Feature

Screen before you hire abroad

Sudipta Dev writes why background screening of overseas candidates is a necessary precaution for every company.

To mitigate the risks of hiring a wrong individual, most organisations today understand the necessity of background screening. These investigations are a tough job within the country itself, and more difficult in case of overseas hires. Fudged CVs are common everywhere—in India and abroad. This necessitates screening, which includes checks on educational qualifications, organisations worked for and job experience, etc. Hiring managers and headhunters often depend on the couple of references provided by candidates, which are in fact just a formality and do not reveal the truth about the candidate.

"The best way of managing background checks is to ensure that these are done by organisations which specialise in conducting it" - Ashish Dehade Managing Director (West Asia) First Advantage

“Statistics overwhelmingly demonstrate that any organisation anywhere in the world could be at risk. This is more relevant particularly in today’s world when movement across geographies has become relatively easy,” says Ashish Dehade, Managing Director (West Asia), First Advantage. The company is Asia Pacific’s leading background screening company. Dehade informs that a research conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in the US shows that close to half of all resumes and job applications contain misrepresentation of facts.

A few key statistics are:

• The US Department of Commerce estimates that employee theft causes 33 percent of all business failures.
• According to the US Bureau of Justice statistics, workplace violence accounts for 18 percent of all violent crimes.
• 66 percent of negligent hiring trial cases in the US result in jury awards averaging $600,000 in damages.

The risks of hiring without proper background verification are too high for an organisation, but often tend to be ignored.

A difficult process

Background screening across geographies is a tough task for most hiring managers. The checks, which range from verifying educational qualifications from universities to different employers and salaries is an arduous task. Rajaram Agrawal, Managing Director, TalentAhead India, points out that it is the time factor which is the main reason behind limited background checks, “Most organisations are in great hurry to fill-up their immediate positions to prevent any loss in business and in the process cut short the background verification of candidates. This lapse can in fact result in a greater loss to the organisation if a wrong person is hired.”

Dehade concedes that conducting background checks across geographies bring with it obvious challenges. For instance, having access to the relevant and authentic sources of information in the respective geographies and possessing complete understanding of the local legal and compliance requirements, along with the process that is followed to conduct specific type of checks, etc.

“In some cases even language can become a barrier in getting accurate information. Information is not necessarily available in all geographies for certain types of checks while some local laws restrict any entity from getting access to specific type of information,” says Dehade.

"Hiring managers must be trained to ask the right kinds of questions to evoke more open responses from perspective employees" - Nina E Woodard Director-Business Development, India SHRM India

Focussing on the difference between India and the US as far as background screening of candidates is concerned, Nina E Woodard, Director-Business Development, India, SHRM India, states, “Here it is very difficult to get information since there are few ways of tracking people and no real credit bureau or central police records. Still university reference and places of residence can be verified and references should be given of people from former work environments so that they can be also checked and verified.” She adds that it is a little difficult in the West too since there are laws about what can and cannot be said. But one way to be able to verify past employment beyond dates of employment and position is to ask for a performance evaluation from the former employer. That can give a lot of information. Also it is easy to check credit and police records in the US because of the social security numbering system there.

Necessary precautions

It is necessary for hiring managers to be cautious while investigating the background of candidates. They must not be carried away by the details on the CVs, which might not give the right portrayal of the candidate. Due to shortage of time, most hiring managers call up the referrals provided by the candidates themselves. This serves no real purpose and should be completely avoided.

“Multi-layered checking is a must. To verify a candidate’s experience the project managers of previous organisations must be tracked for feedback. Some organisations have started this initiative but it is still to pick up,” says Agrawal.

It is also important to keep recruiting agencies out of the background screening process—to avoid any conflict of interests. “The best way of managing background checks anywhere globally is to ensure that these are done by organisations which specialise in conducting it. Moreover, it is better to go for background check service providers who have a global coverage—as they would be able to better understand and follow local geography specific requirements and would know the specific sources of information along with the related challenges,” states Dehade. He asserts that a reputed and specialised background screening organisation would not compromise its reputation by not following the compliance requirements.

Tapan Bhat, VP, HR at Wipro Infotech believes that it is important to do thorough reference checking with the earlier firms (employers) and preferably the end customers whom the candidate managed, to ensure the details and information given is accurate.

The key skill for hiring managers is perceptiveness. They need the ability to judge a candidate well irrespective of the fact that he/she might belong to a completely different culture.

“I think that hiring managers must be trained to ask the right kinds of questions to evoke more open responses from perspective employees and they must insure that they hire someone who can really do the job for them with the skills and abilities they need to deliver results and don’t just hire someone they like or relate to because they have something in common,” asserts Woodard.

Remote screening vs local providers

The truth remains that while remote screening is possible to an extent, some kind of tie-up with a local agency (or a global agency with a local presence) is more effective.

Woodard states that it is usually best to at least do a video conference interview if it is difficult to arrange for a hiring manager to meet the finalists face-to-face.

“Using a firm to get to the final few is always a good idea, as long as you have prepped them well and they know exactly what you are looking for in your candidates,” adds Woodard.

As an Indian MNC which is continuously hiring overseas, Wipro as a policy ensures that its company representative has a face-to-face interaction with the candidate before closing on the offer.

“We leverage on technology by using webcam/videoconferencing tools to ensure that remote screening is done,” says Bhat.

Employee turnover can be prevented if the right decision is made by the hiring manager at the recruitment stage itself. Warns Woodard, “If the hiring manager does not present the job opportunity well or if they do not ask the right questions to be able to determine the actual skills and abilities of the individual, the relationship is doomed for failure.” Right hiring is the key to retention.