A bad hire can cost a business a lot, from monetary losses to reduced productivity, and even damage your company’s reputation. With stakes this high, it’s essential to avoid hiring the wrong person.
Your HR team should be able to prevent a misfit from joining your ranks through assessments and interviews. However, technologies like ChatGPT and classic falsification tactics such as a forged diploma enable more applicants to cheat their way to employment. Many of them may claim they have the skills and qualifications the role asks for, using dubious outputs, accolades, and certifications, and get away with it.
Fortunately, you can still vet candidates effectively and filter out those who misrepresent themselves without overloading your in-house HR team. How? By enlisting the help of a background screening service provider in the Philippines (like Q2 HR Solutions’ Hiring Basix).
Read on to learn about the steps third-party companies take to conduct effective employee background checks and ensure your recruitment process is accurate and thorough.
Background verification of prospective employees in the Philippines is legal, but screening companies are limited to what information they can gather. The process is governed by the National Privacy Commission, the office responsible for implementing the Data Privacy Act in the country. Essentially, screeners and employers’ compliance with the said law entails collecting data relevant to their hiring needs and keeping the information secure and safe from illegal access.
The law also requires information processors to acquire consent from individuals whose data is being accessed. As such, it’s considered a best practice for employers to inform candidates beforehand that they’d be doing background checks. Consent from the prospective employee is also essential because the person’s past employers will only share employment-related information with the screeners if the individual in question agrees to it.
Aligning background screening processes with the mentioned rules, whether you’re the employer or the third-party provider, indicates that you respect people’s right to data privacy—a gesture that will extend to your company’s brand and reputation.
Providers of background screening services in the Philippines follow a legal, structured approach to gathering essential information about candidates. The steps may vary depending on your business policies and needs, but in general, third-party checkers do the following:
Before beginning the background check, screening companies contact candidates to inform them about the process and ask for consent. This can be done through a written form, a notification, or both. Your HR team or a third-party hiring company you’re working with may also mention that a background screening is to take place. Basically, the applicant must be aware of and agree with this step in the hiring process.
Most companies do a background check only after offering conditional employment to a candidate. If you’re the same, it means you’d likely need the help of a third-party screener after the applicant’s initial assessment and interview. If there are multiple prospects you believe are good fits for the role, hiring a background screening provider is even more critical because they’ll help expedite the process.
Pre-employment screening companies validate the candidate’s identification documents to confirm their identity and eligibility to work in the country. This often involves requesting copies of the applicant’s government-issued IDs and comparing them with the information in the candidate’s resume or online employee profile.
This step also explains why background checks are done midway through the hiring process. Applicants will likely feel uncomfortable if your company asks for information not disclosed on their resume before interviewing them, especially if you’re asking for sensitive information such as ethnicity, religion, or security numbers!
In addition to validating official documents, background checkers verify the information on the applicant’s resume, such as employment and educational history. The point of this step is for the employer to determine if the candidate’s experience and qualifications fit the role they’re applying for and if they’re true.
Background screening providers usually contact the candidate’s former employers to confirm employment history, including the person’s job title, duration of employment, and performance. For educational background, the third-service provider may contact the schools cited on the candidate’s resume.
Beyond verifying work experience and education, background screening companies assess the candidate’s qualities by contacting their character references. If credentials and certifications mostly confirm hard skills, talking to people who know the person well may give screeners a glimpse of their soft skills.
Screening service providers may ask prospective employees to share contact information of their character references, with a reminder to inform the person ahead of time that they’re cited as a reference. The screener may e-mail or call the cited character reference and ask questions about the candidate.
Background screening service providers in the Philippines will also look into the candidate’s criminal record to check if the potential employee is not convicted of any crime. The way they check for this aspect may vary per screener, subject to complying with the National Privacy Commission’s guidelines.
The screener may also ask the candidate to submit proof of non-conviction by submitting an NBI clearance. As this document is renewed annually, it ensures that the candidate will supply recent information. An NBI clearance also has a broader scope and is more comprehensive than a local police clearance, which is why it’s the more commonly asked-for requirement for criminal record checks.
The country’s top-rated background screening companies are trusted because they properly document their process. Whether getting consent from the candidate or contacting the PNP, these screeners track all their steps in writing or a safe database while considering the rules cited in the Data Privacy Act.
Screening service providers also ensure that their employee data are securely stored. The most trustworthy third-party companies use tools and programs to protect personal information from breaches and unauthorized access.
Employee background checks are crucial to the hiring process, yet overloaded HR teams might struggle to screen every candidate thoroughly. If your company has multiple cases of employee misrepresentation and fraud, it’s time to hire a third-party company to do the screening for you.
Background screening service providers implement proven methods to vet your candidates by confirming resume information, checking criminal records, and contacting character references. They also document the entire screening process and store personal information in a secure database. Most importantly, they respect the candidate’s right to privacy by securing consent before doing any of the mentioned steps.
Q2 HR Solutions’ Hiring Basix upholds these best background check practices and more. Contact us today so we can help you screen your prospective employees more accurately and efficiently!
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