Pre-employment screening is a vital and often underused resource for employers.
The need for background investigations on employees and customers cannot be over emphasized for these reasons and research statistic outcomes that:-
ü 30% of candidates provide incomplete or erroneous information in employment applications
ü Approximately 5% of candidates do not disclose criminal records.
ü Up to 70% of people when surveyed admit to having lied when preparing a CV and consider that failing to mention previous dismissals or disciplinary procedures is not misleading a potential new employer
The costs of employing the wrong person, doing business with the wrong people the cost of litigation, or worst of all, fraud or theft, considerably outweigh the costs of a basic peace of mind, pre-employment screening and/or background checks.
The employment market has shifted dramatically in the last decade. Nigeria now has a very flexible and mobile workforce and large numbers of people now change jobs far more regularly than historically. Consequently, it is more difficult to assess and ascertain an individual’s longstanding employment records, loyalty and trustworthiness, as well as performance rating. The consequences of employing the wrong kind of person can be catastrophic.
Some checks include:
ADDRESS VERIFICATION / NEIGHBORHOOD CHECK
Synergy will conduct a neighborhood check and home visit. In these instances, background Agents will speak with current and past neighbors in order to find out if you still reside at the address, what kind of neighbor you were and whether you were involved in anything that they might consider to be of a ‘questionable’ character or activity.
Neighborhood check alone won't usually exclude you from employment, but will simply point to more questions your investigator may need to ask you in order to get a better picture of your overall background.
PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT CHECK
Confirming a job candidate’s past work experience is one of the most important background checks an employer can conduct. It also represents one of the most common areas where an applicant may falsify information. Looking into a candidate’s past work history can reveal insight into their job stability and loyalty to an employer.
Employers should compare what a candidate claims on their resume with the actual information reported by a background screening company as Synergy Insight Limited.
Verifications can confirm:
· Job start and end dates
· Titles held
· Job duties
· The reason for leaving / termination (in some states) and rehire eligibility.
· Others.
GUARANTORS / REFRENCE CHECKS
A guarantor should be a friend or family member that is willing to guarantee the payment of damages on your behalf if the need arise. A guarantor is someone who agrees to sign a guarantee agreement which guarantee’s your obligations in the Employment agreement. Employer always want to minimize risk in their personnel recruitment, hence, a need arise for a guarantor in case the employee breaches the employment agreement.
At synergy Insight Limited, we verify if the Guarantor stated by the Employee actually exists, is engaged in the business /job he/she claims and we verify all information the employee provided about the Guarantor.
CRIMINAL CHECK
Criminal background checks can be more thorough in some instances because they are specifically oriented towards criminal records databases. If you want a general overview of a person s background, including information on marriages, divorce, bankruptcies and similar topics, a regular background check will probably provide all the information you need. But if you are specifically concerned about a person s criminal record it may be a good idea to perform a criminal background search.
Most criminal background checks will include a person s name, known aliases, description including tattoos and other identifying marks, arrests, convictions and prison terms etc. This information commonly comes from court records, police records and other similar sources. At Synergy Insight Limited, we liaise with the Nigerian Police to get every information that bothers on criminality.
CERTIFICATE VERIFICATION
Most companies, are making strategic decisions on how to differentiate themselves in an ever-competitive market and as such, many are focusing on bold enhancements and extensions to their entire human resources and employee quality as a primary differentiator through verifying the authentication of their staff qualifications.
Degree fraud is a serious and costly problem for employers. A degree education is valuable to employers and employees, and therefore in a climate of extreme competition for employment, it is not surprising to note the attitude of job seekers regarding their CVs and job applications.
A person who can forge a document, credential or leave out important information for any purpose can be harmful to the organization in the future.
There are instances where people change their Class of Degree, Use other individual’s certificates, some students even go as far as forging their SSCE results to gain admission into the Higher institution. All of these acts need proper attention therefore Employee Background Checks services in Nigeria needs to be given more attention and relevance.
Synergy Insight Limited provides organizations with a detailed report on the genuinety or otherwise of certificates (local & foreign) of their employees and these include
a. School certificate
b. Diplomas
c. Degrees
d. Professional
e. NYSC certificates, others
The information requested from a background check company varies, however verifying the information on resumes or application is one of our responsibilities.
Candidates can fib, stretching out duties, titles, dates, or accomplishments, and they can go even further. Our company investigates all dates, positions held, salaries, duties, and work habits of every place where the candidate has worked subject to the limit set by you.
Similar information is gathered for education. Much like employment information, education history can be stretched to include inaccuracies for degrees, majors, and diplomas. Synergy Insight Limited contacts every school attended and requests information regarding degrees, GPAs, and diplomas.
A background check service, which is one of the services Synergy Insight limited renders may include request to investigate additional information on a candidate, such as professional certifications and Financial Fidelity history checks which are routine for jobs in finance and that involving handling of money.
