Background Screening: Making Sound Recruitment Choices
With so much talent currently available, companies should not allow a poor decision to result in the hiring of an unqualified job candidate. A sensible place to start is to make a thorough check of candidates' credentials during the selection process.
With the global financial markets in turmoil, many organizations are facing the need to halt hiring efforts and in some cases, reduce staff numbers. Job seekers will find this a competitive climate, and as a result, some individuals may misrepresent their abilities, work history, and/or qualifications on their resumes and job applications.
Those organizations that can hire at this time will want to make the best, most informed choices using their limited resources. With so much talent currently available, they should not have to rely on instinct or allow a poor decision to result in the hiring of an unqualified job candidate. A cost-effective, sensible place to start is to make a thorough check of candidates' credentials during the selection process - a process commonly known as pre-employment background screening.
Not all errors in job applications are made deliberately; many are simply errors of memory or some other innocent mistake. But there are plenty of job seekers who distort details or even lie about aspects that are important for gauging how well they would perform as an employee. These issues can include falsifying education records, not disclosing previous criminal convictions and bankruptcies, and misrepresenting previous job experiences.
Organizations can measure the costs for hiring an untrustworthy employee in time, money and stress. This year, a Chinese manufacturer discovered one of its employees had stated she graduated from a more prestigious university than she really had. When informed about the discovery, the employee then stole company property (which included network cables and telephone lines) and confidential information. She even continued to use the company's laundry facilities by retaining an access card.
An alarming number of job candidates have discrepancies in their resumes and applications. A survey of Kroll's background checking reports for clients in Asia found that between January and September this year, almost 19 per cent of the reports disclosed problems in their candidates' resumes.
In China, about 20 percent of employment checks had discrepancies related to prior work histories, which makes this the leading category in that country. Meanwhile, education checks that unearthed discrepancies are well below this rate, at about 11 per cent. However, in Hong Kong, there is almost a mirror image of the Chinese statistics, with about 20 per cent of education checks containing discrepancies and a little more than 12 per cent for work experience checks.
The results in China could be attributed to the Ministry of Education maintaining education records, so candidates may feel they are less likely to get away with lying about their education discrepancies in the country. Also, Chinese universities provide certificates for which organizations’' human resources departments tend to ask. Therefore, candidates in China may be more likely to use their certificates to complete their screening forms and job applications rather than relying on memory. The act of providing certificates to the human resources team would also reduce the scope for discrepancies.
Hong Kong-based organizations, on the other hand, tend to recruit candidates with more international experience than their Mainland Chinese counterparts. These candidates have usually obtained their education qualifications overseas and are often less able to retrieve official documents from the institution. They may also feel that Hong Kong organizations are less likely to obtain education results directly from their universities.
For organizations with limited resources, background screening can be a laborious and relatively costly exercise. Therefore, many choose to engage third-party consultants to assist them. To be thorough, organizations or their consultants should make efforts to check the bona fides of their potential employees' stated education results by directly contacting the university or training institution.
This year, a background check for a Singaporean information technology company found a candidate had not attended or qualified from a particular university she had cited in her resume. The university declared both the English and Malay versions of her graduation certificates were fakes. This was confirmed when the date of convocation was found to be wrong (there had been no ceremony on the date provided), and the signatures for the vice chancellor and dean of faculty were incorrect for that year.
When checking work histories, previous employers' human resources departments should be contacted to objectively verify the stated information. While line managers can sometimes be a useful source, their information is usually subjective. Their time constraints and often burdensome workloads can often lead to mistakes of memory.
Ideally, background checking should be conducted before or very soon after candidates are hired. The fact that a background check will be made should be fully explained during the interview process. This can help avoid unpleasant situations in which the employee claims he was not aware that background screening would be performed. And therefore becomes angry or behaves badly. Such a situation occurred in the example discussed earlier when the Chinese candidate took company property and information when she left.
Also, when a company informs candidates in advance that background checking will be undertaken, it acts as a deterrent against discrepancies. Kroll's studies in the United States show that when companies have implemented thorough criminal record checks, they have experienced a decrease in criminal record hits over time. This is usually a result of applicants understanding that this employer is serious about its background screening program. This trend is known as negative migration “a phenomenon in which individuals with criminal records apply for positions at competing employers until they are hired by the organization that fails to perform an adequate background check.
If background checks must be made on existing staff, organizations should have policies concerning background screening current employees and the consequences of negative information being revealed. Security policies and measures should be put in place in case the employee behaves badly after being confronted with negative results of a background check.
It is important to note that not all the discrepancies found will lead to the candidates not getting the job or a current employee being terminated. However, it raises questions such as: What risks are the organizations prepared to take? How important do they think the revealed negative information is? What explanation the candidates can give? It is often the case that an organization will go back to the candidate and say, "this is what has been found, what can you tell us about it?"
In the end, the organization is in the best position to assess what the role requires, what behavior it is prepared to tolerate, and to know what the candidate is like as an individual. Background screening simply assists a company to make a better informed, intelligent decision.
Ali Baker Associate Director Operations Background Screening Practice Kroll
Why do Background Screening?
A. Better safeguarding organizational assets
Employees have access to valuable physical assets and company information. Ensuring the honesty and integrity of the staff protects your organization and can minimize the risk from theft.
B. Hiring the best employees or selecting the ideal applicants
A background check helps confirm that a candidate is qualified for your position through education, professional qualifications and/or employment experience. The check can also help in hiring trustworthy staff by highlighting any discrepancies on CVs or job applications.
C. Avoiding long-term costs
Recruiting, bringing on board and training can be time-consuming and costly. Ensuring your new hire is qualified can reduce staff turnover. It can also alert you to potential red flags such as absenteeism or poor work performance.
D. Maintaining your good reputation and building trust within your organization
The act of conducting background checks demonstrates your organization's commitment to honesty and integrity - important values to you and your staff.
This article first appeared in the December 2008 issue of Human Resources, and is reprinted with permission. Human Resources is the official journal of the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management.