5 Employee Background checks that you must perform on a candidate before you hire them!
South Africa is in the midst of a tough economic period in which unemployment is at record levels. As a result of there being so few quality positions available, job seekers are resorting to all sorts of tricks to manipulate their CV’s and thereby enhance there chances of getting selected for an interview and hopefully a job. The statistics regarding qualification fraud are scary, it is estimated that as much as 10% of all qualifications submitted to potential employers could not be verified by reputable verification agencies. What is even more worrying is that roughly one in ten candidates are not entirely truthful when disclosing their qualifications to would be employers. We have put together our recommended list of background checks that ever recruiter should run before hiring a candidate.
1. Criminal record checks
One of the most important checks you need to consider running on every potential new employee is a criminal record check. You must run both an identity book check and a finger print check. Remember that only relying on one could be misleading because, for example, many people in South Africa are operating with false ID books. This means that if the person has a false ID book, but he’s committed a crime, he’ll show up as having a clean criminal record, when in fact they don’t.
At i-Check Data Solutions these types of checks cost:
- R 7.99 for ID number check.
- R 40 per fingerprint scan or check.
2. Credit checks
You can use a credit check report to assist you with profiling a candidate. This is also one of the most important checks you need to run because when a candidate’s credit check shows he has a history of poor payments, loans or black listings, it’s a key indicator that they are not good at handling money and their money trouble could be a contributing factor to poor work performance. So if the position that you want to hire them for involves handling money, they might be tempted to help themselves as they are probably short of funds.
Credit checks are relatively cost effective, coming in at about R 15.99 per check.
3. Driver’s license checks
You need to take steps to verify a job candidate’s drivers license when driving a work vehicle is part of their job description. .
We only charge R40 to verify a Drivers license and PDP.
4. Educational qualifications
Fortunately, South Africa has one of the most comprehensive qualifications registries in the world, thanks largely to the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). The body has developed a national database of learners’ records and the cost per check of this database is about R 50.
5. Reference checks
Conducting a reference check is very important, make sure that you know who you are talking to and try to get to speak to the most senior staff member, rather than the elected reference person. Usually candidates will use colleagues or past employees as references and you will not get an accurate picture unless you speak to the manager or someone senior.
Screening is a critical component of the hiring process, and should not be done in a half-hearted manner. Your company’s future could hinge on your next hiring decision.
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