‘80% companies see discrepancies in jobseekers’ record’

Indian employers are increasingly screening potential employees in a bid to get the best talent after they found various discrepancies between candidates’ employment record and their applications, says a report by HireRight, a U.S.-based background screening agency.

The report, HireRight India Employment Screening Benchmark Report 2018, says 80% of the companies found discrepancies in their employees’ history, marginally higher than the 77% in 2017.

The common discrepancies found in a candidate’s history include in information on employment history, education qualifications, criminal convictions and identity fraud.

“India is not a mature market. It is a fragmented market and there are challenges when it comes to investigating a candidate’s history,” said Steve Girdler, managing director, EMEA and APAC of HireRight.

He added that India also lacks data history of its people which makes it further difficult for efficient due diligence to happen. “We do background checks by verifying the information provided by the candidate, in person wherever it is possible.”

About 80% of jobseekers have often fudged their employment data in order to secure a job while 56% of candidates provide incorrect information about their educational qualifications.

However, what is worrying is that employers often become lackadaisical when it comes to recruitment for senior roles. Often companies have different screening processes for their top management hires and executive level recruitment. The report suggested that nearly 50% of companies recruit candidates for senior roles based on “gut-feeling” and have fewer tests and interviews for CEO than entry-level recruitment.

“Given this landscape, it would be no surprise if it was easier for fraudulent CVs to slip through the upper echelons of a business than the bottom of the rung. Ultimately, senior executives will determine the direction of the organisation, and will be given a greater access to data and insights, which should not be considered lightly,” the report noted.

Background verification of expat hiring too is another weak spot for Indian companies. Only 29% of Indian firms carry out their due diligence when they hire a foreign candidate for a position in their companies. The reason is simple—Indian companies find it difficult to understand the laws of the country they are hiring the candidate from, while carrying out any sort of verification processes, and rely on their legal teams to figure out the regulations instead of external counsels that often have expertise in the area. This also leads to uncertainties which explain the lower rate of background screening for expats.

Nevertheless, companies in India need to streamline their background verification processes. Girdler suggested that companies should have standardized screening frameworks for all their candidates irrespective of the role and profile they are being hired for.

“Use your partner network to help fuel international ambitions and cover talent requirement abroad. Besides, a company should not rush screening processes in order to reduce hire-time. This could lead to risk missing important details,” he added.