Month: June 2021

As the working and middle classes in developing countries continue to grow, there is an increased risk of financial service companies being targeted by criminals. With the growing popularity of mobile banking, people are more tempted to take risks for instant gratification.

Today, we have strict accountability and complex regulations that the financial industry must follow to maintain compliance. Modern day tools can detect risk by analyzing outliers against historical trends or anomalies, so it becomes easier to catch the culprit.

One of the more popular tools as a financial institution is a thorough employment background check for soon to be hired employees. This process of checking will keep you compliant and up-to-date with the requirements with the industry, so that you can hire or work with someone without repercussions.

Below are some of the reasons why a thorough background check is important in checking trustworthiness:

1) Ensure that an employee has not committed fraud in the past

2) Provide information about their credit and debt history

3) Check if have been charged with bankruptcy crimes or guilty of money laundering,

4) Checks for previous and current criminal records

5) Know if the information they’ve provided is truthful or made up

Employment background checks are essential because it gives an employer the peace of mind that they have hired a competent employee.

Background screening is a critical tool that organizations need to detect and prevent losses. It’s also important for protecting customer data from outside threats.

P.S.
📌To get a FREE copy of How to do Background Checks Correctly go here:
https://lnkd.in/gKBHjQE

The increasing “digitization” of our lives is both a blessing and a curse – it is much easier and more convenient to keep in touch with our family and friends, do work, transact, and entertain ourselves online, yet it also exposed much more of us and our activities to malicious or prying eyes. In response to the seeming loss of privacy, the past several years saw much of the world pass Data Privacy legislation, while the public started demanding organizations that collect and store information to improve the way they protect that data.

Background screening companies like Vanguard routinely collect, process, and send personal information to and from clients, candidates, schools, employers, and other parties. Professional and world-class screening vendors should have Information Security and Data Privacy tightly woven in their day-to-day operations, and not just something for the IT Department or the Data Privacy Officer to worry about. Each person in the company should know that it is everyone’s responsibility to protect the data that they work with – no exceptions!

Companies that want to outsource their employment screening requirements would do well to verify if the vendors they are considering have the appropriate disciplines, processes, and infrastructure in place to protect their data. It must be noted that any leakage of candidate personal information from the background screening vendors will ultimately be the legal responsibility of the company, as they are the employer of the candidate. There is no way to contractually pass that responsibility to the screening vendor, so the next best thing is to make sure the vendor is up to snuff in terms of Info Security and Data Privacy.

At a minimum, companies must demand that a Background Screening vendor have the minimum Information Technology infrastructure to support industry-standard security settings. All user computers must be centrally managed, and all logins are done using unique accounts. Password policies must conform to standards. All employees must have undergone training once onboarded, and regular reminders and refresher training programs in place. The concept of least access to data must be practiced. Work must be sufficiently segregated to have checks and balances. Physical security of the work areas must be in place. As a rule of thumb, your vendors Information Security and Data Privacy standards must be at par with your own standards – else they are the weakest link and your biggest risk.

*To get a FREE copy of How to do Background Checks Correctly go here:

The mental health of employees is worsening as we all return to work. Mental Health Awareness Week, which just ended on May 13th, has brought attention to this issue. People are hesitant to go back due to safety concerns or simply because we’ve gotten used to remote work and don’t want the commute and exposure it may bring.

Let’s face it, It’s been a long time since most of us went back to work on a regular basis. It can be difficult for some people to get used to the idea of having to perform their daily routines the same way that they were used to. As much as we are excited to get back, we are nervous about how things will be different and if our mental health will stay in check.

There are many things you can do in order mentally prepare yourself when you get back into the office: Below are tips that can help us adjust as you get back into the swing of things!

1. Identifying as being a part of a larger community helps mentally Keep in mind that we are not alone. 

With the rise of remote work, what was once “office culture” has now become “work culture”. It can be hard to go back and feel like we don’t belong with our co-workers anymore. We are part of a bigger group than just our office mates!

2 Admit there is anxiety. 

We were all affected. If we admit that we’re feeling anxious, then others will understand where you are coming from and help support you through those feelings.  ‍

3­­­­ ­) Take it slowly. 

We don’t feel like we need to jump back in head first. It’s okay if we start slow and gradually increase our workload as time goes on. Give ourselves the opportunity to get used to being at work again before getting too overwhelmed by what is.

4. Reconnect with our co-workers–try to ease back into work by doing things that are socially fulfilling. 

Go out for lunch or dinner, have coffee breaks more often so we can catch up on what’s been happening in their lives at the office.

5.  Prioritize Safety above everything else. Take safety into our own hands. Even if it is no longer a strict policy, keep wearing our masks, socially distance, avoid cramped spaces and have hand sanitizer at your desk to protect ourselves at all times.

Employers are starting to take notice of the mental health toll that comes with returning to work. The biggest worry people have is safety especially in a world where many workplaces are not as secure or safe as they should be. So what can we do when we get back into the office? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but there are some general guidelines for mentally preparing yourself before you go back so that our return will hopefully be easier on both our brain and our productivity at work.

To get a FREE copy of How to do Background Checks Correctly go here: https://www.vanguardscreen.com/background-checks/

There are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to hiring remote employees. It’s not as simple as hiring someone – you have to be willing to invest in them and work with them differently than you may have with staff in the past.

According to recent stats almost 70  percent of employees have been working from home during the pandemic. This means that hiring for talent is also being conducted remotely hence the risks associated with workforce safety,  security, compliance, regulations, fraud, drug use, and many other offenses have significantly increased.

With these risks come a few blind spots that need to be taken into heavy consideration. Addressing these blind spots will mean a difference between facing serious consequences in the future. 

Below are things we need to consider in a work from home scenario:

• We can’t see them face to face hence it is more difficult to validate identity
• Once they get onboard their homes become an extension of our workplace and company, it’s important to know what happens in these homes and as it can pose a cybersecurity risk.
• Remote employees can also interact with anyone at home and maybe unknowingly sharing sensitive and personal information
• Using home equipment may also pose a risk to confidential corporate data as most if not all of them may not be in compliance with your minimum asset standard.

In order to gain peace of mind from the scenarios mentioned above, a cost-effective and efficient method through background checks is highly critical in the front-end hiring process.

Conducting an employment background check allows employers to have a greater chance of hiring trustworthy remote workers. 

Background checks don’t guarantee that you’ll get the right candidate. It can however help mitigate against a number of serious risks that have far reaching implications.