Hiring is definitely one of the most delicate tasks at any company. Everyone wants to bring into their team the most talented person, the perfect match. There is no guarantee whatsoever about who could have the best performance in a certain position, but the goal is to try to get as close as possible. However, hiring is even more complicated than that. When it comes to hiring the right candidate, anything you miss, anything you may not know about a candidate could be putting the company at risk. Pre-employment screenings in the Philippines help recruiters and human resources people have all the relevant information about a candidate.

But why is it so important? A research by the Society for Human Resource Management shows how resume fraud is becoming a great problem for organizations, and lowering the risks is also part of the responsibilities of every human resources department.  In fact, nearly 50% of resumes and CVs are estimated to have at least some false information.

One of the key findings in the research was that envy regarding how others are doing in their job search was related to increased resume fraud, especially when job seekers had been searching for a job for a longer time. And maybe the saddest thing is that searching job for long periods is the most common thing now. Such a competitive environment is one of the main reasons why so many people are now willing to do whatever they can to get a job, including lying about their education, their experience, certifications and other things. In a country like the Philippines, where fraud is common and documents are easily forged in the streets, the risks increase. If we compare these two facts about what is going on in the Philippines and the general overview about resume fraud, it is obvious that there is a great problem here.

About 60 per cent of the world’s youth population resides in the Asia Pacific region and many hunger for a good job. The global slowdown on the other hand has affected the employment rates and without any doubts the Philippines is not immune to this situation. According to the International Labour Organisation, the global employment outlook will deteriorate in the coming five years, and young people will continue to be disproportionately affected by unemployment. Emerging and developing economies like the Philippines have dark forecasts for employment, a situation that increases the chances of finding some kind of fraud on Filipino candidates.

For companies operating in the Philippines, the best way to lower the risk is to have a standardized pre-employment screening process in place. A comprehensive background check in the Philippines that includes identity and résumé verification, reference checks, and criminal and court records will help recruiters have a better understanding of the person they are trying to hire and will reduce the chances of letting in a person whose values or behaviors do not match those of the company. Any evidence of fraud in a resume is definitely an indication that the candidate is not appropriate for the job, no matter why this person decided to lie.

Proper verifications and background check investigations conducted by professional investigators are essentially an insurance policy, to make sure your company is hiring the best and safest choices to help grow your business.  Making a bad hire can be a very costly mistake and can lead to financial losses, negative publicity, and even legal problems.

If you wish to lower your risk, contact our background check specialists in the Philippines and get further information about how our Philippine PI team can assist you!

C. Wright
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