Challenges Faced by Background Verification Companies

There is a general misconception in the market that background verification is quite easy and most often verification companies charge more than what they should. Things are always rosy when we look at them from a distance. But, when we go nearer things start becoming clear and then a crystal clear image emerges that tells you the kind of challenges that background verification companies have to undergo while conducting the screening process.

This article will throw light on some of the major challenges that background verification companies in India are facing which sometimes can have an adverse effect on the final report that is generated from the background checks.

1. Reducing the time to hire

This is the biggest dilemma faced by background verification companies. On the one hand, HR department wants them to speed up the process while on the other hand it is imperative for them to maintain the level of quality when it comes to scrutinizing the background information. This challenge is quite evident when the workload of the background verification company increases while the pressure from organizations to get new hires swiftly continues to mount.

To overcome this challenge background check providers have to maintain an equilibrium in such a manner that the organization does not lose out on potential candidates without sacrificing the quality of the report generated.

2. Errors in database

Background screening vendors are totally dependent on the database when it comes to collecting information from millions of public records. But, there are times when these databases have errors. There are thousands of articles on the internet where you will find the candidates not getting a job just because they were incorrectly linked with some criminal offense that they did not commit.

To an extent errors are source of problem but, the bigger challenge for some background screening companies is their over-reliance on databases without obtaining any source documents from local repositories to confirm the existence of these records. The only way to overcome this challenge is by combining databases and on-site checks at local repositories. The problem is there are very few providers that do this because of the cost involved.

3. Common names are very challenging

Background verification companies find it very challenging to find information pertaining to some common names like Michael Williams, Jennifer Johnson or Barbara Jones as most of the public records are not linked with a unique identifier like date of birth or social security number. In certain cases, individuals have been found with the same name being mixed as they have the same middle name and exact name. Even the most experienced background check providers face this challenge with common names. Unfortunately, there is no easy workaround to overcome this challenge. If you want to be comprehensive, the only way is to check thousands of records manually which is a very tedious process.

4. Incomplete reports

There is a possibility that the information collected by the background verification company is not complete. This is a major challenge for background screening companies as they cannot guarantee that all applicable government agencies and companies have reported comprehensive information on the individual concerned. It has been estimated that roughly 30% of background check reports do not have complete information.

5. Not everything can be found

If an individual stole lunch money from his/her friend in the 7th grade, there is no way you can find it out through background verification. Likewise, if an individual inhaled drugs once at a sorority party in college, that is also probably not going to be found either.

Background checks are overly dependent on public records which does not include things like stolen lunch money records or sorority party attendance and drug inventory. Although, once you have taken an interview it is possible to get a rough idea about the personality of the individual, interviews are way beyond the normal scope of background verification.