Should Your Industry Run Background Checks?

Risks – every industry is prone to different risks; those linked to its employees are the most efficient way to avoid risks – background screening. For instance, an IT professional applying for a bank job might require an education and employment verification check, criminal record check. A person applying for a driver's job at a corporate company might need a license, criminal, sexual, offense, and medical record screenings.

Some risks can be avoided by following thorough employment background verification practices based on the specific industries' nature and requirements. Let's try to understand which industries require background checks, and should your industry run screenings?

IT

Reports reveal that the rapid growth of the IT sector in India has brought about an increase in the number of fraud cases. This has raised critical questions about the IT industry's readiness in the detection and prevention of fraud. 

What kind of risks could the IT industry be exposed to, if its employees aren't put through background checks at the time of hiring? From the theft of data to hacking and stealing client information, selling data to competitors, and unlawful data breach, are just some of the risks the IT industry faces. Apart from these, think of moral misconduct, sexual assault, and physical harm to the workforce.

To avoid risks related to employees, the IT industry must include the following verification checks:

• Education verification

• Civil records

• Criminal records 

• Drug test

• Employment verification

• Professional license verification

• Documents verification

• Character and conduct check

• Global database check

Banking and Insurance

There's a high chance that almost all banks and insurance companies have, at some point, had cases of fraud. Research reveals that fraud cases in the banking and insurance industry in the last decade have increased tremendously. The more scary part – many cases have revealed mid-level employees and even senior-level workforce being involved.

The nature of banking-related frauds connected to employees could be diverse:

• Accounting fraud

• Forgery of checks

• Fraudulent loans

• Identity theft

• Phishing and Internet fraud

• Wire transfer frauds

Background checks required:

• Employment verification

• Criminal record

• Education check

• Address check

Education

Working with children and young students is a big responsibility for educational institutions. Schools and colleges need to ensure safe environments for students. People who work at institutions – teachers, assistants, bus drivers, caretakers, and others must pass background screenings before getting hired. These are some of the checks required for the education industry:

• Employment reference checks

• Address checks

• Criminal record checks

• Professional license verification

Financial services industry

With the financial sector rapidly adopting digital transformation, cybercrime in this industry is at the top of the list of the crimes. Not only in India but across the world, the frauds in the financial services sector involve cooperation from employees. The most effective way of fighting these risks is by conducting the thorough pre-employment screening. These include:

• Employment reference checks

• Address checks

• Criminal record checks

• Professional license verification

Employee background verification – a critical need in all industries

India's employment market is quite complex – it's a formal and informal mix, regulated and unregulated. Such a situation calls for thorough background verification rules and guidelines across industries. 

Conducting background screenings internally within the organization may be complicated. Every organization might not have the skills and talent required for pre-employment screening as it involves manual research, data scrutiny, institutional partnerships with government and private agencies, and access to a whole lot of data. However, with professional background verification agencies, organizations can rest assured about their workforce and business safety.