Dishonest staffing firms hamper screening fake CVs
Indian Express, April 29,2006

The menace of fake CVs was first identified when professional screening firms like Quest Research First Advantage, launched their pre-employment screening services in India in 2001-2002.

MNC tech companies were the early adapters to this outsourced process in line with their stringent screening policies that prevail in their home countries. The bigger Indian tech companies were slow to respond(probably due to cost issues) but eventually they did, bowing to the mounting pressure from their North American clients.

Given, however, the limited abilities of screening companies, technical skills cannot be evaluated. All that they do is to do a verification of dates of employment and positions held as well as the authenticity of educational degrees.

At times, they also work with the local police to establish if the potential candidate has a criminal history or not. The police are not known to be coopertaive though and often charge exorbitant fees.

The technical ability of the potential candidate is left to be judged by the recruiting company. This is where dishonest staffing firms come into play. Sometimes, they doctor CVs to meet the demands of the hiring clients and on some occasions, they connive with employees within the hiring firm to do the same.

The larger tech companies are more vulnerable to the menace of fake CVs owing to their ramping up pressures. In the context of their larger demand for candidates, they end up working with several staffing firms which tends to dilute quality. The smaller ones simply cannot afford to screen.

The other aspect of this alarming phenomenon is the questionable integrity levels of some hiring managers within the client companies.

It is an open secret that many HR managers (especially in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Gurgaon) own ''benami'' firms through which CVs are routed.

Still some others use ''favoured'' staffing firms where the fees are shared between the firm and the hiring manager(s). Most staffing firms are not members of ERA and therefore they cannot be regulated by this body. Besides, the ERA does not have the teeth to discipline its own members. NASSCOM along with NSDL is reportedly building a database of tech workers but there is no compulsion on the part of the individual to enrol.

It is quite possible that the ''rotten eggs'' will Consciously choose to stay outside this database. Convergys fired its entire HR team last year but it is believed that all the disengaged individuals found new jobs in next to no time.

Tech companies need to look within if they are really serious about expunging this demon from their system.