The function of Human Resource Management is the integral
part of most employers’ efforts that enable them to identify, hire and retain
the people for their organization to execute its strategy and achieve its
goals. However, HR compliance remains as critical as any other functions
of HR within any organization.
There are a range of rules
and regulations governing the employee-employer relationship that HR
professionals must understand and navigate in order to ensure their
organizations avoid any potential harm to the organization’s reputation. Hence,
compliance of these rules and regulations stand as an essential component for any organization to be successful in today’s business environment.
Accomplishing compliance can be elusive goal
for most of the organizations and should be treated as a process of defining employee’s
behavioral aspect while organizations focus on hiring best candidates to
achieve growth, turnover and competitive advantage. There is however,
a very limited emphasis on knowing the prospective employee’s background and
determining the true identity of the person.
Many
a times, such the background screening helps the organization to weed out
inefficient workforce and retain quality human resource. A non-existence or
non-compliance of background verification or screening program may not only
allow a misfit hiring but may also cause more serious issues resulting in financial and reputation loss. Additionally, organization incurs the overall
cost to company. Consider a serious offence being done by such an employee, there
is significant reputation damage as well as loss of morale of other employees. Compliance
to verification process can substantially mitigate these risks and resultant
losses.
Research by various background verification companies
indicate that at an average 35-40% candidates submit falsified information on
their resumes ranging from job titles, responsibilities at given position,
educational background, compensation etc. This ends up for an honest candidate
to lose out on the opportunity while a dishonest incumbent may be selected as
reliance is primarily placed on the resume.
There may also be a backdrop of the candidate having a
criminal or an offensive record that may harm organization’s reputation;
therefore, it is critical for an organization to have proper screening process
in place.
The pre-screening process also helps in complying with
specific regulations and laws in some countries.
In today’s hustle bustle, the management of organizations
is primarily focused towards finding the resource fitting their job description
and is involved in conducting technical interviews while Human Resource
Departments are checking if the candidate will culturally fit their requirement
and discussing their remuneration etc. Background verification, in general,
are conducted before offering the position. The complete screening is concluded
after the appointment letter is issued of after the successful candidate has
joined the organization. The correct hiring procedure however suggests for the
verification process to be carried right before offering the position. It is
therefore essential for organizations to establish the system of background
screening as integral part of their recruitment procedure.
Following aspects must be considered while conducting
background verification:
a)
Candidate’s proof of identify
b)
Current and mailing addresses
c)
Copies of academic records
d)
Copies of service letters from previous employers
e)
Work visa, permit, tax certifications, where applicable
f)
Criminal background certification, where applicable
(endorsed through union council)
g)
Bank/ credit rating (to identify whether candidate is
regular or defaulter with payments)
It is also
essential for organizations to check the integrity of candidate from the last
two employers or if required, full employment history should be verified. It is the responsibility of HR department to
ensure proper authorization from candidate for conducting verification as it
requires accessing candidate’s personal information.
Based on the
information received, a decision making mechanism should be established for any
discrepancies or inaccuracies between the information provided by the candidate
against the information received as part of screening process ranging from
falsified identity to the submission of forged academic records.
As a principle, the
candidate should be informed of the discrepancy. In case of criminal or
offensive record, management must determine if law enforcement authorities are
required to be involved.
In
this modern era, there are number of highly capable employee background
screening software applications available in market. Organizations may choose
the one that will suite their organization structure and employee strength.
These applications come with a full range of tools and features enabling to
collect, store and organize all employee records with greater speed and
efficiency. These applications also help in keeping a track of vendor
identifications and all their compliance records. They also facilitate in sending
out timely reminders whenever a certificate nears expiry and has to be renewed.
Selecting
the right candidate with affirmative background for the job is the first step
towards developing an efficient organization. Great stress should therefore be
laid on ensuring that the recruitment procedure is highly competitive and all
successful applicants undergo pre-screening process.
It is the
organization’s responsibility to hire candidates with high ethics, integrity
and personal values. A thorough compliance of screening policy safeguards the
organization from incorrect, fraudulent and criminal hiring, thereby mitigating
the operational and reputation risks.
