers, that are frequently sent to help lone women, with a criminal record for assault and battery. But it is important to highlight the fact that these cases are very rare. What is found, however, is that of the hundreds of thousands of CVs that are checked each year, approximately 28 percent have serious errors or omissions within them and around two percent are total works of fiction.

What background checking companies will tell their customers is that the most prosaic side of what they do, the reference checking, is actually where they offer the greatest value, saving HR departments – no matter what size the business – vast amounts of time, cost and worry.

Background checking is not just about employing people, but also protecting existing staff. Making informed recruitment decisions from the outset sends the right message to both customers and shareholders too, which has been clearly illustrated in some of the research recently undertaken on the subject of staff retention. Better checked staff turnover less frequently and exhibit greater potential for promotion – and this applies to employees at all levels throughout the company, from the shop floor to mahogany row.

It is worth pointing out that the simplest of checks, such as true verification of a driving licence rather than just taking a clean copy at face value, can have an immense impact. This is almost an incidental check from a comprehensive product list of background checks available, but considering the vicarious liability to employers, has enormous intrinsic worth. If a company’s driver were to kill or injure someone in an accident without holding a valid driving licence, the insurance would be invalidated – again, potentially crippling to an SME.

Right now, with employment running at 100 percent in many sectors, we are seeing rapid growth in the use of contractors, freelancers and consultants. Due to this, within the industry a specialized ‘passport’ has been developed specifically for these groups, allowing quick and simple verification of their CV, qualifications and work history. This puts contractors at the front of the queue when it comes to freelance work as they have already been checked out.

The same solutions also work with suppliers, distributors and vendors. Recommending that the company’s rigorous internal employment guidelines are also implemented and used with external suppliers can have huge benefits, reflected in revenue growth and protection of brand attributes.

From a retail angle, we are already experiencing – as buyers of goods and services online – extra checking to prevent fraudulent purchases. For instance ensuring the customer has the credit card in front of them by asking for the security number on the reverse, or an extra charge for verifying a delivery address other than the card’s billing address.

Although these checks are tiresome for the customer, over the next few years there is sure to be more of these types of security measures. But most customers are likely to be acquiescent about such security issues, especially as they protect them as much as they protect the retailer.

But, in the wider context – and outside of online transactions – the blurring line between customer choice and supplier choice is very evident.

For example, if you are selling products or services to a sensitive site, e.g. a school, medical facility or an old peoples’ home, you, as the supplier are required by law to ensure that your staff are legitimate and approved to access such sites. Failure to have staff background checked will prevent a supplier continuing to serve such clients. If they do continue to supply without checking then they are laying themselves open to significant liabilities – in the event of a staff misdemeanour – and would probably not be able to fall back on their insurance cover.

Recruitment agencies and contractor agencies also have a statutory requirement to ensure that their candidates really do have the appropriate capabilities they claim to have on their CV. Again, failure to recognize this could result in an indefensible claim for uninsured damages.

Many recruiters are struggling to find the right method of addressing such issues and legal demands, and sometimes, even by trying to comply, can cause themselves further trouble. The well-known issue of identity theft is making candidates reluctant to let just any individual or agency in on personal information which can force non-compliance but importantly does not excuse recruiters of their obligation under the regulations. Using a proven third party checking agency can pay dividends here and have the added benefits of assuring candidates that you have the privacy of individuals in the front of your mind.

There are other regulatory drivers in this area. Many wide ranging professional service organizations such as providers of venture capital, financial service advisors, credit agencies, banks, accountants and lawyers are required by law to ensure the identification of their clients and who they are employing in order to prevent tax evasion and money laundering.

Secure environments or providers of security services are required to have background checks to the rigor of BS7858. This standard comprises of a 10-year employment history check and includes further associated checks such as those of criminal records. There has been popular support for these services to ensure that members of the public feel protected whilst going about their normal business or social lives.

As evidence of these trends, even low-level purchases such as mobile telephones and car number plates are now requiring supplementary ID.

The public is generally aware and accepting of the needs for enhanced security. Financial fraud, identity theft and misrepresentation are all well understood now, something, which even two years ago did not figure in peoples’ thoughts or lives.

Most suppliers do not have the in-house skills or capability to undertake background checking, which is why the demand for professional companies in this area has risen considerably over the past few years. Outsourcing this task to professionals with the knowledge, facilities, time and capabilities means that companies can rest easy, assured by the fact that any discrepancies with their staff will be highlighted as necessary.

Any supplier, no matter the industry, would do well in the eyes of their customers to check their own staff and protect themselves and their clients from potential fraud… or worse.

For further information please call + 44 (0)1628 488223 or visit the website www.backgroundchecking.com.

Background checking and employee screening – the benefits

It proves:

1. They are who they say they are
2. They have the qualifications to do the job
3. They have the experience to do the job
4. There is nothing adverse in their background
5. They are able to do the job
6. They are not a terrorist/bank robber/paedophile/rapist etc
7. They will not mess up your clients or embarrass you
8. They will be an asset to your company
9. That they haven’t lied about their background, showing honesty from the start
10. That they will not cost you more money to employ than to not employ

Did you know…?

• Oversight is not confined to low-level staff, according to another recent survey. Of 10,000 people employed in financial services and information technology posts, one in four had lied or exaggerated when applying for a job. Favorite deceptions were on salary, educational qualifications and job responsibilities.
• Europe is at least three years behind the United States in the use of third party providers of background checking services. This is due to a combination of factors, including the prevalence of litigation within the US, freedom of information and the varied cultural, legal and statutory issues. Make no mistake though – the gap is narrowing at a furious rate as Europe enters catch up mode.
• The growth of pre-employment screening is being driven, in part, by American companies with international business units. US firms are applying mounting pressure on their international operations to apply the same screening standards that are used domestically. Another issue is that Europe generally offers greater employment protection than the US, not something to be ignored when recruiting staff.
• In Britain, police checks are compulsory on people working in social services, particularly with the young and the vulnerable. Financial services firms are now required by law to vet new staff thoroughly before they are given access to sensitive information. But the wider public and private sectors have, until recently, left it to interviewers to test whether a person is right for the job.
• Background checking includes verifying that applicants’ school details and higher-education qualifications tally with their resume. By confirming dates of previous employment, reasons for leaving and the gaps between previous spells of employment, background checking providers can build up a picture of the applicant’s probity. Candidates are checked for county-court judgements, bankruptcy information and credit rating.
• People who have lived abroad may be worth a closer check. Background checking companies find that such people are more likely to deliberately muddle their credit histories, thinking they will not be caught out.