Author: Vanguard Screen Solution

Tech companies have a hard time fulfilling job requirements as a lot of candidates are shorthanded when it comes to skill requirements. Southeast Asia’s tech recruiting dilemma is expected to worsen. It takes three months to fill an open tech position in Southeast Asia, and LinkedIn predicts that the top three fastest growing job categories for this region will be digital content, data analyst, and software technology by 2021.

But what’s the number one bottleneck?

A lot of Tech applicants lie on their resume to get a job. 

Tech Candidates exaggerate their education, job titles, or prior experience just to get higher pay. In fact, 51% of human resources managers have discovered that applicants have falsified their resumes for being hired at least once. For every employer, this must be prevented since it’s common knowledge that most firms don’t hire employees with falsified  records due to safety and security reasons.

It’s a common fact that Technology companies especially the outsourced ones often find themselves spread across regions, accounts and territories. From a legal standpoint, hiring someone from overseas requires screening requirements that vary greatly depending on compliance and  requirement standards. One of the more pressing issues aside from cybersecurity and safety of proprietary information are base skills.

Performance issues abound in different IT functional areas. Whether it’s productivity, reliability issues or security breaches, investing in a legitimately skilled IT professional can save you time, money, and a world of frustration down the line. And this is where, regardless of the type of tech job, background checks can play an important role in technical recruitment. 

Deep Background checks can spot:

• Misdeclared information
• Education, certification and performance discrepancies
• Criminal records
• Debt/Financial records
• Compliance violations in the past
• Behavioral issues that can pose a risk to data security or customer sensitivity

The need for tech professions will definitely increase across the region, and employers must hire in order to maintain a competitive edge. The demand is not isolated to just one or two countries; every nation has an urgency to retrain mid-career workers who are qualified in these fields while maintaining existing jobs.

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

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:
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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. 

Due to the pandemic, global restlessness and diminishing income,  people have started to focus on creative means to steal data/financial information which has led many cybercriminals to want their cut from these profits! One of the most popular? 

The Business Process outsourcing industry.

 A recent study found a big amount of online fraudsters will use BPO as their target industry in 2021 as job demand and opportunities have started to spike and take off from this industry. 

Most recently, an employee of a BPO company in India managed to steal the customer data and sell it on the dark web. The information was sold for about $20,000 USD.

It’s not just big corporations that are being targeted – small businesses such as the homesourcing shops are also at risk. 

To help combat these threats, we’ve outlined best practices to keep your BPO safe from fraud going into Q3 of 2021.

Robust Cybersecurity Program: Implement a company wide cybersecurity program to protect, mitigate and inform employees about the risks and consequences of fraud. These include not just setting up the technology infrastructure but different layers of protection that will reinforce employee interactions and transactions.

Knowledge and Awareness Campaigns: Train your employees for social engineering attacks by teaching them how to spot suspicious emails, phone calls or deals with customers/suppliers. A type of fraud is phishing; where employees are targeted with emails that prompt them to share sensitive or confidential data like passwords, banking details etc. 

Vendor/Supplier Qualification: Conduct regular audits on suppliers’ processes (like financial data) before they’re hired so you know what their strengths are and weaknesses are ahead of time. This will help identify potential red flags early on -before it even happens.

Background Checks: Make background screening part of your hiring process in order to significantly curb down the instances of fraud by 98%. 

Some cybercriminals have managed to sneak past automated processes like payrolls systems with fake identification documents as well as embezzlement schemes by using digital technology (keylogger scams). It’s important for BPOs to do background screenings before they employ anyone at all so they can be proactive about preventing risks before they happen.

Background checks are not only necessary as part of a best practice approach to hiring, but also that it delivers real value to the company’s bottom line by providing a safety insurance ROI  (Preserves the safety of employees and the reputation of the enterprise.)

As things are easing back to normal,  It’s alarming how easy it can be for criminals to organize access to data containing employee, company or even customer information such as bank account numbers and sensitive personal data and information. Data of which is the lifeblood of any business process outsourcing entity locally or internationally.

To know more about how to customize your background screening process for your BPO, download our FREE Guide by clicking HOME.

“Follow me on my IG”

“Add me on Facebook”

“Hey, watch my latest Tiktok video”

As more and more people live their lives “online”, particularly on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, interest in so-called Social Media Checks for employment screening is increasing.

The past few years Vanguard Screening has received several inquiries from companies who want to see what their employees and applicants are posting and talking about in their social media accounts.

But why is this so?

Shouldn’t one’s social media presence be kept private? After all we also have to be mindful about privacy and data protection. It turns out—companies can still do social media investigation at their discretion, simply because the information is made public by us.

As an organization, there are benefits in adding social media checks to your background screening program. This is for you to avoid potential bad apples getting into your organization.  It might be good though to keep in mind the limitations and potential pitfalls inherent to this type of background check.

You can only check public posts.

Results of social media checks are limited to posts that are made public by the account holder. Private posts that can only be seen by the person’s friends will not be reflected in the report. Also, you should not ask the person to add or “friend” us for the purpose of background checking them – this is unprofessional, in poor taste, and potentially illegal!

Make sure you are checking the right profile or account.

Be conscious of the fact that, unless the profile name is quite unique, there are usually multiple accounts with the same name. Worse is there are instances where someone creates a fake account of somebody else for the sole purpose of embarrassing or spreading false information about that person. You certainly do not want to make conclusions about a person from the wrong assumptions or information.

Be careful not to discriminate.

Checking the social media profiles of your employees or applicants can open a can of worms – you may see thoughts, opinions and activities that may not be agreeable or acceptable to you but are otherwise not reasons for rejection or non-consideration for a job in your organization. Only specific behaviors that are “universally” unacceptable: violence, terrorism, racism are some examples, should be cause for concern and action.

Social Media checks can be mutually beneficial for both employers and employees if done in the proper context and intent. Ensuring that we only be objective and at the same time judicious in our approach can we fully appreciate and maximize the advantages of this type of screening method.