INTRODUCTION:

It is the ultimate nightmare for every human resources, security, or risk management
professional; your phone rings late Friday afternoon as you wind up loose ends from yet
another challenging week and are looking forward to a quiet weekend. A panic stricken
voice informs you that Mr. X in accounting has assaulted another co-worker and
threatened to harm a supervisor. It turns out Mr. X was not only stealing money, but did
not really have the experience claimed.

As the mess is being sorted out, everyone will be asking you the same question over and
over. From the company CEO, CFO, and corporate attorney to managers, supervisors,
and co-workers, there is one thing everyone wants to know; how did that person get hired
in the first place?

If the matter turns into litigation, the legal fees for just one incident of workplace
misconduct can easily soar into the six figures. Injured co-workers, members of the
public who were damaged, or even the bad employee who may claim wrongful
termination can sue your firm. Once litigation starts, you will also find that in addition to
your normal duties you now have a second and full time job dealing with the discovery
process in litigation and the organizational fallout.

The statistics on the consequence of even one bad hire are chilling. The financial cost to
business from theft, violence, and false credentials can be enormous. There are other
costs that are hard to measure, such as the harm to employee morale or the firm’s
reputation. Industry statistics suggest the cost of even one bad hiring can exceed
Rs.100000 taking into account the time spent on recruitment, hiring, and training and the
amount of time the job is left undone or done badly by an unqualified applicant.

Given the enormous price tag of the bad hiring decision, it is no surprise that employers
of all size are turning into various tools to boost the effectiveness of hiring process. The
tools run from honesty and skills testing to behaviors-based and group interview
techniques.

Ultimately none of these has proved effective in weeding out bad candidates, unless used
in conjunction with a program of pre-employment background screening to obtain hard
facts about a candidate.

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Employment Screening Services & Employee Background Checks:

Employment screening services and employee background checks are vital to

maintaining workforce integrity and safety. Background check or background
investigation is the process of looking up and compiling criminal records, commercial
records and financial records (in certain instances such as employment screening) of an
individual.

Background checks are often requested by employers on job candidates, especially on

candidates seeking a position that requires high security or a position of trust, such as in a
school, hospital, financial institution, airport, and government. These checks are
traditionally administered by a government agency for a nominal fee, but can also be
administered by private companies. Results of a background check typically include past
employment verification, credit score, and criminal history.

These checks are often used by employers as a means of objectively evaluating a job
candidate's qualifications, character, fitness, and to identify potential hiring risks for
safety and security reasons. Background check is also used to thoroughly investigate
potential government employees in order to be given a security clearance. However,
these checks may sometimes be used for illegal purposes, such as unlawful
discrimination (or employment discrimination), identity theft, and violation of privacy.
The onus of selecting the right candidate lies primarily on the HR Executive who uses his
experience and expertise to evaluate the candidate. A direct interaction with the candidate
speaks volumes of his personality. However, a more in depth evaluation of the
prospective employee is a must.

Types of checks

• Employment References
• Education Verification - School grades, degree and any professional
qualifications obtained
• Character Reference Check
• Gaps in employment history
• Identity and Address Verification
• Whether an applicant holds a directorship
• Credit History - bankruptcies
• Criminal History Report

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What is Pre Employment Screening?

As the name suggests, it is the process of screening / verifying a person's background

information prior to employing him in your organization. It has become imperative to
confirm and re confirm a persons’ background, his character and his proposed
experience. Pre Employment Screening (verification) aids in eliminating such risks as
work place violence, internal thefts etc. Hiring an undeserving candidate can
unnecessarily increase your training and recruitment costs, harm your organizations’
harmony and put confidential information into jeopardy.
Failure to conduct a background check has multiple negative repercussions which can
well be avoided through a well balanced pre employment screening program.

IMPORTANCE OF BACKGROUND SCREENING:

The use of background report is becoming a common phenomenon in today's job market.
The corporate world is requiring all its employees or job applicants to undertake checks
to ensure all the information they provide is truthful. The need for caution is even more
now than earlier mainly because of safety and security measures. No matter the status or
position of your employment, a check into one's life has to be done. Fear has risen among
employees who worry that employers can go digging up information that does not relate
to a job or vacancy. In their defense the employers indicate that they are only being
cautious.

To understand this concept, first we need to know why these checks are necessary to
employers. The market today calls for a thorough background report of employees hence
companies or organization follow suit. To prevent lawsuits that may otherwise arise due
to inappropriate hiring of staff, state background checks help to counter this. Child
smuggling rings have resulted in tougher measures to prevent this syndicate hence all
employees that care for children are screened. The global war on terrorism has made
security concerns a priority of any nation thus not just anyone can be hired without first
knowing his/her identity. Due to the significance of their jobs; executives, directors or
officers require tougher screening than the rest. They have access to large resources and a
considerable amount of power thus the need for caution. Applicants today may tend to
falsify their resume so as to make it appear fit for a certain job description; they try to
prey on the knowledge that employers don't have the time to run checks on them. In the
US, state background checks are a necessity for a certain category of jobs. They include
those working in retirement homes and adoption agencies. The advent of modern
technology has made it cheaper and faster to vet an employee or applicant.
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A background check often includes the social security number, credit records, bankruptcy
status, medical records, driving records, educational records, criminal records, vehicle
registration, court records, property ownership, and personal references, past employers,
drug test records, incarcerations records, military records, character references and state
licensing records. Information that is not usually included is criminal history, any arrests
that may have taken place in the life of an individual, bankruptcy status though it is
usually public knowledge and any compensation that an employee may have been
awarded in the past. Permission is required by employers to access certain records that
include medical, educational and military service. Proper procedure has to be followed
by employers in conducting this kind of process. It requires the permission of the
applicant or employee as stated in the law. In most cases, falsifying a resume is a
criminal offensive and the employer can take stern measures against you.

BENEFITS OF SCREENING:

• Uncovers falsified or puffed credentials.

• Eliminates uncertainties in the hiring process.
• Saves money and time spent in recruiting, hiring, and training.
• Can help protect against negligent hiring lawsuits.
• Reduces turnover.
• Reduces workplace violence.
• Failure to perform pre-employment screening could destroy everything a business
owner or manager has worked hard to build.
• Elimination of risks of theft and fraud

OUTSOURCE YOUR EMPLOYEE SCREENING NEEDS:

Many organizations outsource the entire screening procedures to an agency that
specializes in doing so. This helps them to –
• Save time, energy and resources in learning the screening process and instead
concentrate on running their own business, something that they do best.
• Absorb the new candidate and grow with him. Since the specialists have already
completed a thorough background check, there is nothing left to worry about.
• Help the HR department to concentrate on their core competencies.
• Furnish the reports put together by the screening team as a legal document at a later
stage

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TOPIC: EVALUATION OF BACKGROUND VERIFICATION PROCESS DURING
RECRUITMENT.
INTRODUCTION:
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:
Human resource management (HRM) is the strategic and coherent approach to the
management of an organization's most valued assets - the people working there who
individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the
business. In simple sense, HRM means employing people, developing their capacities,
utilizing, maintaining and compensating their services in tune with the job and
organizational requirement.

Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function within an organization that focuses
on recruitment of, management of, and providing direction for the people who work in
the organization. Human Resource Management can also be performed by line managers.

Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues
related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization
development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication,
administration, and training.

Human resource is a term used to describe the individuals who comprise the workforce
of an organization, although it is also applied in labour economics to, for example,
business sectors or even whole nations. Human resources is also the name of the function
within an organization charged with the overall responsibility for implementing strategies
and policies relating to the management of individuals (i.e. the human resources). This
function title is often abbreviated to the initials 'HR'.
Human resource is a relatively modern management term, coined in the 1960s. The
origins of the function arose in organizations that introduced 'welfare management'
practices and also in those that adopted the principles of 'scientific management'. From
these terms emerged a largely administrative management activity, co-coordinating a
range of worker related processes and becoming known, in time as the 'personnel
function'. Human resources progressively became the more usual name for this function,
in the first instance in the United States as well as multinational corporations, reflecting
the adoption of a more quantitative as well as strategic approach to workforce
management, demanded by corporate management and the greater competitiveness for
limited and highly skilled workers.
Human Resource Management (HRM) is seen by practitioners in the field as a more
innovative view of workplace management than the traditional approach. Its techniques

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force the managers of an enterprise to express their goals with specificity so that they can
be understood and undertaken by the workforce and to provide the resources needed for
them to successfully accomplish their assignments. As such, HRM techniques, when
properly practiced, are expressive of the goals and operating practices of the enterprise
overall. HRM is also seen by many to have a key role in risk reduction within
organizations.
Synonyms such as personnel management are often used in a more restricted sense to
describe activities that are necessary in the recruiting of a workforce, providing its
members with payroll and benefits, and administrating their work-life needs. So if we
move to actual definitions, Torrington and Hall (1987) define personnel management as
being:
“a series of activities which: first enable working people and their employing
organizations to agree about the objectives and nature of their working relationship and,
secondly, ensures that the agreement is fulfilled" (p. 49).
While Miller (1987) suggests that HRM relates to:
".......those decisions and actions which concern the management of employees at all
levels in the business and which are related to the implementation of strategies directed
towards creating and sustaining competitive advantage"
Its features include:

 Organizational management
 Personnel administration
 Manpower management
 Industrial management

FUNCTIONS:
The Human Resources Management (HRM) function includes a variety of activities, and
key among them is deciding what staffing needs you have and whether to use
independent contractors or hire employees to fill these needs, recruiting and training the
best employees, ensuring they are high performers, dealing with performance issues, and
ensuring your personnel and management practices conform to various regulations.
Activities also include managing your approach to employee benefits and compensation,
employee records and personnel policies. Usually small businesses (for-profit or non-
profit) have to carry out these activities themselves because they can't yet afford part- or
full-time help. However, they should always ensure that employees have—and are aware
of—personnel policies which conform to current regulations. These policies are often in
the form of employee manuals, which all employees have.

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In simple terms, an organization's human resource management strategy should
maximize return on investment in the organization's human capital and minimize
financial risk. Human Resources seeks to achieve this by aligning the supply of skilled
and qualified individuals and the capabilities of the current workforce, with the
organization's ongoing and future business plans and requirements to maximize return on
investment and secure future survival and success. In ensuring such objectives are
achieved, the human resource function purpose in this context is to implement the
organization’s human resource requirements effectively but also pragmatically, taking
account of legal, ethical and as far as is practical in a manner that retains the support and
respect of the workforce.
Human Resources may set strategies and develop policies, standards, systems, and
processes that implement these strategies in a whole range of areas. The following are
typical of a wide range of organizations:

 Recruitment, selection, and on boarding (resourcing)

 Organizational design and development
 Business transformation and change management
 Performance, conduct and behavior management
 Industrial and employee relations
 Human resources (workforce) analysis and workforce personnel data
management
 Compensation, rewards, and benefits management
 Training and development (learning management)

Implementation of such policies, processes or standards may be directly managed by the

HR function itself, or the function may indirectly supervise the implementation of such
activities by managers, other business functions or via third-party external partner
organizations.
IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:

Each and every employee has to contribute individually and also collectively to the
success of the organization. At the low level they have to contribute to a goal. To make
them contribute the human resource management team has to work harder. It is found
that the contribution of an employee is low when they do not know what they are doing.

Lack of knowledge on a particular process or technology, leads to low productivity in the

organization. The human resource department should identify such employees and train

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them in the necessary skills. They should also know the individual and group psychology
to deal such employees in the organization.

The HR management team should attract the right talent to their organization, give
appropriate compensation, retain them and also develop them to meet the current and
future organizational goals. The HR management team is dedicated to this work round
the clock. Without them it is not possible to have the right team to execute projects. They
need to keep track of the skill acquired by the employees during their tenure in the
organization and deploy them for the right projects.

The employees need to be properly trained and motivated by the human resource
management team. The ethical policies should be communicated to them at the right time
and the problems in the organization should be revealed to get the right solution from
them. Thus they should make the employees work more efficiently to meet the
organization’s goal.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

The impact of fake CV is appalling to any organization and hence background
verification process is necessary to prevent negligent hiring suits. Thus, it will assure the
reliability of a CV and helps the business to hire only those likely to be effective on the
job.

LITERATURE REVIEW:
Article: 1
By Lester S. Rosen
(Published in the Career Section of the Sunday San Francisco Examiner/Chronicle)

Employers are increasingly turning to background screenings of job applicants as a way

of minimizing legal and financial exposure. Concerns about workplace violence,
negligent-hiring lawsuits, wrongful termination and other problems are leading many
employers to be more careful about who is hired in the first place.
For applicants, however, background screening can create an uneasy feeling that they are
mistrusted from the start or that Big Brother is watching.
The fact is, however, that background screening of job applicants benefit employers and
employees alike.

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For applicants, the advantage of working for a company that requires screening is that
efforts have been made to ensure that co-workers have the qualification and credentials
they say they have. In addition, employers typically screen for criminal records,
especially those involving in violence or dishonesty.
For the employer, screening saves the time and money wasted in recruiting, hiring and
training the wrong candidates and eliminates potential difficulties in the work force.
Of course, a background screening is not a full-fledged investigation. Screening
companies are typically looking for red flags indicating potential problems or resumes
that are not factual or omit important information.
When an employer uses a background screening company to prepare a report, several
steps must occur:
• The employer must clearly disclose to the applicant in a separate document that a
report is being prepared. The disclosure can no longer be buried in an application
in the fine print.
• A signed release is required before checking records such as criminal convictions
or pending criminal cases, driving records, credit reports or educational
credentials.
• An additional notice is required when a background firm checks references, such
as asking previous employers about job performance.
• If an employer intends to deny employment based upon information in the report,
the job applicant must receive a copy of the report and a notice of legal rights.
• If an applicant believes the information is wrong, the applicant can inform the
screening agency, which must remove or correct inaccurate or unverified
information, usually within 30 days.
• Applicants have the right to inspect their files.
This is designed to strike a balance between an employer’s need to exercise due diligence
in hiring and an applicant’s right of accuracy and privacy. For applicants who are
genuinely the victims of mistaken identity or bureaucratic errors, there is an opportunity
to know what is being said about them and to fix the record so they are no denied
opportunities unfairly.
For a job applicant, honesty is always the best policy. Negative information honestly
disclosed in an interview with an interview with an explanation may well have no effect.
However, if the employer discovers it through a third party, then the lack of honesty may
be the reason for not getting the position.
Even a criminal conviction cannot legally automatically disqualify a person from
employment, without considering the nature of the offense, when it occurred, what the
applicant has done since and whether it is related to job performance.

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SCOPE FOR FURTHER STUDIES:
Background checks are frequently conducted to confirm information found on an
employment application or résumé/curriculum vitae. One study showed that half of all
reference checks done on prospective employees differed between what the job applicant
provided and what the source reported. They may also be conducted as a way to further
differentiate potential employees and pick the one the employer feels is best suited for
the position. Employers have an obligation to make sure their work environment is safe
for all employees and helps prevent other employment problems in the workplace.
• To find out the awareness of background verification in the IT, ITES,
Infrastructure and Pharmaceutical Sectors.

• To find out the utility of background verification in the IT, ITES, Infrastructure
and Pharmaceutical Sectors.

• To find out the significance of background verification in the IT, ITES,

Infrastructure and Pharmaceutical Sectors.

• To find out the opinions of companies about outsourcing background verification

to the third party vendors.

OBJECTIVES:
 To study the recruitment process adopted by companies.

 To study the background check process.

 To study the factors affecting the verification.

 To analyse the percentage of selected and rejected candidates based on

background verification.

 To give suggestions to impose the efficiency of recruitment process using

background verification.

Operational definition of concepts:

• Employment Verification: An employment verification is a method of
verifying dates of, or gaps in, employment and positions held with the HR or
Accounting departments of a candidates previous employer.
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 • Identity and Address Verification: whether the applicant is who he or she
claims to be. Generally includes verification of the candidate’s present and
previous addresses. Can include a money laundering, identity and terrorist
check and one to verify the validity of passports.
• Education records: These are used primarily to see if the potential employee
had graduated from high school (or a GED) or received a college degree,
graduate degree, or some other accredited university degree. There are reports
of SAT scores being requested by employers as well.
• Drug tests: Drug tests are used for a variety of reasons—corporate ethics,
measuring potential employee performance, and keeping workers'
compensation premiums down.

METHODOLOGY:
Background check evaluation can be formative from the point of view that it may run any
time during the process and summative from the point of view of overall process
evaluation. The use of qualitative data may be very helpful in explaining quantitative
findings. Data collection through both primary as well as secondary sources will be done
and experience survey will prove to be useful.

SAMPLING PLAN:
Sample size: small and finite: 70
Sample unit: Human Resource Managers
Sample design: Non-probability sampling

TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES USED FOR DATA COLLECTION:

Both primary and secondary sources of data collection can be used:
Primary sources:
 Questionnaire: containing questions relevant to the project to be filled by the
human resource managers of different companies

Secondary source:
 Internet, magazines, journals, books etc.

PLAN OF ANALYSIS: the data collected through primary and secondary sources
would be analyzed by appropriate descriptive statistics. Measure of central tendency
would be appropriate for this study.

LIMITATIONS:
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  Time constraints

 Study through a single background verification firm

 The study will b carried with pure academic objectives but findings may be
valuable feedback only to the organization and cannot be generalized.

OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTER SCHEME:

Chapter One: Introduction: this chapter includes the subject background of the
research topic.
Chapter Two: Design of the study: this chapter includes:
1. A brief introduction of the subject background

2. Statement of the problem

3. Review of previous literature if any

4. Scope of the study

5. Objectives of the study

6. Hypothesis if any

7. Operational definition of concepts

8. Methodology

9. Sampling plan

10. Tools and techniques for collection of data

11. Plan of analysis

12. Limitations

13. An overview of the chapter scheme

Chapter Three: Profile of the company

This chapter includes complete profile Dcode Research Services Pvt Ltd, nature of its
business, organizational structure, competitors, and vision and mission statement.

Chapter Four: Analysis of the study

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 Here the primary data collected in tune with its objectives will be analyzed. Each
question shall be reduced to a TABLE followed by the explanation and inferences.
The analysis will be supported by Graphs, charts, diagrams wherever necessary.

Chapter Five: Summary of findings, conclusions and suggestions

This chapter provides summary of the findings, conclusions drawn from the findings
and suggestions for improving strategy of Dcode Research Services Pvt Ltd,
Bangalore.

COMPANY PROFILE:

DCODE RESEARCH SERVICE PVT. LTD.:

Dcode research private limited is a start-up risk management company specializing in

providing wide range of professional services from pre-employment to post-employment
verifications catering to the fast growing IT, ITES and other industries in India. This
company started in November 2005.

DCODE VISION

"To be the Best Background Screening Solutions Provider"

DCODE MISION:

"To become the most reliable, committed and cost-effective pre and post
employment screening solutions provider in India"

Dcode Research, the most rapidly growing background Screening Company, delivers
higher returns to clients through its cost-effective, high-value services model thus
making hiring process easier.

The company works diligently to help you with your needs, always keeping in mind, the
basic aspects of our business - quality, integrity and efficiency. For aspirants looking to
enhance their career prospects, we provide an opportunity and help them realize their
goals.

Dcode delivers world-class talent of experienced professionals with deep business and
technical acumen. By continuously refining skills and adapting to new technologies, we
help taking your business productivity to new heights.

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LOCATION:

The company is head quartered in Bangalore, having network of associates in major

metros.

COMPETITORS:

The major competitors are FADE, Authbridge, Verifacts and Hill & Associates.

SWOT ANALYSIS:

Strengths:

A network of contacts nearing 20000+ across all industries (the fastest in this segment)

Weakness:

The industry itself is not geared up for background check.

Opportunities:

• The IT industry is aware of the recent scamps and frauds.

• More demand for verification companies in the IT sector.
• Less competition since there is only few players conducting background
verification.

Threats:

Major competition from FADE, Authbridge, Verifacts and Hill & Associates, a well
established company in the field of risk management and background screening.

SERVICES PROVIDED:

1. Education Verification: when hiring an individual, company’s salary packages

and positions is based on the individual’s education. Failing to verify important
information can result in having unqualified people in positions the don’t deserve
affecting company’s ability to compete. With this search the company will validate
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schools attended, diplomas, degrees, and date of attendance. Based on the information
supplied by the candidate, Dcode research will attempt to verify an applicant’s academic
history such as Degree earned, Date Degree earned, Degree in progress and Type of
degree. Dcode research verifies this information by directly contacting the
Universities/Institutions from which the candidate passed out.

2. Employment Verification: some candidates may be less than truthful about

their employment history. Internal research shows this to be the number one discrepancy
on resumes and job applications. The background specialists will verify information on
applicant’s resume, validate dates of employment, position, salary, reason for leaving or
termination and eligibility for re-hire, and they interview former supervisors who had
personal knowledge of the applicant’s skills and qualifications. Additionally, Dcode
Research also reports any discrepancies in employment history including time gap to the
employers.

3. Reference Verification: a verification of business or personal credentials is a

valuable source of information about the applicant’s general image as perceived by
others. Results may offer insight into the candidate’s trustworthiness, reliability,
competency and integrity. All questions can be customized to client’s unique needs.
Interviews with former employers, co-workers may fill in the blanks when it comes to
evaluating potential employees. Dcode Research conducts reference interviews with
those identified by applicants or the HR managers of companies where the candidates
were earlier working.

4. Criminal Checks: the report generates a list of addresses the applicant has lived
at the last seven years. They use these addresses as the benchmark for beginning a
criminal record search. This is the most effective way to verify the candidate’s criminal
history and the best way to ensure legal protection. These records will indicate if a
subject has a criminal act or offense filing within the last seven years, or more if
applicable. Complete reports will include the date filed, charges, level of the charges,
deposition date and final disposition.

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 Analysis and interpretation

 Question 1, Q.13 and Q.14 are applicable to the total sample, i.e. 70.
 Question 2 to question 4 is applicable to the respondents who have answered
“No” in question 1, i.e. companies that do not conduct background screening.
(Sample size: 5)
 Question 5 to question 12 is applicable to the respondents who have answered
“Yes” in question 1, i.e. companies that conduct background screening. (Sample
size: 65)

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Table 1: showing the frequency of companies conducting background screening:

Frequency No. of respondents Percentage

Yes 65 92.9
No 5 7.1

Analysis:
The above table shows that 92.9% conduct background screening of their employees and
only 7.1% companies do not conduct background screening.

Graph 1: showing the frequency of companies conducting background screening

70
60
50
40
Yes
30 No
20
10
0
No. of respondents

Inference:

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Ultimately none of the hiring tools proves to be effective in weeding out bad candidates,
unless used in conjunction with a program of pre-employment background screening to
obtain hard facts about a candidate. Thus, from the table and analysis it can be inferred
that most of the companies are aware of background screening and conduct background
screening as part of the recruitment process in order to minimize the risk of fraudulent
entries and dishonesty in work place.

Table 2: showing the reason for not conducting background screening:

Reason No. of respondents Percentage
Lack of resources 4 80
Background screening is not important 0 0
Existence of stringent hiring process 1 20
Others 0 0

Analysis:
The above table shows that 4 companies do not conduct background screening because of
lack of resources and 1 company do not conduct background screening as there exist a
stringent hiring process.

Graph 2: showing the reason for not conducting background screening

4
3.5
Lackof resources
3
2.5 Backgroundscreening
2 is not important
1.5 Existence of stringent
hiringprocess
1
Others
0.5
0
No. of respondents

Interpretation:

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From the table and analysis it can be inferred the companies that lack in resources and
believe that they have a stringent hiring process do not want to invest in conducting
background screening.

Table 3: showing the willingness of the companies to conduct background screening in

the near future who does not conduct at present:
Willingness No. of respondents Percentage
Yes 0 0
No 0 0
Not sure 5 100

Analysis:
The above table shows that all the 5 companies that do not conduct background screening
are not sure whether they would like to conduct background screening in the future.

Graph 3: showing the willingness of the companies to conduct background screening in

the near future who does not conduct at present

3 Yes
No
2
Not sure

0
No. of respondents

Inference:

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From the table and analysis it can be inferred that the 5 companies that do not conduct
background screening are startup companies and have limited resources and so not
decided if they would like to conduct background screening in the future.

Table 4: showing whether the companies would like to outsource background screening:
Willingness No. of respondents Percentage
Yes 0 0
No 0 0
Not sure 5 100

Analysis:
The above table shows that all the 5 companies that do not conduct background screening
are not sure whether they would like to outsource background screening in the future.

Graph 4: showing whether the companies would like to outsource background screening

3
Yes
No
2
Not sure
1

0
No. of respondents

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Inference:
From the previous table and analysis it can be inferred that as the companies who do not
conduct background screening are not sure of conducting it in the future.

Table 5: showing the reason for conducting background screening:

Reason No. of respondents Percentage
After an incident in the company 3 4.6
Heard of recent scams 15 23.1
Company policy 47 72.3
Others 0 0

Analysis:
The above table shows that out of 65 companies who conduct background screening, 3
started after an incident in the company, 15 started after hearing the recent scams about
fake resumes and 47 companies conduct as it is a part of their company policy.

Graph 5: showing the reason for conducting background screening

50

40 After an incident in
the company
30 Heard of recent
scams
20 Company policy

10 Others

0
No. of respondents

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Inference:
From the table and analysis it can be inferred that with the increasing importance of
background screening, many companies have made it a company policy while hiring and
few have started after hearing the recent scams and only 3 have started after an incident
in the company to avoid the risk of hiring fraudulent employees.

Table 6: showing the types of background verifications that the companies conduct:
Types No. of respondents Percentage

Employment verification 28 43.1

Education and Employment verification 31 47.7
Police verification 0 0
Drug screening test 0 0
All the above 6 9.2

Analysis:
The above table shows that 43.1% companies conduct only employment verification and
47.7% companies conduct both employment and education verification. Only 9.2
companies conduct all the four i.e. employment, education, police and drug test.

Graph 6: showing the types of background verifications that the companies conduct

35

30 Employment verification

25 Education and
20 Employment verification
Police verification
15

10 Drug screeningtest

5 All the above

0
No. of respondents

Inference:

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Applicants today may tend to falsify their resume so as to make it appear fit for a certain
job description. From the table and analysis it can be inferred that police verification and
drug screening test are not common in India whereas employment and education
verification is being conducted by most of the companies as there is results of fake
information provided by the candidates to get their dream jobs.
Table 7: showing job levels at which background check is conducted in the companies:
Job-level No. of respondents Percentage
Entry level 28 43.1
Middle-level 0 0
Top-level 0 0
All-level 37 56.9

Analysis:
The above table shows that out of 65 companies who conduct background screening, 28
companies conduct background screening for the entry level employees whereas other 37
companies conduct at all level.

Graph 7: showing job levels at which background check is conducted in the companies

40
35
30
25 Entrylevel
20 Middle-level
15 Top-level
10 All-level

5
0
No. of respondents

Inference:
The global war on terrorism has made security concerns a priority of any nation thus not
just anyone can be hired without first knowing his/her identity. Due to the significance of

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their jobs; executives, directors or officers require tougher screening than the rest. They
have access to large resources and a considerable amount of power thus the need for
caution. From the table and analysis it can be inferred that most of the companies
conduct background screening at all the job-levels whereas only a few conduct at the
entry level.
Table 8: showing the medium adopted by the companies for conducting background
screening:
Medium No. of companies Percentage
In-house 16 24.7
Out-source 21 32.3
Both 26 40

Analysis:
The above table shows that out of 65 companies who conduct background screening, 16
conduct in-house, 21 outsource to background screening agencies and 26 conduct both
in-house and outsource.

Graph 8: showing the medium adopted by the companies for conducting background
screening

30

25

20
In-house
15 Out-source
10 Both

0
No. of companies

Inference:
From the table and analysis it can be inferred that most of the big companies conduct
both in-house as well as outsource background screening where as few companies with

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less headcount conduct background screening in-house and few others who do not have a
trained background screening department outsource it.

Table 9: showing the benefits gained by the companies by conducting background

screening:
Benefits No. of respondents Percentage
Preventing fraudulent entries 26 40
Reducing unproductive workforce 19 29.2
Reducing attrition 0 0
Reducing hiring expenses 0 0
All the above 20 30.8

Analysis:
The above table shows that 26 companies conduct in order to prevent fraudulent entries,
19 conducts to reduce unproductive workforce and 20 conducts to prevent fraudulent
entries as well as reduce unproductive workforce, attrition and hiring expenses.

Graph 9: showing the benefits gained by the companies by conducting background

screening

30
Preventing fraudulent
25 entries
Reducingunproductive
20
workforce
15 Reducingattrition

10 Reducinghiring expenses
5
All the above
0
No. of respondents

Inference:
Hiring an undeserving candidate can unnecessarily increase your training and recruitment
costs, harm your organizations’ harmony and put confidential information into
jeopardy. Thus from the table and analysis it can be inferred that background screening
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help in reducing fraudulent entries, unproductive workforce, attrition and hiring
expenses.
Table 10: showing the time taken in the background screening process by different
companies:
Time-taken No. of respondents Percentage
Less than a week 13 20
A week 24 36.9
15 days 13 20
A month 15 23.1
More than a month 0 0

Analysis:
The above table shows that 20% companies require less than a week’s time, 36.9%
requires a week, 20% requires about 15 days and 23.1% requires about a month’s time in
the background screening process.

Graph 10: showing the time taken in the background screening process by different
companies

25

20
Less than a week
15 Aweek
15days
10
Amonth
5 More than a month

0
No. of respondents

Inference:
As employment verification and drug screening test do not require much time the
companies that conduct only these verifications requires less time whereas education and
police verification takes longer time than drug screening and employment verification
and so requires longer time in the background screening process.

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Table 11: showing the difficulties faced by the companies during the process of
background screening:
Difficulties No. of respondents Percentage
Insufficient data 19 29.2
Cost 4 6.2
Poor responses 18 27.6
Lack of time 20 30.8
Others 4 6.2

Analysis:
The above table shows that the difficulty faced by 30.8% of the companies is lack of
time, 29.2% is insufficient data, 27.6% is poor responses and 6.2% is cost.

Graph 11: showing the difficulties faced by the companies during the process of
background screening

20
18
16
14
Insufficient data
12
Cost
10
Poor responses
8
Lack of time
6
Others
4
2
0
No. of respondents

Inference:
As the hiring process involves high cost and time, the H.R.Managers are being
pressurized by the top management to complete the formalities within a limited period of
time and thus lack of time is a major difficulty faced during background screening. In
many cases the company is not provided with the data that the applicants are required to
provide and also the incorporation of the sources are other major difficulties faced by the
companies during background screening.

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Table 12: showing the frequency of getting fake resumes:
Frequency No. of respondents Percentage
> 10 47 72.3
10 – 30 12 18.5
< 30 6 9.2

Analysis:
The above table shows that the frequency of getting fake resumes less than 10 is 72.3%
and between 10-30 is 18.3% and only 6% more than 30.

Graph 12: showing the frequency of getting fake resumes

50

40

30 >10
10– 30
20
<30
10

0
No. of respondents

Inference:
Applicants today may tend to falsify their resume so as to make it appear fit for a certain
job description; they try to prey on the knowledge that employers don't have the time to
run checks on them. But background screening has created a fear among the applicants
and as a result the applicants providing fake resumes have significantly decreased.

Table 13: showing the factors that companies look for in a third party vendor:
Factors No. of respondents Percentage
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Free of biasness 6 8.6
Competitive pricing 9 12.8
Network 6 8.6
Faster service 20 28.6
All the above 29 41.4

Analysis:
The above table shows that 8.6% of the companies look for free of biasness and network,
12.8% of the companies look for competitive pricing, 28.6% for faster services and the
rest 41.4% look for all the factors in a third party vendor.

Graph 13: showing the factors that companies look for in a third party vendor

30

25

20 Free of biasness
Competitive pricing
15
Network
10 Faster service
All the above
5

0
No. of respondents

Inference:
From the table and analysis it can be inferred that as background verification is a part of
recruitment process, the more time involved in background verification, the more is the
hiring expenses as well as the recruitment process is delayed. Thus most of the
companies look for faster. Also in the competitive market, companies look for
competitive pricing as well as better network and free of biasness.

Table 14: showing the willingness to contact Dcode Research for outsourcing
background screening:

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Willingness No. of respondents Percentage
Yes 3 4.3
No 67 95.7

Analysis:
The above table shows that 3 companies are willing to contact Dcode Research for
outsourcing background screening whereas 67 companies are not willing to contact
Dcode Research.

Graph: 14 showing the willingness to contact Dcode Research for outsourcing

background screening

70

60

50

40 Yes
30 no

20

10

0
No. of respondents

Inference:
From the table and analysis it can be inferred that almost all the companies are satisfied
with their vendors and few who do not conduct background screening and are planning to
conduct in the future would prefer to contact Dcode Research for outsourcing.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
• Majority of companies conduct background screening of their employees and
only few companies do not conduct background screening.

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 • Companies that do not conduct background screening is because of lack of
resources and existence a stringent hiring process.
• Companies that do not conduct background screening are not sure whether they
would like to conduct background screening in the future.
• Companies that do not conduct background screening are not sure whether they
would like to outsource background screening in the future.
• Companies who conduct background screening started after an incident in the
company or after hearing the recent scams about fake resumes and most of the
companies conduct as it is a part of their company policy.
• Companies mostly conduct both employment and education verification. Only
few companies conduct all the four i.e. employment, education, police and drug
test.
• Companies mostly conduct background screening at all level and few at the entry
level.
• Among the companies who conduct background screening, most of them conduct
both in-house and outsource it.
• Companies conduct background screening mainly in order to prevent fraudulent
entries and to reduce unproductive workforce and very few to reduce attrition and
hiring expenses.
• Companies that conduct only employment verification requires less than a
month’s time and those education verification require requires about a month’s
time.
• Difficulties faced by most of the companies during background screening are lack
of time and insufficient data.
• The frequency of getting fake resumes less than as the applicants are now aware
of background screening that is being carried out by most of the companies.
• The companies mainly look for all the factors i.e. free of biasness network,
competitive pricing and faster services and in a third party vendor.

Conclusion
Not doing a thorough background check is as dangerous a practice as not having
insurance. In the recent year there have been quite a number of events that have lead to

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immediate need for an increase in the security for that companies and the workforce of
the company. With the huge advancement in technology over recent years, data theft is
the new invisible crime and poses a real threat to all business. Because employees have
access to vast amounts of data that sensitive data is vulnerable in the hands of a dishonest
employee.
There are increasing numbers of companies that have understood the importance of
background check while hiring heir employees and have made it mandatory. This is
mainly because of bad experience in the past with respect to employees faking their
resumes, particularly the educational qualifications and the experience. Although, in
practice, not all companies conduct a background check, therefore, it is necessary that in
order to hire the right kind of employee and reduce fraudulence and dishonesty in
workplace, companies should make it a part of the process to conduct background check.
When we make background check a part of the process of recruitment, there are all
possibilities that the candidates applying are aware of the practices followed by the
company. This automatically discourages fraudulent candidates from applying, which is
a blessing in disguise as it saves the company a lot of time and money by no interviewing
the wrong candidates.
Talking about the kind of checks, criminal and drug test are not so popular in India. In an
advanced country like the United States, criminal check is almost compulsorily done
while recruiting for any job level. It becomes more important in India because there is
huge number of foreign companies setting up their operations in India. It is a matter of
credibility. Any fraudulent practices by the employees, especially in foreign company,
adversely affect the reputation of the company and mostly the country. Such cases are
always blown out of proportion and get attention world-over. To avoid such a disgusting
situation, it is always better that criminal check should be taken more seriously and
should be made mandatory at all levels of employment. Criminal check will increase the
security of the workforce and is important for the companies to perform a strong criminal
check if they want to increase the security of the workforce and in turn increase the
productivity.
In conclusion, it is necessary for the companies to conduct background check and make
it a routine part of recruitment process in order to hire the right kind of employees and
reduce fraudulence and dishonesty in work places.

Suggestions

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 • Most of the companies are no conducting criminal check, so Dcode Research can
probably recommend these companies to conduct this check since it is the most
important check in the background screening process.
• Most of the companies look for faster service among the third party vendors so
Dcode Research should try to provide faster service than its competitors.
• Dcode Research should opt for competitive pricing strategy so that they can be
the
• Dcode research must stress the importance of background check at all levels of
management in it sector and provoke more and more it companies to implement
background screening.
• Dcode research can recommend the companies to outsource education
verification since the quality and reliability of this check done by them is too
good and they would be directly contacting the head of the university/institution
through their network and this would reduce the pressure of the human resource
department.
• There is a lot of scope for background screening agencies currently in India, so
Dcode Research can also start up its operations in other major cities and should
build up a strong network team across India.
• Dcode is a new company in the field of background screening and most of the
companies are not aware of this company, so it should involve in heavy
advertisements. It can come up with attractive print ads and advertise it in
newspaper or HR journals.

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Websites:
http://www.naukri2000.com/careers/it_hyderabad.php3
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/3396/background-screening-integral-part-hr.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Background_check
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_resource_management
http://www.bangaloreit.com/
http://www.google.co.in/

Articles:

Important investment with individuals getting involved in frauds there is an increasing

need of this activity in firms - Deccan herald; Tuesday 18 may 2010
Background screening can help boss and applicants – Lester S. Rosen - Career Section of
the Sunday San Francisco Examiner/Chronicle

NAME:

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DESIGNATION:
COMPANY NAME:

QUESTIONNAIRE

“AN EVALUATION ON BACKGROUND SCREENING PROCESS DURING

RECRUITMENT”

*1. Do you conduct Background screening in your organization? (If no,

Q.2-Q.4; if yes, Q.5-Q.12)

Yes
No

2. If No, Is it due to one of the following?

Lack of resource
Background Screening is not important
Existence of stringent hiring process
Others

3. Would you like to conduct in the near future?

Yes
No
Not sure

4. Given the high pressure of HR managers, would you outsource it?

Yes
No
Not sure

5. If yes when did you start conducting background verification?

After an incident in the company

Heard of recent scams
Company Policy
Others

6. What are the verifications you conduct for your organization? [Can tick
more than one]

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 Employment verification
Education and Employment verification
Police verification
Drug screening test
All the above

7. At what level do you conduct background check in your organization?

Entry level
Middle level
Top level
All level

8. How is the background check conducted in your department?

In-house
Outsource
Both

9. Background verification has helped your organization in reducing?

Preventing fraudulent entries

Unproductive workforce
Attrition
Hiring expenses
All the above

10. How long does this background verification process take?

Less than a week
A week
15 days
A month
More then a month

11. What types of difficulties are faced in Background Screening?

Insufficient data
Cost
Poor response
Lack of time
All the above

12. What is the approximate percentage of getting fake resumes?

> 10
10-30

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 < 30

*13. What do you look for in a Third Party Vendor (background verification)?

Free of bias
Competitive Pricing
Network of those who conduct these
checks
Faster service
All the above

14. Would you like to minimize the risk of fraudulent entries into your
company by contacting Dcode Research Pvt. Ltd.?

Yes
No

Mission of Dcode Research Pvt. Ltd.:

"To become the most reliable, committed and cost-effective pre and post
employment screening solutions provider in India"

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