Taking employee screening a step further
The need to protect resources is such that decision makers are compelled to not only pre-screen prospective employees, but continue to do so once a person is employed. Post-employment screening is emerging as a critical component of credentials verification in business say experts.
Few businesses today would readily employ a person without conducting a series of checks on the details they are presented with. But ongoing threats to business and increasing levels of fraud mean that managers have to be even more vigilant about the credentials of employees.
Ina van der Merwe, CEO, Managed Integrity Evaluation (Pty) Ltd. (MIE), says there are a range of credentials verification services available in the market. These include ID verifications, qualifications verification and personal profile analysis, amongst others. "The advent of social networks, mobile computing and wider access to information systems, coupled with increasing rates of cyber crime, has compelled organisations to be stricter with resources," says van der Merwe.
According to MIE one of the primary reasons for post-employment screening is that things change. Details that have been verified prior to someone's employment may not necessarily remain the same.
As van der Merwe explains in many instances an individual's basic information, such as a credit report, driver's license status or any membership status, can change. These changes could have a direct influence on the employee's position in the company.
Before post-employment screening can be initiated, an employee has to sign a consent form after which the employer can then apply checks on details that are relevant to the employee's portfolio of responsibility. "For example employees who work with finances or who are in a position of trust would have to undergo credit checks, or those who have a claim to a promotion due to further studies would have their qualifications verified," says van der Merwe.
MIE emphasises that the degree of checks and timing is dependent on requirements or reasons. It doesn't make sense for a company to conduct credit checks on a staff member who doesn't have access to critical company intellectual property or company funds. Management at the company say the screening process is a surprisingly easy one, the results of which are beneficial to all concerned.
If checks reveal that an employee has a string of bad debts and he or she is working directly within financials, as a result of this screening the employer is made aware of potential security threats and the company could possibly move the employee into an alternative position. While the practicalities and business sense behind post-employment screening are evident and awareness is growing, this form of screening is not yet prevalent within the local market. "There are companies that are presently undergoing projects to screen all employees and the hope is that more decision makers will realise this service is available through credible, experienced and reliable service providers," adds van der Merwe.
Hiring someone without verifying their credentials opens the employer up to many risks.
There are a number of different verifications that credible service providers are able to conduct, including:
. Qualifications - not checking these means the employer could be hiring someone without the abilities to perform the job.
. Employment references - it is important to understand why some left a previous position- what they are like as a worker- etc. And, to verify if the employment claims are true. If the person has not held the positions that they claim to have held, then why are they lying? And, obviously they do not have the skills that they claim to have.
. Criminal records- Every employer looks at the complete picture when it comes to criminal records. What is important to find out here is if the prospective employee has a history of repeated offences. Things of interest would be violent crimes, and fraud/theft-related crimes.
. Credit records - Someone with a long list of debt may be a risk in terms of accepting bribes, or stealing money from the company
. Fraud Listing - not all employers press charges when an employee is fired for theft/fraud. Many of them do, however, list these employees on the SAFPS database. If someone commits fraud once, chances are that they will do it again.
It must be remembered that any screening process or service acquired must be conducted and regulated in accordance with the rights of both the employer and employee.
This article was originally posted on Africa Human Resources
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