EMPLOYEE SCREENING
Recruitment plays a hugely important role in the success or failure of a business. Getting the right staff with the right qualifications in the right job is crucial to a company's success.
A recent Mori poll found that one third of respondents admitted to fabricating elements of their CVs, and an estimated 6% of the total annual revenue of every UK Company is lost to fraud committed by its own employees. Increasingly therefore, employers are seeking to implement employee screening solutions to mitigate the risk of a bad hire and help them secure the right people to enhance and develop their businesses.
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Typical issues arising from not checking the veracity of successful job applicants include:
- Failure to meet regulatory requirements & increased chance of corporate liability
- Unqualified or unsuitable employees in positions of responsibility
- Theft, fraud, embezzlement or property damage
- Financial loss
- Time and money wasted in recruiting, employing and training
- Lawsuits by both employees and third parties
- Long term damage to the business reputation
- Loss of business and customers
- Demoralisation of staff
Additionally organisations that implement a comprehensive screening policy typically report the following benefits:
- Pre-employment screening helps to encourage an open and honest company culture from the outset and provides the individual with a greater level of assurance in the integrity of work colleagues.
- A screening policy not only identifies dishonest candidates, but by its nature acts as a deterrent, protecting the company and its employees from people who may have
the capacity and desire to cause damage.
- Demonstration of due diligence by carrying out appropriate checks on candidates
can satisfy regulatory requirements within some industry sectors.
- Screening ensures that the qualifications required by a firm for a specific role
are genuinely held by the candidate, which in turn raises the overall quality of
a company's staff.
BENEFITS OF SCREENING
An outsourced employee screening policy is more cost effective than an in-house process and helps with financial planning and cost monitoring as the user just pays for each check conducted, not an annual salary as can be the case when carried out in-house.
Screening turnaround times are shorter when out-sourced and the reports of greater quality as dedicated analysts constantly monitor the responses, thus reducing the time taken to recruit.
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Vero Screening use multi-lingual researchers who are able to conduct reference interviews internationally in the local language and provide translated reports.
Vero Screening have knowledgw of international law relevant to data sourcing and data holding which differs from country to country.
Vero Screening are independant. HR professionals may have concerns in ensuring that the screening process does not damage the bond of trust with their employees. Outsourcing mitigates any unease an employee may feel and offers a better chance to gain accurate information.
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TYPES OF CHECKS WE CAN PERFORM
The complete range of employment screening checks offered by Vero Screening is detailed below. Each component is individually priced and can be used in isolation, or to generate screening levels to suit your requirements.
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icon.
Identity
Verification
Validation of identity documents through cross-matching the document algorithms with the holder's personal information. Checks can be carried out using photocopies of the relevant pages. If used in conjunction with verification of 'biographical' data i.e. personal history including education, electoral register entries and employment history, the process offers a robust solution for confirming identity. Check can be carried out within 24 hrs.
UK Electoral Roll
A check of the UK's public electoral roll to verify residential history. It is important to confirm that the address exists and relates to a bona fide property at which the Candidate resides, or has previously resided. Checks will also reveal addresses sometimes not provided by the Candidate in order to conceal adverse credit information. Checks can be carried out within 24 hrs.
UK
Consumer Credit Report
For sensitive positions, and particularly those that involve dealing with customer details or money handling. This check can be conducted against a Candidate covering a six year period, the length of time adverse credit information can exist on record. This would include searches against public records for details relating to 'County Court Judgements', 'Bankruptcies', 'Voluntary Arrangements', 'Decrees', and Sequestration orders. Freely given consent from the Candidate is required. Checks can be carried out within 24 hrs.
International
Credit Report
The availability and integrity of information varies between countries. Vero Screening provides guidance regarding the cost and suitability of conducting checks. Where data is available, results are published in the Candidate report and charges applied according to the following country bands: A=£25.00, B=£50.00, C=£75.00, D=£100.00, E=£125.00.
UK
Directorship Search
Applicable to higher level roles, searches establish whether there are any current or previously held UK directorships or company secretarial positions as declared, or omitted, by the Candidate which may constitute a conflict of interest for the employer. A disqualified director's check would also be undertaken at the same time. Checks can be carried out within 24 hrs.
International
Directorship Search
The availability and integrity of information varies between countries. Vero Screening will provide guidance regarding the cost and suitability of conducting checks.
DVLA
Check
A check with the DVLA which validates a UK driving licence and details current endorsements and/or restrictions. Checks can be automatically reapplied according to pre-arranged rules, i.e.: 0-3 points = annual check, 9 to 12 points = check every three months. Results are received within 10 working days.
Compliance
Database Check
Searches are performed using UK and international government and financial sector databases looking for sanctions, enforcements, and misdemeanours imposed against an individual. The check includes reference to HM Treasury financial sanctions targets. Checks can be carried out within 24 hrs.
Regulatory
Checks
Searches will be made against the FSA Individual Register and Prohibited Persons Register. Adverse findings reported to HR immediately. Checks can be carried out within 24 hrs.
Education
Verification (Higher)
Confirmation of attendance dates, and the highest relevant academic qualification attained. Vero Screening will approach the institutions directly, anywhere in the world.
Education
Verification (Secondary/Further)
Confirmation of the highest academic qualification attained at either secondary school or further educational level. This is subject to the availability of records. Vero Screening will approach the institutions directly, anywhere in the world.
Professional
Qualifications and Memberships
Verification of an individual's relevant professional membership(s) or qualification(s) would be obtained either in writing or verbally through direct approach to awarding bodies. Any charges imposed by an institution will be re-charged at cost.
Employment
History & References (HR or equiv)
Employment references are obtained internationally to verify current and previous employment history for either a specified time period, or a certain number of employers as agreed with the Client. We strive to obtain more than the basic employment details, and analyse responses in the context of other results to develop an accurate picture of experiences. References are typed into internet-based reports and original letters are scanned into the system for immediate access and audit purposes.
Personal
or Professional References
A personal or professional referee can be utilised in the absence of formal employment references, to confirm self-employment, substantiate a period of unemployment or used where no employment history exists.
International
References
Vero Screening will seek to obtain overseas references to the same level as the UK given the availability of information. A one off fee of £25.00 regardless of the number of overseas checks will be added to the final screening cost.
UK
Criminal Record Checks - Basic Disclosure
'Disclosure Scotland', part of the 'Scottish Criminal Record Office', offers criminal record checks on an individual which provides detail regarding any 'unspent' convictions. Vero Screening can manage the process using a bespoke internet-based tracking system to ensure swifter response and regulatory compliance.
UK
Criminal Record Checks - Standard Disclosure
Conducted via the 'Criminal Records Bureau' (CRB) and available for individuals entering specific professions or roles where an exemption from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 'ROA' applies. The following sources are used when conducting Standard level checks; Police National Computer, lists of excluded persons held by the Department of Health, and Department for Education and Skills.
UK
Criminal Record Checks - Enhanced Disclosure
Enhanced disclosures are requested from the CRB and only available for individuals entering sensitive roles involving direct, one to one contact with children, vulnerable adults and certain other roles exempt from the ROA. Sources also include locally held police intelligence files.
Application
Form and CV Review
A Candidate's completed application form will be reviewed for anomalies and discrepancies. Where a CV is provided a comparison will be made and inconsistencies highlighted.
Gap
Analysis & Resolution
Occasionally gaps can be used to conceal bad employment experiences. Any gaps disclosed or identified during the screening process will be reconciled with the Candidate to establish whether they are legitimate periods out of employment, and will be detailed in the final report.
Use
of Paper Application Form
Vero Screening offers clients sophisticated and highly user-friendly online application forms at no cost. These can be branded accordingly. In order to encourage clients to use the online forms and benefit from general process improvements including reduced paper flow, improved data quality and quicker turnaround times, Vero Screening will apply a £2.50 surcharge per candidate where clients choose to use paper application forms instead.
CRIMINAL RECORD CHECKS
Basic Disclosure
These can be applied for via the Scottish Criminal Records Office (SCRO) and detail 'unspent' convictions only. Any individual can apply.
Standard Disclosure
Positions requiring Standard Disclosures include medicine/dentistry, some financial positions, the legal profession, and also those working in limited capacities with children or vulnerable adults. A Standard Disclosure details 'spent' and 'unspent' convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings held on the Police National Computer (PNC), as well as information held by the Department of Health and Department for Education and Skills.
Enhanced Disclosure
Positions qualifying for Enhanced Disclosures, are those where normal duties include caring for, training, supervising or being in sole charge of children or vulnerable adults. It also includes those from the medical fields, and for judicial appointments. Enhanced disclosures provide detail of spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings held on the PNC, as well as information held by the Department of Health and Department for Education and Skills. It may also include relevant non-conviction information held by local police forces.
Deciding which type of disclosure you require depends on several factors.
TECHNICAL DIFFERENCE
Tracking
The progress of Criminal Record Checks can be viewed online through the
Vero Live interface. Audit histories, and status details can be monitored as well as when records should be purged to maintain compliance with data protection. Status spreadsheets of all your open Criminal Record Checks can be downloaded for a full summary, and easily viewed in MS Excel for filtering and sorting.
A built in document wizard will help you to check that you have obtained all the correct documentation from the candidate.
Online Disclosure Forms
We now offer the ability for your candidates to complete the disclosure form online, this will reduce the amount of mistakes that can be made on the form and save time in the overall process.
HELP & GUIDANCE
If you require any information, assistance or guidance in setting up your own Criminal Record process please contact Rebecca Hickmott or Jane Dugmore.
E-Mail:
intouch@veroscreening.com
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DRIVING LICENCE CHECKS
If an employee is acting "in the course of his employment" and causes damage to a third party (or third party property) the employer is said to be "vicariously liable" for the acts/omissions of its employee.
Simply storing a photocopy of an employee's driving licence is not enough to reduce risk of liability and achieve compliance with guidelines issued by the Government. However, steps put in place by those responsible for recruitment of drivers should help reduce the risk of liability in the event of a claim.
By cross referencing information provided by the employee and the DVLA database, Vero Screening's driving licence validation service can assist by:
- Verifying driving licence validity
- Confirming the types of vehicle the driver is allowed to drive
- Revealing details relating to endorsements or bans
- Confirming any health restrictions; ie Eyesight correction required / Automatic
cars only.
There is always the risk that employees do not disclose changes to their licence such an increase/decrease in points, or a ban; to mitigate this checks can be automatically reapplied to each employee based on the number of points they have. For example:
- 0-3 points = annual check
- 4 to 8 points = check every six months
- 9 to 12 points = check every three months
The process is straightforward and can be applied to existing staff and potential new employees. The subject simply fills in a one page mandate form and the check is executed according to the appropriate rules for as long as they are in employment. The results are delivered in
Vero Live the online reporting system.
INTERNATIONAL CAPABILITIES
The key to international screening is understanding the differences.
International workforce mobility is on the increase across all business sectors increasing the necessity for employers to integrate their recruitment and selection procedures on a global basis.
The global talent pool contains more trained/skilled workers than ever before which provides significant opportunities for fraudulent applicants. This situation increases the need to verify qualifications and work experience to ensure candidates meet the job profile.
Vero Screening has the capability to conduct checks globally and will seek to obtain overseas confirmations to the same level as the UK depending on availability. We enable clients with end-to-end outsourced solutions to set up internationally compliant background check programs.
The Challenges
International screening brings a number of challenges that we have sought to resolve. The most significant of these are limitations and restrictions on access to public record information, and overcoming culture differences which can relate to communication, organisation and willingness to provide information where sometimes the principle of public and non public data may not exist.
Vero Screening has worked hard to address the following key issues:
- Legal Compliance - In Europe we comply fully with the European directive on Data Protection - Directive 95/46/EC as well as the UK Data Protection Act 1998 and have data transfer agreements in place with our non EEA based partners.
- Limitations in Public Record Information - access is limited either by law or the lack of reliable, accessible data. We have analysed global availability and developed processes for obtaining information in most countries, where it is legitimate to do so.
- Language Issues - We actively recruit linguists to support us in delivery of services around the world. Where Vero Screening does not have a language capability, we use tried and tested sub-contractors.
- Managing local cultures and practices - sometimes where you expect similarity, you have to accept difference. Knowledge of cultural differences and a respect for local practices allows us to replicate wherever possible background checks internationally.
YOUR SCREENING REQUIREMENTS
There are a multitude of checks that can be undertaken on an individual, some will be relevant to the role and the business, and some not. Therefore your screening provider needs to understand what is important to you, and have a very flexible approach, and this is what Vero Screening is all about.
We listen to what your business wants to achieve, and the types of people you employ so we provide a service that delivers. Combinations of checks can be put together to suit different roles, business areas, and geographic locations. We have a very structured consultative method of approaching your requirements derived from years of experience.
REAL WORLD EXAMPLES
Here are some examples of types of packages our current customers use within specific business areas.
Call Centre Agent
- Identity check
- Employment history 3 years
FSA Regulated Person
- Credit check
- Directorship check
- Compliance Database
- Highest Education
- Professional Qualifications
- FSA Register
- Employment history - 5 years
- CRB - Standard
TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
Innovation and technology is at the heart of Vero Screening and is what distinguishes us from other screening businesses. Our in-house development team is constantly working on new ideas, with new technologies to improve our customer service and the Vero Screening experience.
Vero's technology experts have unrivalled experience in the Screening and HR sector and practical expertise within the consultancy industry.
Vero Live is our core product; a suite of applications under a single login which drives everything from Customer Relationship Management to the workflow management necessary to produce the final screening report, our Criminal Record Checking process and many other parts of the business.
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We believe that our inventiveness gives us a unique approach to achieving success with all our customers.
CAN WE HELP WITH ANY TECH QUESTIONS
If you wish to contact Vero Screening about any specific questions on Employee Screening & Human Resource
technology please contact Steve Woodrough at swoodrough@veroscreening.com
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VERO LIVE 2008
Introduction
Vero Live is at the heart of our business. The core functionality is to drive our screening product. Unlike reactive screening systems Vero Live is a pro-active system that drives workflow, so no individual check can be left un-started or not followed up.
The back office process has been developed with specialised roles giving focus on individual parts of the process to maintain efficiency and accuracy. There are multiple checking stages in and out, which each component must go through before being published and visible to our customers. Quality is critical.
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Full Transparency
At an early stage the decision was made to be fully transparent to our customers, we believe that any third party supplier should be accountable for the work it is doing on behalf of every customer. From the Vero Live web interface an audit history can be viewed for every screening, or every component of a screening if you wish. This will show when, (to the minute) a new screening is received, started, reference requests sent and followed up, responses received, database checks performed, quality checking etc. Basically, the audits trace everything we do. You can even check when we are next due to chase references.
Management Information
Vero Live can produce detailed reports about your screening at the click of a button. There are multiple reports available from basic turnaround times and screening volumes, to overviews by industry sector and daily summaries of what occurred the previous day.
Criminal Record Checks
As well as screening, the progress of Criminal Record Checks can be viewed online through the Vero Live interface. Audit histories, and status details can be monitored as well as when records should be purged to maintain compliance with data protection.
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BRANDED ONLINE APPLICATION FORMS
We offer FREE branded online application forms for your candidates to complete.
Benefits
There are many benefits to using an online questionnaire some of these are listed below. Most importantly an online questionnaire can improve the candidate experience, and Vero Screening's turnaround times.
- More secure delivery than e-mail, fax or post
- A fast, simple process improving the candidate experience
- Mandatory fields can be set for essential information so less contact with the candidate
and screening can commence instantly.
- No unaccounted gaps can be left in the candidates history
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No issues with unreadable handwriting for HR and Vero.
Branding and Layout
We can change logos, font styles, colours and wording throughout the questionnaire to match your corporate identity.
There is no waiting time for the setup for these forms; this process can be completed during the implementation phase.
The sections in the form are configured to reflect the level of screening required, (so there are no unnecessary fields), and also the group within your business. We can also add sections which are not specific to the screening process but are needed by HR such as health questionnaires and emergency contacts.
Process
For each group and screening level within your business a PIN code will be set. This PIN code will control exactly what is asked in the questionnaire and link it to the correct group. There is no limit to the number of configurations.
The candidate uses this PIN code to register on our secure site. They will then be sent a confirmation e-mail with a username and password, and location to login.
The candidate is guided through the questionnaire by the "Info Box", this is a tool that can spot any missing information, gaps, overlaps etc. and does not allow completion of the questionnaire until correct.
Once the questionnaire is completed access for the Candidate is removed, and the data is sent directly to our system for screening.
Example Form
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INTEGRATION PROJECTS
We have developed a generic HR-XML compliant interface into Vero Live. This will allow your own systems to send candidate information to Vero Live directly. Vero Live can then return screening results and status checks on the screening throughout the process.
This integration can be used by Applicant Tracking Systems, HR management Systems, and/or your own bespoke software to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the process.
Our in-house development team can quickly modify our data schemas to suit your needs and effectively integrate into your systems.
For more information on HR-XML please visit the HR-XML Consortium's Web Site
The HR-XML Background Check schema supports background check requests to third-party suppliers of background checking services. The specification also supports the return of search results. A wide variety of screenings are supported, including searches education, employment, professional qualifications and credit.
View individual pages for the following schemas
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Background Checking Schema |
Background Reports Schema |
Background Requests Schema
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REQUEST A TOUR OF VERO LIVE 2008
If you would like further information on Vero Live or would like someone to demo any part of the system to you in detail please
E-Mail us at intouch@veroscreening.com
or telephone Rebecca Hickmott on +44(0) 1273 201 889
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CONTACT US
We aim to help you as quickly and effectively as possible. Below are telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses as well our postal address and a map link which will provide you with directions.
When e-mailing please be as clear as possible with your request so we can help you as quickly and accurately as possible.
We will reply to any requests within 24 hours.
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BY POST
Address
Vero Screening Ltd.
Goldstone Business Centre
2 Goldstone Street
Hove, BN3 3RJ
East Sussex
United Kingdom
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BY AIRWAVE & CABLE
Telephone
Sales Enquiries: +44 (0) 1273 203 090
General Enquiries: +44 (0) 1273 201 889
E-Mail
Customer Services: intouch@veroscreening.com
Technical Support: support@veroscreening.com
Fax
General Faxes: +44 (0) 1273 201 881
Reference Responses: +44 (0) 1273 735 060
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