Watch out! You could be fired before you're hired
The New Indian Express - August 31, 2004

Companies Are Now Using Detective Agencies and Screening Services To Check On Their Employees Before They are Hired

PRIYA MENON -- In Chennai, Quest Screening Services did a routine background check on an applicant to a software Company. Only to discover that the person in question had committed fraud close to Rs one crore in a bank for which he had been working.

"He had moved from banking to the IT sector and was even wanted by the local police station" says Yogesh Bhura, Managing Director (Group Research Centre) of Quest Screening Services.

Though this is an extreme case, many companies today are finding themselves extremely vulnerable to malpractice by applicants. With the result that pre-employment checks are becoming an essential part of the standard hiring procedure.

Earlier, reference checks involved just a phone call. But now they are more detailed and detective agencies as well as professional screening services are roped in, especially when hiring in large numbers.

"Pre-employment checks definitely affirm good hires," says R Shekar, Head, Corporate Strategy and Business Excellence, Polaris Software Lab Limited. In fact, it is a standard practice at Polaris.

" We do get the occasional smart aleck who claims to have completed their education when they haven't or given references of people who don't even know them," says Shekar, who also handles human resources. "In a couple of cases we have confronted the head hunters (recruitment agencies) through whom the candidates have come.." According to Bhura, on an average, Quest finds a 15 to 20 percent discrepancy in the claims made by applicants and their own findings. "Fraudulence varies from individual to individual but broadly it is fake educational qualifications or employment," Says Bhura. "It's an honesty and integrity issue with most companies as sensitive projects and client confidentially are of importance."

Quest, which was established in 2000, has been completely focused on screening. Financial Services, IT/ITES and BPO sectors form its major clientele.

Due to the growing client base in Chennai, Quest opened its branch in Chennai, Quest opened its branch in Chennai recently. "Over the last two years more and more people are recognizing the benefits of the screening process," says Bhura. "It helps eliminate bad hire and fraudulence:"

But Bhura is clear about their role. "We do not take any action based on our findings," he says. "We stick to fact finding and reporting what we find to the client. What action they want to take depends on them."

Also, employees have to be informed of the screening process. "A pre-requisite is the employee's authorization and consent to do a background check on him/her," says Bhura. "Employees are aware of it and there is a legal and ethical way of doing it." According to him, screening should be adopted by all companies as part of their hiring procedure.