An Insight on Background verification Checks in India

Unlike in the western countries, importance of Background verification for Employment purpose has not been realized in India. Usually Background checks are carried out in India by the organizations only when their end client insist the same. Unless otherwise there is a specific requirement from the clients, most of the companies will not prefer to perform Background Verification since they feel it is an additional cost to the company, but it is not so. Factually the Background Verification process helps to avoid the unexpected expenditure on account of bad hires and to get a trustworthy candidate on board. With the proliferation in false/ fabricated information in the recent years, many companies in India are including background verification in their employee recruitment and screening process.

Few companies used to consider the Background Verification as part of HR job to verify and determine the background of the employees. This is also limited with only Previous Employment Checks and Educational Checks of the employee. From this practice, companies could cut down a marginal cost, but they may get only 40 to 50% efficiency in the process. Since the HR person usually has the pressure of headhunting and recruiting the candidate based on the JD (Job Description) within the stipulated time, they normally think that the Background Verification would be an additional responsibility or additional burden. During the course of the recruitment process, all the HR’s focus would be on finding the resource suitable for the Employment Role and may have some soft corner with the candidate while interacting with them. If the candidate is fit for the vacancy, they may be convinced and compromise psychologically and perform the Background Checks only as an HR formality.

Whereas Third Party Background Screening would pay a vital role in eliminating bad hires and support the HR’s to take the right decision on their hiring. It is always recommended to approach a professional verification company. This is because with their expertise in this field the process will be completed without any bias and the sources will be pretty reliable.

Employment Background Screening Process may vary based on different Industries and the organization’s specific requirements. However the common components are as follows,

Identity & Address Verification

Education Verification | Academic Check

Ex-Employment Checks

Criminal Record Checks

Although there are many other Background Screening process such as Reference Check, Court Database Check, License Check and Credit Information Report, etc. these are the basic checks.