Imagine spending hours screening the resume, conducting the interviews and picking the perfect candidate and the most relieving part? They accept the offer too. But what if the candidate is not what they appear to be?
Choosing the right candidate is not just a nicety but a necessity in the world today. The consequences of making a poor hiring decision can lead you to a position which can be irreversible.
What’s the solution? Conduct background and reference checks
This blog unveils the best practices for background and reference screenings
Conduct of background and reference checks | An Introduction
Imagine you select a candidate based on their qualifications and certificates through some esteemed university and now, they are hired. But did you ever think if they just made up those certificates and marksheet?
All this wouldn’t have happened if you had cross-checked the educational background during the recruitment process.
Accuracy and legality in background and reference checks can’t be ignored.
Not being careful with background and reference checks can lead to lack of productivity, legal repercussions and risk to your employer brand. Let’s understand in detail:
Methods for conducting background and reference investigations
Different methods of background checks that you should do mandatorily are:
- Employment and educational history verification: Many candidates can build castles in the air about their employment and educational history.
They might brag about it more than what they did to secure a good position in a better company.
To avoid expecting too much from them, make sure that you cross check if they worked in the company, their employment tenure, certificate authenticity, university marksheet accuracy and performance analysis during the hiring process.
- Professional licensing: In case you are hiring a professional such as a Chartered Accountant or a legal consultant, be confident about their license verification.
If they have any case associated with their license where they could’ve been gotten in some serious problems, ensure that you mention them about it during the interview.
You could ask them politely about the incident, if it happened, and assure them that this won’t affect your chances with us.
- Criminal record: This holds one of the most important positions in priority list of background checks.
Thoroughly check if the candidate has some criminal record during their past employment or educational tenure such as if they were involved in any kind of scams, harassment or abuse cases.
Check it with the database available in criminal court, civil court, family courts and other court circuits. Maintain strict accuracy and legality in reference checks throughout the process.
- Bankruptcy and credit checks: Check a minimum 7-year record for credits the candidates were involved in and 10-year record for bankruptcy.
A full picture of their monetary responses can help you identify if they have any odd purpose for joining the organization.
HROne, a one stop recruitment software entitles its users with over 18+ methods for conducting background and reference investigations. It has an automated process where a request will be sent to integrated partners for initiating the background verification process.
Bonus boxOnGrid is a leading background verification platform that is specifically designed for Indian businesses. It empowers HR leaders to streamline and ensure the accuracy of the background checks of the hires. It provides over 50 types of verification checks with compliance to the legal perspectives. These types can be customized based on the industry’s needs and job requirement. It is efficient, time-saving and user-friendly and integrable with HROne.
Guidelines for conducting background and reference checks
We’ll divide the section for background and reference checks.
Section-1
What to do for background checks.
- Develop a clear policy: Consider different job requirements and frame a layout for different types of checks needed along with legal considerations with respect to local and international regulations.
- Maintain transparency with candidates: Throughout the verification process inform the candidates about the checks that will be conducted for the verification.
- Review the reports carefully: Once the reports are generated either through a platform or by your own investigation, review them properly and check for any discrepancies.
Section-2
What to do for reference checks.
- Generate a consent form: Before initiating the reference check, make the candidates sign a consent form where they agree for you to contact and verify from their past employers and educational institutions.
- Leverage technology: Use reference checks platforms to gain expertise, wider database and streamlined processes.
- Verify accuracy and sources: Cross check the references’ information and details of the sources so that you get the relevance of the accuracy of the candidate.
In June 2015, OPM announced it was the target of a data breach targeting personnel records. Approximately 22.1 million records were affected, including records related to government employees, other people who had undergone background checks, and their friends and family.
While reference and background verification you should maintain a proper system for maintaining the confidentiality of the sensitive information shared by the parties involved in the process, be it the candidate or the references since data security is a major concern for everyone these days.
Strike a balance between confidentiality and transparency to gain maximum possible insights and information regarding the candidate during the procedure.
So, remember to do background verification and reference checks to be on the safer side always. And to expedite the process, make sure you deploy tech wherever possible.