Full name. Address. Date of birth. Check, check and check. Previous criminal record? Next please.

Each and every day, employers receive hundreds of job applications from people they've never met and know nothing about. Would you trust what's on paper? Would you trust what they say to you face to face? Would you honestly consider an applicant with a criminal history if you knew about it?

If you are still not convinced, here's an example of how pre-employment screening can minimise risk. In this case, a potential employee was being considered for a national account management role by a global beverage company. As the process took its course, it was found that the individual, whilst having commenced a BSc, actually withdrew from the course after two semesters, and while they had been employed by their previous company between 2005 and 2006, as claimed, they had in fact only worked there for a three month period. Add to this the fact that they had been disqualified for driving for six months (for a drink driving offence) - thus being unable to fulfil their prospective work duties - and it becomes clear just how unsuitable the candidate was, despite initial appearances.

Many organisations are stepping up to the plate and raising the bar where recruitment is concerned, where they've found that telephone interviews and basic reference checks are simply not cutting it. For most, the competitiveness of the industry or the job role could mean applicants may enhance their qualifications just to get their foot in the door - so it pays to be vigilant.

Verification service companies such as Verify and First Advantage are being employed by corporate companies in order to run background checks on candidates before they sign on the dotted line. Pre-employment screening has now moved far beyond basic interview techniques and phoning references. Comprehensive background checks into a candidate's criminal records, academic qualifications and identity checks are increasingly becoming common practice for many industries, with the retail and government sectors leading the way.

What is pre-employment screening?

As the name suggests, pre-employment screening is conducted prior to an individual joining an organisation. However, many organisations are starting to integrate this during the actual recruitment stage and even performing regular checks for the duration of an individual's employment in an organisation.

"The most common checks relate to criminal history, drivers licence checks and drug and alcohol testing," says Greg Newton, owner of Verify, an independent candidate pre-appointment background and career validation services company.

Historically, organisations opted for simple interview techniques and candidate questioning about the legitimacy of their background and previous employment history. There has always been a high level of distortion between what candidates say in their resumes and in their face to face interviews. Nowadays, the use of pre-employment screening has expanded to all industry sectors and are not just limited to sensitive banking and financial institutions.

According to Peter Stackpole, managing director of background check specialist company First Advantage, pre-employment screening is much more than just a simple background check of an individual.

"It's the verification of the information that the candidate supplies to us and further verification of other information regarding the individual. This includes integrity or honesty, their ability to work in a social environment, memberships, education, employment history, bankruptcy and credit references," he explains.

"Employers need to ensure that the individual they are employing is who they say they are because they are entering into a contractual transaction with these candidates," Stackpole adds.

Screening methods

The intensity of a candidate's background check depends on the type of role and industry they are entering into, but is also determined on a case by case basis. The nature of validating someone's background is quite comprehensive and as such, Newton boils it down to two main screening methods:

• Objective method: This form of checking is gained through online systems and alliances. Verify works in conjunction with CrimTrac - a government agency responsible for the development of readily accessible information to police bodies - which allows a complete or comprehensive check on an individual within 48 hours.
• Subjective method: This is the type of reference checking whereby previous employers are contacted to obtain details on a candidate's employment history and performance.

"We try to contact previous managers and avoid contacting mobile phones at all times," says Newton.

Insidejob general manager, Michelle Hamman, can attest to the substandard process of many employers or recruiters when performing reference checks on candidates.

"Too often recruiters tend to approach the reference-checking process from a traditional point of view, limiting their conversation and any further contact with the referee," says Hamman.

It's apparent that technology has played an important role in the success of such verification methods. Stackpole adds that technological advancements contribute in speeding up the screening process and reduces further costs to their client.

"[Technology] is the trend these days and should be embraced as this drives down the costs of pre-employment screening. We try to provide a pleasant experience for our client and the candidate," he says.

Periodic screening is increasingly becoming common practice for many organisations as a way to monitor changes in an employee's personal circumstances. Major setbacks such as financial stress is a common factor in an individual developing gambling habits which could inevitably lead to fraudulent acts within an organisation.

"Verification checks should be done before employing an individual, but it should be done during the transfer stage as well or when an employee is going into a specific role which requires specific information," explains Stackpole.

Stackpole maintains that consent is obtained from the candidate before performing any verification checks, ensuring strict adherence and compliance with the Privacy Act.

"Any information we obtain is not supplied to any third party unless we receive strict permission from the candidate," says Stackpole.

Newton suggests that employers need to have a proactive approach when it comes to implementing and integrating background screening into their recruitment process:

• Ensure that the verification process is written into the recruitment procedures
• Documentation should be provided to candidates stating that they may be subject to a background verification
• If background checks are to be conducted, ensure that it is triggered early enough in the process to avoid any delay in the job offer

Going beyond the white lie

Although Verify have only been in operation since 2005, Newton has seen his share of dubious characters. From disqualified CEOs to embezzlement cases, Newton sees pre-employment screening as an integral part of the recruitment process.

"It's a very modest investment for a very good return and piece of mind," he says.

Newton asserts that at least one in four resumes received from candidates contain some form of embellishment or exaggeration to make the applicant appear more marketable to the employer.

"Resumes tend to be a marketing document nowadays so people tend to put things that sell themselves to the employer. Embellishing job titles or tasks, falsely claiming qualifications previously held or achievements made are just some of the ones we find," says Newton.

But how should employers separate the 'yes' pile from the 'no' pile? Should employers automatically reject applications whereby candidates disclose their previous criminal history?

"We find that about 9% of criminal checks have some sort of discloseable outcome. Often people lie about their criminal history and we encourage them to tell the truth. Often it's a minor offence or it happened years ago," explains Stackpole.

"We educate clients or employers not to put them in the 'no' file automatically as they need to establish what actually occurred. Employers should always look at the relevance to the role and severity of the crime and the penalty that was imposed and look at these in context. It would be incorrect to exclude a candidate because of their criminal history - employers need to look at relevance, frequency and severity of the crime," he adds.

There is an evident trend that SME's are also increasingly using the services of verification companies - and this is just the beginning. Pre-employment screening is now an essential part of HR's due diligence.

"It's becoming a necessity for organisations. Companies are integrating verification checks into their recruitment processes and ensuring that they fulfill HR due diligence," Newton concludes.
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