KNOW YOUR HIRES
Screening your hires.
By Cesar Bacani

Long a standard practice among big American companies, employee background checks have never been common in Asia. That’s starting to change. About a third of multinationals and major local companies in the region are now estimated to have implemented some form of a screening program.

Leading the change is India. The business process outsourcing (BPO) industry needs to prove to its clients that their information is secure—MNCs typically require screening as part of awarding work to outsourcing providers. Steve Wilford, India country manager for consulting company Control Risks, says that in the past, some Indian BPO companies hadn’t been rigorous about employee screening. “In some extreme cases you had ‘trojan employees’ on the books of competitors who were working in BPO facilities to examine processes and find out about financials.”

That’s changed. Now, says David Mattinson, managing director of Control Risks Screening in Singapore, “a lot of the BPO and IT companies in India have extensive and sophisticated screening programs.”

Demand for screening isn’t limited to India. Control Risks Screening (a division of Control Risks) has just opened an operating center in Malaysia. Another Asian provider, Verify Limited, was recently bought by U.S.-based First Advantage, which sees interest throughout the region. “The market for employment screening services [in Asia-Pacific] is growing at a robust rate,” explains First Advantage CEO Anand Nallathambi.

The trend is uneven, however, with Hong Kong, Singapore, and India leading and China lagging. “There is less awareness, and also a cultural reluctance to screen in China, but we anticipate that’s going to change in the next two to five years as local companies become more integrated with the global economy,” says Mattinson. Employment screening by the global providers can cost US$100 to US$150 per person for basic checking, and up to US$1,000 for in-depth investigation. The most common problem: fake academic qualifications such as bogus diplomas.

Companies that decide to do the screening in-house must be aware of what is and what is not allowed in the jurisdictions where they operate. In most countries, for example, credit card and banking checks are not allowed to be used for hiring and firing. Employers must also make sure to obtain the consent of the individual before carrying out a background check.