Lying in CV? Remember it's a digital age

A top multinational company (MNC) into financial services discovered that their latest recruit, an entry-level executive, had lied on his CV. He claimed to have scored 78% in his PG course, while his original scores, were at a mere 58%. At the time of the discovery, the employee had already spent six months in the organisation and was proving to be a useful resource. The company decided to let him go as he had failed to adhere to their principles of integrity.

Embellishing on the CVs, identity theft and lying on the extent of experience, have become very common, say HR experts, leading to stringent background checks. "Around 60% of CVs floating in the market are either fake or have some form of misrepresentation. The practice of conducting interviews over the phone or remotely, has compounded the problem," says K Umasanker, senior vice president at AVTAR Career Creators.

Rogue employees vs corporate image : Untoward incidents like data theft, sexual misconduct and misuse of company funds, have led companies to screen candidates to avoid embarrassment and losses. Two years back, an Uber driver in Delhi was charged with raping a passenger. It was later discovered that he had faked references and hid his criminal background which clearly suggested that he was a repeat offender. The incident resulted in temporary ban on the company services, which was later revoked.

"Companies which hold sensitive data, codes and other financial information have become very strict with their screening processes. Companies avoiding these are those with rigorous systems wherein mobile phones are banned, every activity of the employee is tracked and those who are extremely confident of their security systems," informs Umasanker. The rest of the companies check social media feeds, online presence and the possibility of criminal records and establish the authenticity of their academic claims.

Check and check again :The trend of extensive checking came in after MNCs who are mostly financial-service majors, outsourced their back-office operations to India. Their employees would have to handle sensitive information which leads to losses and subsequent law suits. In addition to employing a seemingly honest candidate, companies are also proposing a possible status check on especially those employees who handle sensitive information.

"Organisations understand that a verification showing no blemishes at the time of recruitment doesn't guarantee that the person will never carry out an act that compromises integrity. Hence, some organisations are proposing annual background-checks for their senior executives. These checks are around criminal records, pending court cases, social media behaviour and family backgrounds. This practice, which is not common, will catch up given the increasing awareness of employee rights, harassment at work, trolling and various such bullying in the cyber space," says Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO , CIEL HR Services.

Who's the criminal?

Checking criminal activity which does or does not affect the employer, is the hardesk task for HR departments. India lacks a centralised database, and information from courts and police is slow. "In the US, employers are very straightforward. They seek the permission of the recruits to check on them and thoroughly. Since there is no law governing the employment of people with criminal records, most employees do not disclose them," says Umasanker.

Even when companies hold the information, the action taken against them always varies. "The results of a background check end in two possibilities. The ones marked red, lead to immediate termination. The cases which are marked in amber, are either due to lack of information or inconclusive findings. These cases are handled subjectively by the HR team and the line manager," says Mishra. However, many Indian companies require their employees to maintain clean records. After all, it is impossible to establish a brand name and trust with employees, who are in not in sync with the organisation's principles.