Are business and service companies ensuring adequate customer safety this Diwali_

Are business and service companies ensuring adequate customer safety this Diwali?

Ensure customer security while your representatives meet, deliver services and interact with customers and others. The festival of lights is almost upon us. While organisations and people get charged with positive energy bursting crackers, painting rangolis and exchanging presents and sweets, it is also important for all to ensure complete security and avoid any mishaps from happening. We are not referring to keeping away from crackers but keeping safe from people and vendors!

 

From an organisation point of view

Consider this. You are an on-demand food delivery aggregator. On the festive occasion of Diwali, your customer places order for sweets and feast with you. While the order is being delivered to the customer, how do you ensure that your customer is not at risk and the delivery man is not a criminal? Even worse, what if the delivery man is actually not the person who was supposed to deliver the order? Not being physically present on the ground, how can you avoid accidents to happen which can have massive repercussion for your customers? Moving away from the on-demand economy, consider you are a traditional business wanting to partner with vendors for managing supplies this Diwali. Have you ensured that the vendor is genuine and the company exists? Have you completed a due diligence on the vendor?

 

From a customer point of view

Consider this. You decide to call over house cleaning staff from leading on-demand service providers. These service providers will in turn route your request to a local business who will send their staff to your house. While you are away, your children and your family’s security might be at stake. What if the cleaner is a criminal in disguise? All the stories above can be viewed from both an organisation as well as an end- customer point of view. Similarly, customer security might be compromised while they pool a cab this Diwali to meet relatives!  Businesses might me up for a soup while they on-board vendors with fake capabilities and credentials.

 

How can businesses ensure that their customers are in safe hands?

As a responsible and customer centric business/service provider, you must be extra cautious when employing people to deliver services to the end customers. The customers not only rely on the services providers for good quality products and services but also expect full safety when the product/service arrives. The solution here is to conduct a thorough background screening. Background verification services offers a range of checks from identity verification, criminal history check, address check, reference check, education and employment verification and many more checks to ensure that the vendor/person you are interacting with is genuine and does not have any black records which can impact your business and brand reputation. (Click here for detailed understanding on why on-demand economy essentially needs thorough background screening) Background screening services aids the process of hiring the right set of people to serve customers and ensure their safety.

With the growing number of start-ups, on-demand companies and high risk ventures, this is the most suitable time for healthy beginning. As customers, one should ensure that their vendors/service providers conduct background screening as a part of the hiring and partnering process. AuthBridge, one of the leading global background screening Services Company offers range

11 questions to your background screener before choosing criminal history check

11 Questions to Ask Before Choosing Criminal History Check

An employer may or may not know what all checks including criminal check to be conducted on a prospective hire. But do not be put down with your inadequate knowledge of background screening processes. A trustworthy, well-equipped and technology enabled background screening company could be an ideal choice.

Confront your background screener with top criminal history check questions as presented below:

What are the types of criminal checks?

Which one is more comprehensive?

What is the process to conduct criminal record check?

What all information will be captured under a criminal check?

Which locations make it challenging to execute criminal check with effective turnaround time adhering to the regulatory framework?

Can separate criminal record checks conducted on the same candidate within a short span of time yield different results?

How will technology help in easing out the process?

What automation will be used? What steps are taken to ensure that criminal records are not missed?

How accurate are the results? Can the results be challenged?

For how long will the information about a candidate be kept intact?

Which verification bodies are involved? The right set of background verification questions before conducting a criminal check is highly crucial. Conduct criminal check on your potential hire to avoid any legal hassles in the future! Be vigilant, stay updated!

Accelerating employment check of potential hires

Accelerating employment check of potential hires

Millennials comprise the largest generation in the workforce in India. You’ve probably already hired Millennials and will be hiring more. But don’t expect them to stay long. Millennials are twice as likely as 30-somethings to leave a job after just 3 years, and this gap will only widen with age.

An average of more than 30% of employees in mid-level positions at tech start-ups and e-commerce firms quit their jobs every year, according to a recent survey by HR consultants and industry executives. For instance, a real estate giant recently announced that around 200 employees left the company last year resulting in closure of 4 of its business verticals including the land, franchisee, commercial and luxury real estate units.

Millennials leaving jobs for better opportunities elsewhere will keep happening. The attrition rate at mid-level positions ranges between 18% and 32%, while at the junior level it is around 40-50%, quoted HR professionals. What all this means is that as most of these millennials chase better opportunities, leaving their ex-employers with a task. Finding time to provide Employee reference checks and verification of their credentials to their new hiring employers. There is no complied data to establish the number of requests the HR executives receive regularly but whatever the number be, the process will be time consuming and highly unproductive.

Nonetheless someone needs to do it anyway. Not just ex-employers but it also presents a challenge to their new employers. They would want to on-board them as soon as possible but without verifying their employment history, they would not risk allowing them to be part of their system because of security and safety concerns.

So what is the possible solution to this if there is a delay in verifying the new hire credentials?

A solution that instantly verifies or provides information about this candidate that is secure and authentic. Because no one would want to wait and waste their productive time, not the new company, not the old one and especially not the new hire. WorkAttest, an expert offering from AuthBridge a composite exit employee repository, provides timely and accurate verifications to potential employers, employees and verification agencies.

It is a highly secure online service that keeps all the data confidential and safe. It provides fast, secure and instant verification. Prospective employers and verifying organizations can validate the employment credentials of individuals who are either seeking a job, or marriage prospects or are applying for loans, memberships etc. Reaching out to multiple employing organisations is a time consuming, manpower intensive and error-prone exercise. So what would you like to do, waste productive time of your manpower or contribute your exit employee data to WorkAttest and use that time for productive activities instead. The choice is yours!

5 Best Practices in Employee Background Screening

5 Best Practices in Employee Background Screening

Organizations must find the most qualified and talented people to help them address growing challenges that are unique to their industry, and conducting an effective employee background screening is an essential step in that process. Regardless of the size, strength, or industry, organizations can be directly affected by employee substance abuse, crime, corporate fraud, etc. Therefore, knowing exactly who you are employing is important. Background screening is an important step toward an effective hiring process. However, the approach and the purpose make a huge difference in the effectiveness of the background check process.

 

Below are the 5 best background screening practices which should be followed to minimise the risk of bad hire.

Identify risk parameters- It is very important to go to the grass root level and understand what risks actually haunt an organisation. Data security and employee fraud risks are two of the most common risks for companies in any line of business. The risks of ending up with a wrong hire also looms large. Ascertain risks arising out of job role- Each varying job role is poised to bring in new set of risks for the company to handle. Determining such risks would require deep understanding specifications and operations of the job role.

Selection of the right service provider-

 Companies need to understand whether they hold the capacity of carrying out the elaborate background screening process in-house or not. If they do not, it is best to outsource this task to an expert. Outsourcing has to be done prudently which would again require a certain amount of research. Research is necessary because such agencies would be dealing with confidential and therefore it is crucial to be sure about such an entity’s credibility.

Sufficiency of information- It is important to ensure that the verification process is able to retrieve sufficient information that equips one to take a concrete disposition. Insufficiency can contort the facts, thus affecting the final decision.

Legal compliance and fairness in execution- As per the norms of verification, the background screening process can be carried out only with the consent of the individual whose background would be verified. In addition to that, the entire process should be through legal sources and should not be done discreetly. These few points to remember will ensure that not only is the candidate being verified, but the information being collected through this process actually results in the right hiring decisions.

Resume Fraud - Fake Educational Qualifications

Employers can make a difference with education verification!

India Inc. is growing quite at a momentum. With creation of more job opportunities, the employees of the company help organisations fuel the system of relentless pursuit for excellence and integrity. Considering the importance of quality employees, companies keep no stone unturned in hiring the ‘best-fit’ so that it can achieve synchronisation between its own objectives and those of the candidates. Employee Verification has therefore, gained significance in the employee hiring process. Even with this practice in place, few questions still loom large on the corporates.

How are candidates with fake degrees still managing to get employed? Are the practices adopted by companies ensuring that candidates with genuine credentials are not viewed with suspicion?

Is there any way employers can help their situation? Organisations are exposed to the prevalent threat of degree fraud and this fact has a bearing on the employment probabilities of job candidates as well. In such a scenario, it is upon the candidate to prove his authenticity in a credible manner.

Education background check can help a genuine candidate leapfrog by projecting oneself as an honest person to share true information.

Getting thorough education verification done can help the candidate in backing the claims bluntly. While appearing for an interview, one must be sure of what employers need and an employer must know what its expectations are from the candidate. Education background check can be the befitting tool to hire individuals with the right calibre and competency.

Monitoring forged documents in employment made quick & easy

Monitoring forged documents in employment made quick & easy

“Four arrested for forging documents for a job at Bombay Engineer Group, an army establishment”, reports a recent Times of India article. A clerk with the BEG, came across the documents submitted by the suspects and realized that the documents had been forged. This is not the first. A news related to the army establishment had been reported earlier too. In the year 2014, 18 candidates were caught with fake documents at Army recruitment. It is appalling to see the youth resorting to wrong means to beat competition and land a job.

How can employers address this flaw?

The increasing number of incidents of candidates producing fake documents signal the need for a thorough scrutiny. As it is seen in the above instance, taking a candidate’s claims on the face value can prove costly to an organization.

Therefore, it is in the best interests of any organization to verify the credentials of potential candidates. With a robust background verification process in place, companies would be able to verify a candidate’s past antecedents as well as ensure full validation of documents produced.

The ever-evolving background verification has grown more sensitive to the varying needs of different organizations. From the very identity of the candidate to his educational qualifications, place of residence, experience with past employers, – a candidate needs to be scanned on various parameters.

Additional checks like credit check, reputation and integrity should also be screened in accordance with the role being offered. With technology advancement, the periphery of background verifiers has grown. These checks can now be carried out on records from across the globe. A gamut of checks can register discrepancies and raise appropriate flags about your potential hires, thereby, helping you make the right hiring decisions.

Will extensive Aadhaar Card linkages prevent identity fraud_

Will extensive Aadhaar Card linkages prevent identity fraud?

Driven by robust technology and global investment, the sharing, on-demand and many other contemporary businesses have been encouraging cashless transactions lately to drive the bigger agenda of ‘Digital India’. Today, over 100 crore people have Aadhaar number which means over 92% adult population in India has an Aadhaar card.

There has been an unprecedented growth in cashless business transactions and how the customer has been receiving it. Hence, companies have been dramatically capturing the online clientele in favour.

Another recent news reports, ‘Aadhaar cardholders would soon be able to use their cards to credit or debit money. Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) asserted how biometric authentication capacity of Aadhaar will be increased from the current 10 crore to 40 crore a day through a fingerprint or iris scanner verification for electronic transactions. As more and more companies turn to electronic media to run their businesses, practically everything ranging from groceries to clothing, cosmetics to furniture, etc., such cases have been pressing the panic button, making identity check of parties. This will not only ease out debit/credit of money but also keep the monetary circulation regulated.

The extensive use of Aadhaar card will help to verify the identity of the bearer and track any unauthentic transactions, if at all it happens. Considering the criticality of background/identity of an individual, Aadhaar held by citizens would be an inevitable step. So, how thoroughly are companies ensuring security and safety? Are all the customers getting thoroughly verified? Given that, most of new biggies in the market are young and dynamic, they like all processes more digitized. Customers put their trust and money both, when making a buy.

Of course, any platform which does not ensure trustworthiness will find it difficult to survive.

A big set of investors are pumping in money in the ‘’unicorns’’. Their main fear is that their big investment may just turn futile. Also, they fear that inadequate background checks and fake degrees and may convert their proposition into a cost.

Use of innovative, scalable and exhaustive background screening tools can enable businesses to transact amongst genuine 

Individuals.

Individuals.

An exhaustive verification, constituting of identity check, address check, criminal record check, etc. along with police verification can be considered.

 

Investment-Due-Diligence_-An-Investors-guide-to-making-rational-blog-image

Investment Due Diligence: An Investor’s guide to making rational ‘Investments’

Investing in scalable business models and upcoming technology seems to be the new trend. With thousands of ideas floating around with billions of people, investors are finding a tough time in making decisions! Ideas are not enough…

Rightly said, investors need to probe into teams behind the idea. Thorough due diligence of your target investee’s background and financial state is a must do! In addition to this, validation is conducted using social profiles like LinkedIn, Quora etc.,

to check on for their online presence, reputation, market position, partners, etc. So are you planning to invest in businesses? Have you conducted thorough investment risk due diligence on them?

The Investor’s checklist

  • Company Vitals- Investor’s should probe into basic company vitals Company Vitals like CIN, incorporation details, address, directorships, capital, contact information and more.
  • Directorships- Check for detailed information about the company’s directors and their directorships in other companies. Probe into possible relationships with present and past directors and more.
  • Charges- Investors should get access to details of securities/collaterals provided by the company to its lenders.
  • Financial Details- Check information on company’s financials including Balance sheet, P&L statements, Capital Structure, Financial Ratios and more. This is also available with MCA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs)
  • Compliance Check for credit rating of the company and related information regarding negative records like defaulters list, criminal and civil litigation records, reported activities in media and more.
  • Related Companies Check for information related to holding companies, subsidiaries, joint ventures and associated companies.
  •  Watch out for farce valuations. Overly complex financial projections do not give investment the right direction and goals. The planner needs to have full clarity about the ideas, roadmap, and innovation to scale into newer markets.
  • Interest for full research of the important content including interactions, advice and connections are the most useful before finalizing on a company for investment.These are trivial things that one should be looking for when it’s specifically a start-up/ new venture. (Read more) It’s equally as applicable to for established businesses but beginners need to be way more cautious. The early stages of a business is serious stuff. Good Investments Lead to Better Future Results There are multiple episodes of people who had investments of quality of where their second tranche of money was seized due to past reputational damages and numerous nefarious acts.Additionally, there are stories of companies that conducted full power due diligence on the opposite party and they turned out to be fugitives/convicts/criminals. As you can probably imagine, having someone like that on your cap table is going to make it a lot less likely. Experienced Due Diligence agencies, background verification companies and experts can help you with valuable information. Don’t be afraid to ask references and be thorough with your research about the person who you’re granting money. If they’re sufficiently motivated and interested, they will happily do so. If you’re sufficiently smart, you’ll be out there for exhaustive background check on the company. And if feels sketchy, you need to think about casting a wider net.
Weed out Fraudsters_ Instant Employee Screening Solutions

Weed out Fraudsters: Instant Employee Screening Solutions

The easy entry BPO jobs require young candidates with bare minimum or no experience. Lured by easy money from this sector, candidates turn dishonest, with BPOs left open to exploitation. These new age criminals in turn give rise to frauds, hurting the company reputation and company financials. Resume frauds are already on an all-time high. 1 in every 6 candidates were found to lie on their resumes in FY1.  Source: Annual Trend Report 2017.

Do you think it’s an alarming situation?

“Many call centres manage backend and support services for banks. This gives its employees access to sensitive information of clients. Hoping to cash in on this, they supply this information base to a bunch of outsiders, and then use it to dupe people. In return, they mint money on every deal’. ( Source:Times Of India) This issue of rising call centre frauds was also highlighted by a recent in newspaper article. In some cases, these call centre fraudsters give up on their jobs to float their own offices. Some also enter into partnerships with people operating out of the city. Together they set up services involving old company officials, making big money. It is basically a union of call centre employees, ex-employees, information buyers and professional fraudsters.

It clearly brings out consequences of inadequate background check processes and irresponsible hiring policies. Although, call centres are taking precautions to avert bad hiring but there’s a greater need to make it customary and exhaustive. Ruffling through diverse layers of the candidate and practicing intolerance towards trouble makers in the organization must be strictly put in place.

Cautious hiring not only improves quality of work but also acts as a shield against any kind of corporate damage. Obviously, malicious intentions of a first time offender cannot be anticipated but with an overall background check, probable red flags can be known well in time. While a routine background check should be mandated in all organizations, but also an advanced background check for high-impact positions is no less critical. AuthBridge as a successful background verification company has handled many client accounts and mitigated their potential risks. Take up the best background screening partner to verify your potential hires today!

Fraud on a rise_ Gender gap increasingly diminishing

Fraud on a rise: Gender gap increasingly diminishing

A male candidate is more likely to misrepresent facts compared to females, substantiates one recent AuthBridge study. This is the order consistently for the last three financial years [Source: Annual Trend Report 2017 by AuthBridge].

This is an established fact in itself but when looked at from another perspective, the men women disparity is growing to disappear. This is quite a revelation about the misrepresentation pattern of employees in the organizations across industries. Previously, men had been dominating the crime statistics but now even women are catching up well.

employment reports

Some important data points: 12.07% of the employment information is misrepresented by males while just 10.15% by females followed by submitting fakes addresses at 6.22% by males while a mere 5.22% by females.

Does the gender difference impact the employee fraud %?

Not anymore in today’s era. The diminishing gender gap in discrepancies not only talks about increased women hiring but also indicates changing work culture and employer preferences. More women employees are hired for responsible positions basis their talent and qualifications and not the gender per se. Not just that many jobs that operate on multiple shifts are also providing appropriate women safety and support. The changing hiring number of women in every sphere of business has led to the disappearing gender gap in employee fraud %.

What can HR possibly do to curb discrepancies and gender discrimination?

HR across the board need employers to take up workplace risks more seriously and chalk out a concrete plan of action for employee screening services. It’s very important to create a solid background verification plan for the organization which are customized according to the position’s risk profile and formulation of strict policies related to hiring.

Structured background verification programs eliminate bias from the hiring cycle by treating all incoming employees at par. Checks like ID verification & criminal history check must be conducted to know the ‘real side’ of the candidate irrespective of the gender. Organisations need to keep upgrading their background screening programmes with changing dynamics within the workplace setting and eliminate any kind of biases at the time of hiring.

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- Mr. Satyasiva Sundar Ruutray
Vice President, F&A Commercial,
Greenlam

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