cFIRST Background Checks - Our Journey So Far

We started as a team of 20 people, more than 20 years back in a garage in Bangalore, is now a unit of 400+ passionate individuals who come together to achieve the dream Mr. Viral Vora had dreamt of 20+ years back. While Mr. Viral was in the United States of America, as an Engineering student, he learnt the anguish of companies and what they went through during the process of hiring and the repercussions of a wrong hire. 

Legal mitigations, loss of face and brand name, futile capital investment and cost to company as a part of the hiring process, combined with frustration made Mr. Viral reconsider how he was going to respond to a crisis of this nature. This was the point of germination for cFIRST Background Checks LLP, when Viral came back to India and established a tech unit in Bangalore in the year 2008. He soon moved to Ahmedabad and the headquarter of cFIRST was established with a very small team, which was soon joined by Ms. Lourdes Fernandes in 2012. Her vision to bring cFIRST on the global map aligned with the vision of Mr. Vora and together they took some major business decisions in the year 2013 that made cFIRST what it is today. cFIRST established their headquarter in the United States of America, in Cincinnati, Ohio, that is now one of the leading background check companies in the U.S.

cFIRST Background Checks takes pride in announcing that it has 2000+ clients from across the world now, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to cutting-edge start-ups, that continue to make difference in the world with their expertise including tech-giants such as IBM and Capgemini. Currently, cFIRST is the only Indian background screening company to have global footprint that can cater to clients in India, in the USA, and 175+ other countries.

cFIRST has also been awarded by one of the world’s largest companies as their ‘Trusted Verification Partner’ as the team continues to tread on the edge and make their mark every single day. They continue to dominate the global market with their precision of services, overcoming road-blocks and automating the process of hiring with integrity, competence and commitment.

Throughout this remarkable journey of delivering excellence, cFIRST has gained accolades which they are humbled by. With a clientele of more than 2000 organizations worldwide, it has successfully conducted more than 5 million background checks since its inception. It is an ISO 27001:2013 certified company and is also NABPS, NASSCOM NSR empaneled. Furthermore, cFIRST has also received accreditations from ACBCB, IAF, and QIC which have made this trek, nothing short of fascinating.

With an API-integrated clientele platform, cFIRST continues to march ahead, with the same amount of dedication, passion and integrity as it had on the first day of its journey and the team only hopes to keep up with the technology that is yet to unfold in future to continue solving issues related to the process of hiring and recruitment.

Guide for Selecting Employment Pre-screening Package for Newbies

There are various kinds of background verification practices that are provided by service providers but all of them are not necessary for every kind of job opening. The background checks for fresher should be very fast and cost-effective which will have been explained in this blog.

While hiring a new employee specifically the fresher it is very essential to run background verification. However, while appointing fresher if you start performing every possible background check it can be a bad idea because of these two reasons

• Doing unneeded background checks will consume more time.
• Performing unneeded background checks will make it a costly affair.

So, while hiring background verification service provider instead of selecting the unnecessary background verification practices you should go for the one that is relevant to the job patterns. For example, if you select a reference check for a fresher or driving license check for any in house job that would be irrelevant. However it is essential to know the different types of background checks, and what kind of information they disclose. It is also helpful in determining which kind of background check is the best fit for a job.

What are the various types of Background Checks?

With regards to employment screening, practices of background checks are essential to deciding how truthful the applicant's resume is because in case of inaccuracy it might pose a threat to other workers in the workplace and even customers. In order to unveil this information, the following background checks are available:

• Identity Checks which includes Identity Verification, Social Security Number Trace, Address History
• Criminal record search and this involves checking national criminal database and sex offender search, federal criminal search, statewide criminal search, county criminal search, and even international watch list.
• Verification of Education Certificates
• Financial histories check which includes credit history and credit summary report
• Employment verification of prior experiences
• Substance Abuse or Urinalysis Drug Testing
• Professional License Verification in case of professionals like doctors and engineers
• Driving License Verification

How to decide which type of background service is needed?

The best way of modifying a background check package as per requirements is to create a well-defined background check policy. A well-versed policy can decrease hiring prejudices by including job necessities and a background check decision medium so that the recruitment decisions that are being taken are unbiased and reliable. Another advantage of having background check policy in an organization is that it can list the licensing check requirements which become essential for certain jobs. 

For example, some positions may provide the new joiners access to classified information or finances or other job-specific functions. Hence a previously prepared list of requirements can help in determining which type of screening is needed and which kind of background check data can cause an immediate no-hire decision. A background check policy must also include specific procedures for receiving consent and authorization for the required background check as well as pre-adverse and the adverse action. 

What Background Check Practices Should Never Be Missed for the New Hires?

A standard background screening service will always recommend employment prescreening packages customized to the employer's need. For example, for the new entrants, an Identity Check, Criminal check and Sex Offender check is always recommended. These checks are the best fit for the new entrants for they have a quick turnaround time and very low on the pocket as well.  

Why Are Criminal Background Checks Necessary?

Summary - As an organization, you understand the value of pre-employment background checks for mitigating risk and providing confidence in hiring. This blog is written to help you understand some of the options available to you when you work with a professional background screening company. 

Making criminal background checks a part of your hiring method is important for shielding your customers, staff, and vendors. Establishing the truthfulness of whether a candidate has incorporated the right information could be a crucial step in assessing the chance of recruiting that person into your organization. While not each crime would mechanically anticipate a person from being employed, having that data permits you to form a good and effective candidate base.

In addition to making a safer and safer atmosphere, record checks may manufacture alternative vital edges, such as:

• Identifying potentially risky hires

• Helping safeguard your organization’s reputation

• Protecting organizational assets

• Fostering trust among current employees

You can use the results of a criminal background check to then assess the applicability of the record to the candidate’s level of responsibility, exposure to assets or customers, and other criteria. Conducting a criminal history search that is tailored to the necessities of the position not solely helps to reduce the potential for on-the-job incidents, it may facilitate organizations to avoid or defend potential negligent hiring and its resultant lawsuits.

The Value of Criminal Background Checks

Any time you hire a professional, you're taking a risk that the individual might not be qualified for the work — or, even worse, could prove prejudices to your organization. Avoiding hiring the incorrect person on board can also probably shield your business name, and spare you pricey promotional material efforts and being one amongst your staff cause serious damage to your organization. The best protection for creating advantageous hires is hence conducting comprehensive criminal background checks.

By completely researching an applicant’s past for any record, you avoid hiring people with convictions for monetary wrongful conduct like fraud, a felony, and stealing. Hiring quality candidates will facilitate increase your organization’s success, advance your whole, and grow your profits.  By operating with an expert background screening firm, you'll be able to feel assured regarding receiving correct, comprehensive criminal background info regarding your candidates. You also scale back the probabilities of hiring somebody with a history of behaving during a threatening or violent manner.

By completely screening candidates for criminal records, you improve the general quality of your hires. In addition, you will scale back losses from worker felony and lower the liability that may keep company with a suit for negligent hiring. Courts have conducted that employers should be very careful while hiring anyone who has a history of being a potential threat to the public.

Conclusion

Making negligent hiring might prove pricey for your business in wasted resources, harm to your name, and lower morale among your team. By conducting a criminal background check for employment as a part of your screening method, you scale back the probabilities of hiring a professional with a heavy criminal past. All too typically, candidates offer false info in their resumes or job applications. In some cases, candidates could plan to hide info a couple of records. Failing to conduct a comprehensive search before hiring will expose your company to potential liability — a risk most business house owners like to not take.

5 Resume Red Flags That Recruiters Should watch Out For

Every recruiter works with the objective of selecting a great talent for their organization. But, finding the right talent can be a challenge. After posting your job descriptions on job boards, there is every possibility of receiving hundreds of resumes on a daily basis. The difficult part is to screen these resumes and then select the best ones out of them. Frankly speaking, it is important for a recruiter to note the things that the resume does not say along with the things that it does. Here are some of the resume red flags to look out for as a recruiter.

As a recruiter, if you are able to recognize these red flags while shortlisting the candidate's resume it can help you make the wise hiring decision. But, in case, if you think that you are not good at recognizing these red flags, take the help of a background verification company that can help you select the best talent. This will ensure that your organization gets the best talent out there.

1. Resumes containing spelling, grammar and punctuation errors

A recruiter should always look out for appropriate grammar, spelling and punctuation marks in the resumes. The mistakes in these details in the resume show that the candidate is indifferent towards the opening or careless. You cannot have enough faith in them to do their duties correctly when you employ them. As the candidate cannot make the right impression at the first instance, it is imperative for you as a recruiter to give them a pass.

2. Failure to pay attention to the requirements of the position to be applied

If the candidate is not attentive enough to the words that have been used in the resume by missing a couple of words or copy and paste error or by sending a cover letter with wrong name of the company, job title or the salutation of the cover letter it shows that the candidate is being highly unprofessional. If the candidate has used xxx as place markers in the dates of employment without replacing with the exact dates it can be a potential red flag for you as a recruiter.

3. Unexplained employment gaps

Employment gaps can raise your eyebrows, but never consider them as a bad omen. There are times when employees take sabbatical leaves to take care of their children or elders, spend more time with their family, continue studying or even travel the world. These can be considered to justifiable gaps. If you ask an employee about their employment gaps and get a reasonable answer there is nothing to worry. But, if the employee is not able to justify the gap then it can be considered as a red flag.

4. Inconsistent career goals

It is common for people to change their careers at least a few times in their corporate career. But, if you come across a candidate who has jumped multiple times in a variety of unrelated industries or roles within a short period of time and is not able to explain how it can be helpful in succeeding in the role applied properly then it can be considered as a red flag.

5. Discrepancies or missing information

This last reason can take a while to research as it requires you to compare the resume of the candidate with other forms of communication like their cover letter or LinkedIn profile. Also look at your organization's database to see whether the candidate has applied in the past to ensure that the information that they have provided in their original resume matches with their recent application. If you find anything missing or discrepancies in the information consider it to be a red flag.

Vivek Asrani is a content specialist at cFIRST Background Checks, one of India’s leading employee background verification companies. Vivek writes about the various aspects of recruitment technology.