Corporate organizations have been enjoined to embrace background checks as the essential element in the recruitment process. This is because background checks through due diligence verify and authenticate claims of employees during the recruitment process
These are the views of experts at a recent webinar organized by Nigeria’s foremost background check company, Background Check International, BCI. The experts believe that the issue of background check and due diligence are basic imperatives for corporate organizations to focus on. This is as a result of their overall importance to corporate governance.
The Webinar which is titled “The impact of background check on businesses, now and in the future” X-rayed the impact of background check on the overall growth of corporate organizations.
The webinar had global expert, Barry Nixon, the Founder and COO of Pre-employment Directory, USA, Yemi Faseun, Head, Human Resources, Globacom, Mary Ikoku, Editor-in-Chief, Working Moms Africa Magazine and Kunbi Adeoti, Divisional Director, Leadway Assurance Company Ltd.
The speakers urged corporate organizations to conduct due diligence before employing any staff. According to them, data has been a major challenge in conducting due diligence as this impedes the due diligence process. When there is data on criminal records on people, the process of background check is facilitated properly. It is also important for organizations to focus on the claims and educational verification of prospective employees.
In her submission, The Divisonal Director, Human Resources of Leadway Assurance, Mrs Kunbi Adeoti, stated that due diligence impacts the organization and it should form a crucial part of the employment process to identify bad behavior and fraudulent acts. If due diligence is not done, certain behavioral pattern may impede organizational growth. She added that It is also important for organizations to be conscious about due diligence.
The Head, Human Resources, GLOBACOM,Mr Yemi Faseun stated that If due diligence is not conducted, risks are being passed from one organization to the other. He added that there should be tracking of employees before they engage in fraudulent acts.
The issue of culture also dominated discussions at the webinar. The experts enjoined corporate organizations to develop a corporative culture that has due diligence and verification as important elements.
In his won contributions,Barry White, Founder, pre- employment Directory.Com ,USA stated that every organization should start a culture of verification. According to him, culture is the exact way of doing things in an organization.
The Chief Executive Officer of Background Check International, Mr. Kola Olugbodi bemoaned the situation whereby organizations were not conscious about background checks. He asserted that organizations need to make background check a corporate culture. ‘it has become expedient for organizations to embrace background check as a corporate policy issue”, he added.
While reinforcing the issue of culture, Mary Ikoku, Publisher Working Moms Magazine stated that hiring staff need the same indices applied during traditional marriage to prevent fraudulent claims. Hiring new employees needs the same traditional pattern of background check due to corruption the system. The corruption in the system according to her hinders information gathering during background checks. She stated that organizations should translate their core values into reality and employ the right candidates.
The panelists jointly agreed that there should be a strong focus on culture. The culture norms of the individual must align with the ethos of the organization. He urged organizations to promote messages on culture on a consistent basis.
The Chief Executive Officer of BCI, Kola Olugbodi stated that the relevance of background check has to be determined in line with what organizations stand in line with what organizations stand to gain or lose. He said about 70 percent of organizational loss is always due to employees sharp practices. Organizations should stop recruiting based on brilliance and focus on due diligence and background checks.Olugbodi said the need to conduct background check is non-negotiable for corporate organizations. He added that background check will also restore sanity to political governance in Nigeria
