Corporate India now has its own Private Eye. Faced with increasing instances of fudged data from job applicants, companies are hiring professional background verifiers who, in turn, are profiting at a rapid rate.
"The awareness regarding the seriousness of verification has increased among organisations," says Preeta Pradhan, vice president - compliance & marketing of employee background verification provider Authbridge.
The screening industry has grown by 30% to 40% year on year since 2007, she adds. As more Fortune 500 businesses enter the country or outsource work, they expect their Indiabased entities or partners to follow integral processes. There is no credible industry data available on size of the background screening industry, says Tollemache.
However, colonel Vijay Reddy, founder and director, Footprints Collateral Services, believes the size of the screening industry, including big and small service providers, could be in the Rs 600 crore to Rs 750 crore-per-year range. The Bangalore-based company has 149 clients and verifies close to 6,000 profiles in a month.
Even so, it is a thriving industry, with newer entrants putting their individual growth numbers way above the industry average. "We have already seen 100% to 200% growth and there are miles to go," said Hemender Kumar Verma, general manager - EBS, Pro Interactive Services India, a Noida-based firm.
The company entered into employee background verification services in 2010. Fake documents, degrees from fake universities or unrecognised colleges are the major educational discrepancies, says Verma.
"Background screening has become part of the standard outsourcing contract and therefore, Indian companies continue to proactively adopt it as part of their business process," says Wayne Tollemache, executive managing director - international at talent acquisition solutions provider First Advantage
The background screening process involves carrying out checks at different levels, from education, employment, address check and criminal record to reference checks, checks against global regulatory and compliance databases, identity checks, drug testing, and resume validation.
But unlike detective agencies, processes are open. "We get the candidate's authorisation to get his or her background screened," says Verma. Data-based industries make doubly sure they hire trustworthy employees.
"Employee verification has become extremely important, especially in a data-based industry like ours where clients have entrusted us with their data," says Ashu Malhotra, vice president, Tulip Telecom, a network integrator and data connectivity service provider, which has clients like IBM and HP.
Background screening is not just confined to job applicants. There are cases where companies ask service providers to run checks on their employees. "Most organisations have started conducting comprehensive background checks on all levels of candidates," says Tollemache.
Vendors and contract staff are also subjected to screening. Players price their services depending on the depth of verification requested. It could be as low as Rs 300 per candidate to Rs 15,000. The prices even differ within an organisation.
For example, at entrylevel, candidates may only have their last/highest educational qualification, current address, drug and criminal checks conducted; while for candidates at relatively senior levels, checks such as more than one educational qualification, addresses for five to seven years, drug tests, criminal checks, regulatory and compliance database checks and employment checks are conducted, says Tollemache.
Digging out information is no cakewalk, though. Unlike in the West, where the government mandates employee verification before recruitment, no such requirement exists in India. "We have a very difficult job in getting educational institutions to verify credentials expeditiously," says Reddy.
Fake institutions make the maze that much more difficult to navigate. "There are close to 25,000 bogus companies in the business of providing fake employment experience letters," says Footprint's Reddy. "We also have an alarming number of fake institutes providing education certificates. Their processes are getting more sophisticated by the day," he adds.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/jobs/employee-verification-firms-rake-it-in-as-india-inc-tightens-vigil-on-hiring/articleshow/12103562.cms?curpg=1
"The awareness regarding the seriousness of verification has increased among organisations," says Preeta Pradhan, vice president - compliance & marketing of employee background verification provider Authbridge.
The screening industry has grown by 30% to 40% year on year since 2007, she adds. As more Fortune 500 businesses enter the country or outsource work, they expect their Indiabased entities or partners to follow integral processes. There is no credible industry data available on size of the background screening industry, says Tollemache.
However, colonel Vijay Reddy, founder and director, Footprints Collateral Services, believes the size of the screening industry, including big and small service providers, could be in the Rs 600 crore to Rs 750 crore-per-year range. The Bangalore-based company has 149 clients and verifies close to 6,000 profiles in a month.
Even so, it is a thriving industry, with newer entrants putting their individual growth numbers way above the industry average. "We have already seen 100% to 200% growth and there are miles to go," said Hemender Kumar Verma, general manager - EBS, Pro Interactive Services India, a Noida-based firm.
The company entered into employee background verification services in 2010. Fake documents, degrees from fake universities or unrecognised colleges are the major educational discrepancies, says Verma.
"Background screening has become part of the standard outsourcing contract and therefore, Indian companies continue to proactively adopt it as part of their business process," says Wayne Tollemache, executive managing director - international at talent acquisition solutions provider First Advantage
The background screening process involves carrying out checks at different levels, from education, employment, address check and criminal record to reference checks, checks against global regulatory and compliance databases, identity checks, drug testing, and resume validation.
But unlike detective agencies, processes are open. "We get the candidate's authorisation to get his or her background screened," says Verma. Data-based industries make doubly sure they hire trustworthy employees.
"Employee verification has become extremely important, especially in a data-based industry like ours where clients have entrusted us with their data," says Ashu Malhotra, vice president, Tulip Telecom, a network integrator and data connectivity service provider, which has clients like IBM and HP.
Background screening is not just confined to job applicants. There are cases where companies ask service providers to run checks on their employees. "Most organisations have started conducting comprehensive background checks on all levels of candidates," says Tollemache.
Vendors and contract staff are also subjected to screening. Players price their services depending on the depth of verification requested. It could be as low as Rs 300 per candidate to Rs 15,000. The prices even differ within an organisation.
For example, at entrylevel, candidates may only have their last/highest educational qualification, current address, drug and criminal checks conducted; while for candidates at relatively senior levels, checks such as more than one educational qualification, addresses for five to seven years, drug tests, criminal checks, regulatory and compliance database checks and employment checks are conducted, says Tollemache.
Digging out information is no cakewalk, though. Unlike in the West, where the government mandates employee verification before recruitment, no such requirement exists in India. "We have a very difficult job in getting educational institutions to verify credentials expeditiously," says Reddy.
Fake institutions make the maze that much more difficult to navigate. "There are close to 25,000 bogus companies in the business of providing fake employment experience letters," says Footprint's Reddy. "We also have an alarming number of fake institutes providing education certificates. Their processes are getting more sophisticated by the day," he adds.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/jobs/employee-verification-firms-rake-it-in-as-india-inc-tightens-vigil-on-hiring/articleshow/12103562.cms?curpg=1
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