Research shows that the only sectors which does background checks of their staff in India is the banking sector.
A six-year-old girl would have perhaps had her childhood if the upmarket school in Bangalore she went to conducted background checks on all their employees. She was allegedly raped by a man whose due diligence was not done - an alleged paedophile who was fired from another school earlier for gross misconduct.
The man who hired him - Rustum Kherawala, chairperson of Vibgyor International School, now needs to explain to the courts why he did not think it was necessary to do background checks on his staff, especially when directly involved with handling children.
Research shows that the only sectors which does background checks of their staff in India is the banking sector. Several IT enabled services do outsource the job prior to appointment of employees to firms, but that is because it is mandatory for MNCs because other countries want them to. The cost to do an overall verification today by a reputed firm is about 30 percent of the recruitment process for employers depending on the industry.
"We discovered during the process of verification that there are close to 7500 companies in India which operate just for the purpose of providing fake employment certificates, educational certificates. The scope for all kinds of fraud is huge. Investing to check background can save revenue and also brand in most cases. India is at a very nascent stage I feel when it comes to conducting checks on their staff prior to appointment. On the other hand many of our clients in North America, Singapore, UK even China now have begun infinity verification which means periodic checks. Because checking just once is never enough" said Navin Chugh, MD of First Advantage, a global firm which conducts background screening.
Experts who do background checks for employers record that 35 out of 100 documents and claims, show discrepancy. Individuals have now begun to hire services to check background before bringing home tenants, domestic helps and even prospective spouses. However, only after experiencing an incident which has cost much, in most cases.