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Background verification has become a hot subject in India and rightly so. In the wake of a series of cases of fake credentials found in the corporate world, organizations have become increasingly wary of candidates with doubtful credentials.
Human resource executives are always under pressure to recruit the right candidates and this leads to overlooking the need for verification. Says Mr. P K Sharma, head of the resource management group of Tech Mahindra, India's fifth-largest IT services company in an Economic Times news piece, ‘Delhi may have had one Tomar — a reference to the former Delhi law minister Jitender Singh Tomar who was recently arrested in a fake degree case — but India Inc. has millions of Tomars.’
The importance of background verification cannot be overstated. Especially for freelancers, and independent consultants, it is even more important since they work with multiple clients. The clients, as well as the freelancers, would benefit from such a process since they can work in an atmosphere of trust and credibility.
ICICI Bank Ltd, one of India’s largest banks, found in one year of recruiting, that out of 17,000 new recruits, 400-500 had misrepresented facts in their résumés. India ranks 4th in Asia-Pacific when it comes to resume fudging, according to a recent report by HireRight, a US-based provider of background checks.
Importance of background check for companies
‘Never judge a book by its cover,’ goes the old adage and it rightfully applies to companies looking for professionals to support their business.
With appropriate background verification, companies can safeguard against lapses in future business continuity since they are working with candidates with a verified background. Background checks are critical because there are scores of fraudulent players in India that are in the business of providing fake documents. These fake documents range from educational certificates to identity proofs. Cases of unverified employees could affect not just your business but also the brand equity.
Put it simply, if you are working with verified professionals, your business will not have to face a consequence of a sudden termination of the discovery of an employee with fake information on the resume. Verification is an investment worth making.
Importance of background checks for Individuals
If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear. It is an environment of increasing corporate misinformation, today. Companies have fired many employees because they fudged their records and this could mean that any misinformation on the resume viz. education, experience, and the likes, may land you in a problem.
It will help you as a professional to get yourself verified so that companies are confident in approaching and working with you. You will stand to get more work and better credibility in the market.
Flexing It, a curated marketplace for skills has recently launched a background verification tool for companies and consultants. Companies can request a verification for a consultant or a freelancer they are considering working with and even the professionals can get themselves verified. Once the verification is complete, a badge will appear on the profile of the consultant - indicating verification of information. For example, Indicates at least one reference and one employment verified.
Naukri and Shine, leading recruiting sites in the market also have similar products for companies and candidates.
We will be happy to hear what you think of what you have read. Please feel free to share your experiences, agreements or disagreements in the comments section.
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Amar is a freelance writer, author and stand-up comedian based in Delhi.
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