September 2019

Background Checks

Fake address by candidate rises again!

Many with disreputable backgrounds often get away with it, due to the slipshod methods of address checks. An address check gained importance to ensure a truthful candidate walks in for the interview and later joins in as an employee.

Address is an important aspect of a potential candidate’s identity. Candidates may conceal their old addresses in an attempt to hide prior criminal convictions, arrests or litigation proofs and records to establish new identity in the job market. Obviously, all candidates want to stand an equal chance in the race to grab a lucrative job. An address check%

By Abhinandan, 5 yearsSeptember 27, 2019 ago

Background Checks

Bring in Expertise and Experience: Outsource Background Screening

The intent of hiring companies for conducting background checks is pretty evident. The need to ensure safe workplaces is the driving force for background screening in an organization. It requires skilled professionals to conduct background checks in a timely and effective manner. Conducting background screening in-house is time-consuming and impacts efficiency and productivity. Moreover, this is a specialized task and not a core business area for employers.

You need experts for conducting background checks! Outsourcing background checks helps organizations keep a time-consuming bureaucratic process in check. Below are a few reasons why you should outsource background screening:

1.Efficiency while your pressure increases With rampant hiring and scaling, background screening companies bring structured processes and handle high volumes to support faster on-boarding

2.Expertise Experienced background screening companies have the necessary domain expertise and experience of working with multiple geographies

3.Reduced Costs and Improved productivity To the extent a company can avoid spending hours on conducting background searches in-house, background screening companies reduce overheads and channel that energy you’re your business operations

4.Neutrality is maintained Partnering with a third-party background screening company sends the message that all applicants are receiving equal treatment and makes the process objective and consistent

5.Additional Services Background screening companies offer various services, such as facilitation of drug and alcohol testing, on-boarding solutions etc. to make the process quick and more reliable With so many important considerations, outsourcing this mission critical HR function is a prudent and potentially cost-saving step! To know more, schedule an appointment with our expert today.

Write to us at communication@authbridge.com.

By Abhinandan, 5 yearsSeptember 27, 2019 ago

Blogs

Best Practices in International Background Screening

The workforce of today is diverse, as a whole and also at the individual level. People moving countries and continents for better employment prospects is becoming more common, and the international mobility regime is posing new challenges to recruiters. Staffing not only involves selecting the best candidate for the job, but also verifying that the assessed credentials, experience, personality and other elements of the person are authentic to the core. Unfortunately this has stemmed from some instances of imposters or faked qualifications, every now and then.

This is where the background verification process is critical—to get to know the “real” person behind the CV and the cover letter. Getting an international level background verification done, is quite complex compared to a local-level case where the school, college and previous employers may be within the country and easily reachable. Yet, the recruiter must carry it out with the same accuracy, and often under tight deadlines. Here is what the recruiter must keep in mind while carrying out international background checks, whether by self or through a consultant:

1. Turnaround time will be longer: A local level background check is generally a matter of few days, but when an international process comes into the picture, one can expect more time being spent contacting the school, police records (for criminal charges), college, previous employers, public records etc. This is because some countries may have very stringent privacy laws, making it difficult or time-consuming to get the details. In some cases, you may have to live with incomplete information since it will not be available in public domain, or on request.

2. Study the rules: As mentioned, every country will have its own rules of sharing data with outsiders. Recruiters often rely on the background check consultant to carry out the process, and they may take their own time. Make it a point to get the process and requirements clarified upfront, by asking questions. In fact, it is a good practice to build an information repository on the laws of various countries, and keep it as a ready reckoner in the talent acquisition team.

3. Extra documentation: Foreign countries may ask for extra proof of identification or any other documents to carry out the background check.This makes it imperative that you be prepared with as much information about the candidate as possible, at the beginning itself. This will not only faster up the process, but also aid an accurate background verification process.

4. Standardize the hiring process: Not only will this protect the recruiter and the company against claims of discrimination or negligence in hiring, incorporate international background screening as a must-have process in your recruitment lifecycle. Employers often tend to carry out a half-baked verification just because it takes time, which is scarce. Often, it is left to the person to carry out or let go. Person-specific decisions on hiring can create much confusion, it is best to standardize the hiring lifecycle and ensure adherence through audits.

5. Get help: A company may not have the in-house resources or the expertise to carry out international background verifications. It then makes sense rope in a vendor who specializes in this domain. Not only are these people aware of country-specific laws, but are updated on any case-specific watch-outs or law changes. Choose a vendor carefully by questioning the vendor on their accuracy, consistency, documentations processes, issue resolution and support, and other practices. Global hiring is going to become a widespread reality, creating a pressing need for international background checks.

The recruiters and HR professionals of tomorrow need to be observant, curious and committed to the cause of building an authentic team. After all, one rotten apple can cause many, and it is important to safeguard the organization from that rotten one. Source:HRTechnologist

By Abhinandan, 5 years ago

Background Checks

Overcoming C-Suite Hiring Challenges with Leadership Due Diligence

In the recent times, financial scandals involving senior level management and board members have made headlines in India. In a recent survey close to 37% named middle and senior level management to be the perpetrators of frauds. The survey analysed different risks including cyber security, frauds that included bribery and corruption, physical theft and other crimes. Senior executives of a leading PSU are now under the scanner for the alleged role in the financial scam worth 11,300 crores. The right leader makes the organisation while a bad leader can break or damage the reputation. Senior executives are role models for juniors and are responsible for setting the goals, pathways and for motivating the employees to give their best. Leadership due diligence is the need of the hour to hire genuine senior leaders. Although many businesses recognize the importance of leadership due diligence, CEOs & HR still faces considerable challenges in C-suite hiring.

Also Read: AuthLead™ – Leadership Due Diligence

Challenges faced by CEOs & HRs in C-Suite hiring

Mismatch in Alignment

According to McKinsey studies, nearly 1/3rd senior executives weren’t successful at aligning others around their initial objectives, primarily due to mismatches in the hiring objectives and the candidate recruited. A weak recruiting process is one of the top challenges faced by CEOs & HR. While they post ads and seek references, these alone may not be enough at C-suite level hiring. HR needs to go beyond to leverage cutting edge technology, marketing and individualized messaging to attract the best candidates. The recruiting process has to be effective enough to capture the top talent’s attention.

Unstructured and biased interviews

At many workplaces, even today, HR uses unstructured interviews to evaluate the senior leaders. Such interviews are ineffective in predicting their actual performance on the job as studies have proven. Unstructured interviews are vulnerable to the interviewer bias and are not objective or consistent. Structure the interview in an objective way to assess predetermined criteria including skills, knowledge, experience, culture fit and education. The structured interview is objective and provides consistency in evaluation.

Cumbersome On-boarding Process

One of the common challenges HR faces relates to the long hiring processes. Often there are delays in finalizing a candidate due to indecisiveness or lengthy approval processes in the organization. If the candidate is highly talented, he or she is also likely to be sought after in the job market and may have multiple other offers on hand. Delays result in losing out the top talent to the competition. Background checks and other formalities take time to complete and add to the onboarding woes. Sticking to timelines and providing a great interview experience with a one-on-one time with senior leaders of the company can be key differentiators. Speeding up on-boarding processes that include leadership due diligence with the help of third-party professional leadership due diligence providers is critical to retaining top talent. Leading solutions like AuthLead can help in thorough due diligence in shortest possible time.

Developing HR policies and role definitions

A poorly defined HR role and policies has a negative effect on employee relationships, productivity and motivation levels. Lack of hiring policy can lead to hiring of employees that are cultural misfits or technically unqualified. If the company does not have a clear hiring strategy, appropriate background screening practices may not be followed. This could increase the risk of hiring senior managers with a criminal or drug abuse history which compromises the company’s safety and image. The HR policies and role definitions have to meet the demands of work arrangements that are non-traditional and be C-suite ready. Embracing technology to carry out people analytics,

By Abhinandan, 5 yearsSeptember 27, 2019 ago

Blogs

Growth of Fake Qualifications

Need for Education Check In the background screening business there is a saying, ‘if it is too good, it can’t be true.’ Adam Wheeler was doing just fine till he got ahead of himself and overstated his achievements and grades. He would have got away Scot free if he was just content to acquire a Harvard degree.

The 23 year-old got into Harvard University on the basis of his perfect (but fake) high school grades and SAT scores. He did not stop there. He plagiarized writings and research to win awards, prizes and grants. This ‘A’ student was finally outed when a professor noted that Wheeler’s Fulbright and Rhodes scholarship applications claimed straight A’s, were full of “numerous books he co-authored, lectures he had given and courses he had taught.” Too much. Too good.

The issue is interesting but there are, however, ominous facets to this story. Cases of students exaggerating their academic records are rising. Then there is the tarnishing of the venerable and good name of three hundred and seventy-four year old Harvard. While this respected institute is the victim, it is also at fault. In his admission application to Harvard, Wheeler submitted transcripts from MIT with letter grades when MIT actually uses a numerical scoring system. He also presented forged recommendation letters.

These were all missed by the Harvard admissions staff because they had not screened his application thoroughly. The checking of degrees and references is not always what it could be. It would be too easy to say that Harvard should have been a little more careful (or thorough) but the truth is that student fraud is now a disconcertingly large problem impacting and discrediting the institutes drawn in by their deceptions. Colleges like Harvard face a secondary risk (besides a damaged reputation). They could be liable to legal action and face large costs. In fact in an earlier student hoax case Harvard had to refund over $100,000 to the National Institute of Health.

The centuries old name of renowned colleges and universities could be brought under a cloud if ex-students are found indulging in fraud or caught in any other illegal or criminal acts in their later careers. The guilt by association tag is a difficult one to circumvent.

Harvard’s reputation rests on its strong academic record, brilliant faculty and equally gifted students. It would be a pity if its name was besmirched by a serial fraudster.

By Abhinandan, 5 years ago

Background Checks

How well do you know your investors?

“As per a report in The New Indian Express, on the day of the launch of their company, directors and promoters were arrested from the launch venue in Kochi for allegedly defrauding the Kalamaserry branch of the Bank of Baroda by falsifying proofs. The duo are said to have been later produced before the Kalamassery Judicial First Class Magistrate.

The brothers reportedly have several cases of fraud registered against them various banks across the country, and are said to have been absconding for over a year. Every graduate today aspires to be an entrepreneur. They all have a business plan which they believe will be a game changer. The pathway to have your own company or being a part of such a company is not easy. It is full of potholes and crossroads when you have to make a decision. Everything associated with having your own company is not as smooth as it may look so on the outside.

A business idea is not everything. It serves as starters for evening dinner. When an aspiring entrepreneur ventures into the market with his business idea, he is looking for funds. But he is not the only one looking for funds there are other aspiring entrepreneurs as well but not enough investors. With such fierce competition, they are keen and may sign on the first person who offers them the investment to take their company to the next level. It is hard to refuse an offer that can propel your company towards your dream. But living in a country where corruption is so evident and with people with huge cash stashes, there is an increasing need to be aware and informed.

This is where an entrepreneur needs to be careful as the person he is building a business relationship with can jeopardize the idea and efforts. To tackle such issues, AuthBridge designed a solution called Investor Due Diligence.

Investment Risk Due Diligence is conducted on promoters or entities to be well-versed of their existence and operations. With the growing instances of frauds and the increasing regulatory watch on investments, this ensures that investees are entities of repute and can safely operate and grow in an increasingly global business environment. Our process complies with various global regulations on anti-money laundering like the US FCPA, UK Bribery Act, Indian Prevention of Money Laundering Act etc. So how are you ensuring smart investment decisions?

By Abhinandan, 5 yearsSeptember 27, 2019 ago

Background Checks

7 ways of preventing fraud: Your essential ‘Check’ List

Did you know that organisations in today’s world face higher risk due to employee frauds than external fraud factors? According to the ACFE 2016 Report to the Nations, Typical Organisation Loses 5% of annual revenues to Fraud. While countries are making move to fight the black (money), you should ensure that you do not get TRUMPed by Fraudsters. As goes by the saying, Prevention is indeed better than cure.

So how do you prevent frauds?

The best way to prevent a fraudster from hitting you hard is to know that fraudster in the first place. Conducting an extensive Background screening exercise can unmask black and give you a detailed insight about the opposite party. Below is an exhaustive list of background checks which you should consider before entrusting anybody-be it an employee, partner or any organisation.

1. Identity Check

Identity theft impacts more than 17 million consumers every year, reports a Forbes survey. It is imperative for organisations to ensure that the person they are hiring/interacting with are who they actually claim to be. A national identity check verifies the identity of candidates for their genuineness. It raises a flag if any identity document is forged, stolen or doctored. Today, background screening providers offer instant national identity checks which deliver instant, accurate results.

2. Education Check

Incidents of fake diploma mills and forged educational qualifications have been reported in ample. Education verification helps identify false educational claims. As a part of this process, the institution or university issuing the certificate or degree is approached for verification of the subject’s key educational information like genuineness of the degree, name, year of passing, university and course name, and more

3. Employment Check

To secure jobs in this ever-competitive market, employment credentials are often manipulated.In an employment check, past employers are contacted for the candidate’s past employment details like name of the company, tenure, designation and more. Veracity of the employer is checked through research and verification is then conducted through their Human Resource Department or Reporting Manager(s.

4. Address Check

Employers need to know if their prospective candidate is reachable in case of an emergency. Address check is carried out to check the accessibility of the candidate. An address check includes verification of the permanent and correspondence address through direct physical site visits or through neighbourhood checks.

5. CV Validation

The first step to hiring an employee is evaluation of resume. This is the place where people manipulate their details the most. It is essential that the details in the candidate’s resume are validated against their actual qualifications and documents and these details are not lost during the evaluation process. Such gaps can be addressed using a quick CV Validation check.

6. Criminal Check

Organisations should ensure that they create a safe work environment where there is no fear and no pressure. As the first line of defence, businesses would want to ensure that the candidate they hire is clean and genuine. A detailed criminal check runs a comprehensive search on the candidate’s profile across all public criminal database to reveal the candidate’s past. This is an area which should never be overlooked and compromised.

7. Credit Check

Organisations need to carefully evaluate a candidate’s capability to handle roles of immense responsibility, especially where handling finance is in picture. Credit check helps organisations in evaluating a candidate’s intent and financial health to ensure that the person is worthy for the position/ loan. Remember, background check is about finding facts & authenticating claims to ensure quality hiring by organizations and fostering trust in individuals. Please note: A few background checks are job specific and not necessarily done on all. Of course, the choice of background check primarily depends on the criticality and risk attached to an offered position, industry type and country regulations. Having said that, a few background checks must be essentially considered while hiring to minimize hiring mistakes.

By Abhinandan, 5 yearsSeptember 27, 2019 ago

Background Checks

How sure are you that your candidate isn’t lying about his address?

Address of a person is probably the only antecedent that can easily be faked. The employer may or may not consider it to be important while verifying other aspects of the candidate. But today, fake addresses are increasingly being used to hide past criminal patches. 15% of candidates were found out to be providing incorrect previous address as per a survey. Address verification is an important component of background verification because it substantiates one important aspect of a potential employee’s identity.

It is no surprise to think that candidates resort to all possible means to grab hefty jobs, especially the ones who’ve had a criminal background linked to their previous address and work towards creating a brand new image. Sometimes, these candidates get away easy due to the slackened approach in address verification. A thorough address verification will make sure only genuine and identifiable individuals. Address verification has been lately gaining significance due to some prominent terrorist action, and the benefits will clearly underline the need to hire carefully with all necessary checks in place. An accurate address facilitates smooth communication between the company and its employees. It helps in tracking candidates in cases of absenteeism, disciplinary issues, or other violations. An address verification will also support criminal history check of the individual. We at AuthBridge, conduct physical visits to the candidate’s current or permanent address in robust fashion. Our address verification process assures you to provide you with candidates with a crime-free past and clean identity. The idea behind this screening solution is to build resistances against false identities and fictitious addresses. In fact, any doubts can be warded off with an exhaustive background screening activity.

By Abhinandan, 5 yearsSeptember 27, 2019 ago

Background Checks

Is your senior level hire unfit for the coveted position?

‘Two senior staff members of HSBC Saudi Arabia were found out to be hired with unaccredited degrees’, a Channel 4 News investigation finds out. This revelation is simply shocking! A candidate should be questioned on the validity of his degree and credentials .

The brunt of unaccredited degrees is such that it could be borne by the company in the longer run. Hiring referred candidates is a convenient way out, but definitely not the most guaranteed one. Reputation of a candidate could be built upon good work and performance and has very little to do with his hidden truths.

These truths can be found after a thorough background check including education check. Education being the most basic of all checks. Precisely, it helps to authenticate big academic claims by the candidate. The big question is how many companies think that senior hires should be screened differently? Screening infuses some level of confidence into the employers at the time of hiring. A 360 degree background verification encompassing complete due diligence of the candidate’s background could be great.

As much as an organization finds it difficult to predict falsehoods, screening can definitely ensure that a senior level hire with unaccredited degrees is not hired. An executive due diligence on the senior hire helps to know their past glitches

By Abhinandan, 5 yearsSeptember 27, 2019 ago

Background Checks

5 Benefits of Background Checks in Maintaining Organisation’s Reputation

Background screening has become a standard process across the globe which has emerged as an effective tool to curb the risk of wrong hiring. Influenced with the benefits, employee background check has got to offer, more and more companies have joined the bandwagon. Employee background check offers a wide scope of positives and also contributes in creating a roadmap for organisational success which results in maintaining the organisation’s reputation.

Below listed are ways through which BGV helps in protecting organisation’s reputation.

Helps in increasing the safety of organisational assets- With a proper background screening in place the likelihood of certain risks like corporate theft and espionage can be regulated to a large extent. This exercise as a result helps in tracking the entry of employees, who do not harbour motives of jeopardizing with organisation’s reputation Helps in promotion of safety- Safety at workplace is highly important, else the organisational environment gets hampered.

Employee background check helps to look into the past of the potential employee and identify red flags of criminal history, which helps in maintaining an ethical and safe environment. Helps to hire and select the best talent- Employee background check facilitates decision making of selecting the right talent. Employers can screen out the dishonest employees and select the one who is qualified for the position applied for. This practice will help in maintaining a pool of trustworthy workforce, which will no doubt, assist in maintaining organisation’s reputation. Helps to avoid costs in the long term- On-boarding and recruiting is a costly affair.

By conducting a background check employers take a prudent decision to screen out employees so as to ensure the hiring of qualified employees. This will help to reduce employee turnover, as only properly selected employees will be hired. This will again prove to be a positive in maintaining organisation’s reputation.

Helps to build trust within the organisation- By performing background screening, an enterprise can make sure that the employees working there reflect an environment of safety, integrity and values that help re-emphasize on the faith new candidates have post joining the organisation. The benefits offered by the employee background screening services go a long way in evading the risks, which might be potentially disastrous for the organisation’s reputation. This, by incorporating employee screening practices, the reputation of an organisation can be safeguarded.

By Abhinandan, 5 yearsSeptember 27, 2019 ago

Employee Screening

Risk & Compliance

Financial Intelligence

Identity Verification

Utilities

Entity/Business Level

Employment

Banking & Payments

Fraud Detection

Professional

Background Verification

Due-Diligence

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Challenges faced by CEOs & HRs in C-Suite hiring

So how do you prevent frauds?

1. Identity Check

2. Education Check

3. Employment Check

4. Address Check

5. CV Validation

6. Criminal Check

7. Credit Check

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