BACKGROUND CHECK ON JOBSEEKERS INTENSIFY

Cos expand background check on jobseekers New Delhi, May 5 (PTI) Amid growing risks of staff-driven security threats and corporate frauds, companies have begun conducting regulatory, compliance and criminal record checks of people seeking jobs with them and are also scanning the social media platforms for due diligence, say experts. Apart from the practiced norm of verifying educational and professional credentials of the job aspirants, companies across all major sectors are now also trying to make sure that their potential employees do not have been party to any regulatory non-compliance, corporate frauds or other unlawful activities. The hiring process now include criminal record verification, court record checks, regulatory authorities' database check, credit and integrity risk database check, national identity check and substance abuse testing, and regulatory compliance database checks. These checks are being conducted on national as well as global levels, depending on the profile of the companies and the potential employees, say human resource experts.
These practices help a company hire the most qualified and least risky employees and save them from any unwarranted costs in the future. According HR consultancy firm Unison International's Managing Director Udit Mittal, the concerns over identity theft, terrorism, and corporate espionage are becoming widespread and therefore a employment background screening becomes an effective measure that help organisations mitigate risks in their workplace. As per the experts, these parameters are been adopted across various sectors in the country such as FMCG, BPO/KPO, banking and financial services, hospitality, healthcare, government entities, non-profit organisations.As per executive search firm Lighthouse Partners, such checks are especially stringent in the IT and IT enabled industries.