Ensuring the reliability and integrity of the individuals we engage with – whether to hire, offer a loan, or rent out property to, among other things – is significant. Background checks are particularly valuable in this context. Engaging individuals in any capacity without conducting such checks can pose a risk to the success, reputation, and productivity of every organization. This primer explains what background checks are, and offers all that you need to know to implement them in your recruitment process.
What is a background check?
A background check is a comprehensive overview of an individual’s commercial, criminal, and financial records. It verifies an individual’s identity, qualifications, and history, to verify that they meet the requisite standards and criteria for a particular role. It shows that an individual’s credentials are authentic. An expedited process, or a fast background check, is particularly valuable – it can reduce the time to hire, help businesses secure top talent rapidly and efficiently, and even ensure a cost-effective completion of the recruitment process.
The three stages of background checks
- The pre-onboarding stage
The first stage of background checks is conducted even before the offer is rolled out to the candidate. These instant verifications include ID checks, global database checks, and criminal record checks. Only after these checks are cleared, is the candidate allowed to join, and the onboarding process begins.
- The post-onboarding stage
The second is the post-onboarding background check, where the risk levels associated with the individual are assessed so that the company can tackle those risks most effectively if and when they arise. Detailed checks like Employment check, Address check, and Education checks are conducted at this stage.
- Infinity checks
As the name suggests, infinity is used to continuously monitor various aspects of an employee. E.g. it helps identify whether your employee is moonlighting, has any court records or FIRs against them, or any cases lodged against him anywhere in the world.
Why are background checks so important?
A background check is effectively a way to know who you are hiring. In employment, employers rely on employment background checks to verify the credentials, achievements, job history, and educational background of a potential employee. This can help them verify the qualifications and trustworthiness of a candidate, and mitigate risks that come with hiring an individual who is possibly unqualified or underqualified, or worse still, dishonest.
Types of Background Checks in India
Most organizations may need very specific categories of checks – whereas few may look at an end-to-end check. The following are some of the more common types of background checks in India:
- Legal history Checks: A legal history check is primarily aimed at exposing any criminal history associated with an individual, and bringing to light any former run-ins with the law, convictions, pending and ongoing court proceedings, and sentences served. It is useful to know if an individual has any pending cases against them, any first information reports or chargesheets lodged against them, and any convictions that they are still bearing penal consequences for, under the law. In addition to this, background checks for compliance with other relevant legislations are also important – for instance, regulatory compliance for certain professional qualifications.
- Employment Background Checks: An employment background check helps identify the job history and professional credentials of an individual. This is particularly important where a role involves high-quality skills, professional and trade knowledge, and experience – as an employee without the requisite field knowledge can become a liability for an organization. An employment background check should be the base minimum for any organization seeking to recruit more people into their workforce.
- Educational Background Checks: Educational background checks offer insights into the academic history of an individual – particularly their years and institution of study, subjects covered, performance, and completion of the actual degree. In the day and age where there are fake universities and falsified educational records, educational background checks are extremely important.
- Credit Background Checks: Credit checks are useful in bringing up indicators of an individual’s credit history and possible default in any past loans, outstanding liabilities that remain undischarged, and unscrupulous behaviors that may raise red flags for future borrowing. These checks are particularly relevant for banking and financial sector companies, landlords, and other endeavors that prioritize an individual’s financial stability and soundness.
How can you streamline background checks in your company?
Step 1: Evaluate the shortcomings of your current BGV:
A good place to start, if your company already has a background check process in place, is to understand any shortcomings and limitations in the process that need attention. If you don’t have any process in place at all, you’re starting on a blank slate, so you can skip ahead to step two.
Step 2: Choosing a Background check partner:
Identify a trusted partner to help you implement a background check. You could also develop internal capacity – but this is a decision best left to your organization to take. If you choose an external partner, look for alignment in checks offered, costs, timelines, and other relevant information that can support your decision.
Step 3: Choose the background checks relevant to you:
Look at all the checks you might need to implement. This could be a preliminary list to start with and can grow as you identify more needs over time. Pay attention to the details you most need to know before you bring on a new employee.
Step 4: Streamline the document collection process:
The quality and accuracy of your background check process completely depend on the inputs you give to your Background check partner There are many ways you can do this seamlessly. E.g.: Many HRs prefer integrating their HRMS with their Background check partners for a smooth flow of data, while others prefer bulk uploading data on the background check portal directly.
Step 5: Review the final candidate reports:
Once you get your results, check the final candidate report to identify the best way forward. You must inform the candidate of your decision to bring them on or otherwise.
Enhancing your employee onboarding experience:
Some BGV companies offer point solutions, while others offer a comprehensive suite of services designed to enhance the overall employee experience. A prime example is IDfy360, a one-stop platform that can be used to build custom journeys for various onboarding use cases. It also acts as a hub to integrate all your existing HRMS, ATS, and other HR and onboarding tools for a seamless flow of data.
Moreover, it also gives you the option of customizing the look and feel of the onboarding journey to suit your brand guidelines and custom fields. Such solutions make BGV an integral and pleasant part of the onboarding process both for HRs and employees alike, rather than a separate, isolated task.
Best Practices in Conducting Background Checks:
Here are a couple of best practices for getting your background check game in order.
Choose your checks as per your requirements: Specific background checks can be useful for particular needs – i.e., employment background checks for hiring purposes. However, it is a good idea to look at the full spectrum of the individual’s background.
Prefer digital-first background check companies: Technology can strengthen your background check process – at low costs, speed, and accuracy will no longer be compromised, and room for human error can be reduced significantly.
Automate as many processes as you can: Automate processes where possible, rely on artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge tools to support background checks, and double-check aspects verified by human effort to ensure cogency and clarity.
Do not compromise on quality over TAT: Avoid compromising on quality in the name of speed. Fast background checks can definitely work, but only if you have a watertight mechanism and the right skills in your staff to conduct it at that speed.
Pay attention to the details: Pay attention to the small and big details. For example, in looking for a legal background check, looking only for convictions and pending litigation cases concerning large crimes and letting petty crimes escape your attention can prove costly.
To conclude, Implementing a background verification in your organization can go a long way in securing your operations, sustainability, and workforce integrity. As more and more avenues for fraud continue to unfold, it is important to be ahead of the curve to stymie any potential for fraud. Not doing so can prove to be rather costly – both in terms of money and reputation. A good way to go is to start with an external partner who can provide you with the right tests to suit your background check needs.