Background Screening Companies: Keeping Your Workplace Safe and Secure
Introduction
Hiring employees is one of the most important decisions that a manager can make. The entire process may seem simple at a glance. However, it is actually more complicated than it appears because attaining quality workers is not just about finding the best talent for the job. Instead, it's also making sure that you are signing individuals who can adapt well to your company's culture and will be able to deliver on their promises.
The key to attaining quality employees is understanding their skill set and personality. Hiring people who share your values and have similar work ethics is essential. Additionally, they should have relevant experience in their field as well as a strong track record in their previous jobs. You can determine all of these by meticulously going through each applicant's resume.
Q2 HR Solutions, a background screening company in the Philippines, can help ensure that the credentials of the applicants you're considering are accurate. Our team of professionals can conduct employment verification, character reference check, education verification, credit check, global data search, civil litigation, identity check, criminal record check, and address verification. Feel free to get in touch with us today to learn more.
What Are Background Screening Companies in the Philippines and What Do They Do?
Background screening companies are used by many organizations, including government offices, law enforcement agencies, and private businesses. These businesses help you search for information about an individual, such as their criminal history, drug use, and employment history. Overall, they provide you with a way to vet potential employees.
There are many ways to conduct background checks. After telling the applicant about it, most companies contact candidate references before using a specific software application to review records. They will then ask the interviewee to take a drug test before reviewing all the results to determine a potential employee's validity. Additionally, it is important to remember that experts in the field do every step while keeping in mind the different laws and regulations regarding what information employers can review.
Why Is Background Screening Important?
Background screening in the Philippines is an essential step for companies to take before they hire someone new. Some of the benefits include the following:
Refines Quality of Hires
By conducting background checks earlier on, you can uncover inaccurate information that applicants included on their resumes. It doesn't always have to be a point of concern since some errors could simply be caused by the vague wording of a job description or the omission of a previous role's seniority level.
However, there may also be instances where someone deliberately puts false information in their resume. You should avoid hiring such individuals because what they’ve done is an indication of their poor character. Depending on the situation, you can either report them to the authorities or message them regarding your findings.
Verifies Employee Authenticity
Background checks for small business and large companies ensure that applicants are who they say they really are. Without going through this arduous process, you may make the wrong hiring decision, potentially costing you your money and reputation in the future.
Recruiters always review an interviewee's personal information, educational qualifications, and employment records. Although the candidate may have provided you with the needed files, you must still let the professionals conduct background screening. This is because, with the rise of the digital age, some documents have become easier to fake or duplicate.
Enhances Safety and Security
Background screening helps verify that your potential employees don't have any criminal records. This process will help you procure or double-check documents that detail a person's criminal history. By the end of it all, you will be made aware of what happened after the case was adjudicated, whether they were found guilty of any offense or exonerated.
In the Philippines, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) can help recruiters conduct criminal background checks. This organization provides data on criminal cases in a Municipal, Metropolitan, or Regional Trial Court. All this information is publicly available, so you can check if there are any criminal cases against a person. Candidates with no records will be able to receive an NBI clearance form.
Decreases Employee Turnover
Employee turnover, the rate at which workers leave an organization during a specified period, is one of the most common issues in the workplace. It is expensive and disruptive for any organization and can lead to a loss of productivity and talent. Although a positive work environment can help lower this number, turning to the largest background screening companies can make a notable difference.
Background checks help you know more about a candidate's history before they join your payroll. Aside from becoming aware of their qualifications, you can learn about an interviewee's history with their previous employers as well as the reasons they left their old job.
Identifies Potential Hiring Risks
Background screening is a process that helps employers identify potential hiring risks. After much data gathering, you may realize that an applicant is poorly fit for your company's culture or is under-skilled. You must then decide if it would be best to reject the applicant without following through with an interview or hire them and provide additional training or coaching.
This process is crucial to the company's success and must be done with care. Hiring a new employee takes a lot of time and money, and if you take someone who would only leave after a few months, then all the resources you invested in them during their stay will go to waste.
At Q2 HR Solutions, we are dedicated to helping you make your hiring process easier by providing reliable screening services. We have a team of professionals with years of industry experience, so you can rest easy knowing that you are in good hands. Whether you’re in the information technology or marketing sector, you can be sure that we can help verify your applicants’ backgrounds. Reach out to us today!
What Do Background Screening Companies in the Philippines Verify?
Background checks for both small and large businesses are essential. HR professionals will verify the following aspects of your applicants before you even consider hiring them:
Identity
With the rise of video interviews in the past few years, it has become difficult for HR professionals from background screening companies to verify the identity of applicants. MindTools, an online platform for resources, even shared that “In 2021, research showed that there had been a 67 percent increase in the use of video interviews compared to 2020.”
This is why people have developed numerous strategies. For example, some have integrated identification scoring to check the legitimacy of someone’s public identity. Others have even taken it as far as checking IDs, such as driver’s licenses or passports, during video interviews.
Credentials
There has been a gradual increase in online learning over the past few years. Coursera, one of the most popular online learning platforms, has even recorded “20 million new student registrations in 2021.” The certifications people get from such classes ensure they have the skills and knowledge in certain areas.
Certifications play quite a significant role in the deliberation process for new employees. This is why HR professionals often ask for soft copies of verified certificates from the educational institution you took a course in or graduated from. Since it would be difficult to verify their authenticity just by reading the document, many utilize specific software programs to ensure that the file sent to them isn’t false.
Criminal Records
Background screening companies in the Philippines can conduct criminal record checks and provide employers with an overview of applicants’ records. They do so through various sources, such as law enforcement agencies and intelligence databases.
In the Philippines, however, the most common way to check is by requiring someone to acquire a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance form. This government-issued document confirms that you are not involved in any criminal activity within the Philippines. These forms are now much easier to procure since you can pay and schedule everything online.
Employment History
It is essential that an applicant’s employment history is confirmed since it can affect the job title and salary they’ll receive if they join a company. To confirm the information you’ve written on a resume, many organizations require a verification letter from your previous employer. These documents often include how long you worked with them, what your tasks were, and how much you got paid.
However, some opt for phone calls or emails to confirm an applicant’s employment history. This is a more traditional method, but some organizations still prefer it due to its reliability. Additionally, many rely on online platforms like LinkedIn to confirm an applicant’s past roles.
Character References
Also known as a personal reference, a character reference is a written letter of an applicant’s personal qualities. Most applicants request these documents from their superiors in their previous companies. Fresh graduates, on the other hand, turn to their professors.
Even the largest background screening companies pay close attention to the details written here since it gives them a different perspective regarding an individual. Although these documents don’t have a set template (like how resume layouts vary from individual to individual), they often contain the relationship between the two concerned parties, the recommendation itself, and the writer’s contact information.
Top Industries That Need Background Screening Services
Background screening companies in the Philippines can be a big help to various industries. In fact, it has been found by researchers that “35% of businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees outsource one or more HR functions.” Some sectors that benefit the most from background screening services include the following:
Financial Industry
As its name implies, the financial industry is often concerned with money-related matters. Companies in this sector handle or offer mortgages, credit cards, banking and payment services, tax preparation and planning, accounting, and investing. In any country, the health of the economy largely depends on the status of the financial industry since it ensures that other companies can hire, invest, and grow.
Background screening is vital for financial institutions since companies in this sector often handle sensitive information. As a result, they must make sure that everyone they hire does not pose potential risks to their company.
If an organization reaches out to a background screening company, like Q2 HR Solutions, they can expect a thorough review of their needs and expectations. Once the type of position the candidate will be filling is assessed, the HR professionals can start their search for the right individual.
Healthcare Industry
The healthcare industry covers all businesses that offer medical services, manufacture medical drugs and equipment, and provide medical insurance. Due to its nature, the demand for the services these institutions offer is price inelastic. This means that whether the prices of their offerings increase or decrease, the public’s consumption of them remains the same.
Due to the fast-paced work environments in these industries, employers need to quickly assess whether a candidate is fit for the job. This is where background screening companies in the Philippines come in. These organizations can help ensure that the individual you’re planning to hire meets the requirements of a specific role.
Furthermore, since healthcare is more fluid and variable than other industries, professionals in this field need to be well-trained. This is so they can provide high-quality care to patients. Rest assured that background screening for institutions in the healthcare industry is vastly different from other sectors due to the nature of their work.
Educational Industry
All establishments that provide instruction and training in different subjects automatically fall into the educational industry. Some examples include schools, colleges, universities, and training centers. Although background screening services benefit all these institutions, the ones that may require such offerings the most are those that teach children.
This is because background screening companies will ensure that an applicant can be trusted to watch over kids. Whether it is a small daycare, a large preschool, or an early development facility for children, going to such lengths will benefit all stakeholders. Most educational institutions only opt for an applicant’s criminal history. However, more comprehensive packages are preferable.
Aside from reassuring parents and guardians that an educational institution can provide a safe space for their little ones, a thorough background screening can double-check if an instructor has the credentials to teach. Not only do they need to have a bachelor’s degree and take at least 10 to 18 units of Professional Education, but they also need to pass the Licensure Examination for Teachers.
Turn to Q2 HR Solutions for Your Background Screening Needs
Regardless of what industry your organization is in, Q2 HR Solutions can help you find ideal candidates for your job openings. We are a background screening company in the Philippines dedicated to helping companies find invaluable additions to their team and matching applicants to institutions that best fit their skill sets.
Aside from background screening, we offer manpower management, headhunting and executive search, recruitment process outsourcing, and more!
Conclusion
Hiring skilled employees who fit the company culture is essential to creating a well-functioning organization. Managers are tasked to find individuals who can accomplish the different tasks a specific role requires, all while ensuring that they have the temperament needed to handle the demands of the position and work well with other departments.
This task can be quite difficult because one may not be privy to specific strategies utilized by HR professionals when it comes to background screening. Q2HR Solutions can help! Our team will assist you in refining the quality of your hires, verifying employee authenticity, enhancing company safety and security, decreasing employee turnover, and more.
Rest assured that we follow a custom approach for each of our clients depending on your industry as well as your needs and preferences. Message our team today to learn more about how we can assist you. Trust that we will get back to you as soon as possible.
