First Advantage reveals employment screening trends in Asia Pacific

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KUALA LUMPUR: In the latest study, ‘First Advantage Employment Screening Trends Report: Asia Pacific, 1Q 2014,’ it is found that 1 in 5 of all Asia Pacific employees have some form of background discrepancy.

And 18.9 per cent of the discrepancies in the Asia-Pacific region were related to education of employees, said First Advantage, in a statement issued yesterday in Sydney, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The leading global provider of screening analytics and identity solutions and a Symphony Technology Group (STG) company said the report showed that there was an overall increase in discrepancy rates (5.8 per cent) compared to 1Q13.

The study also revealed that more employers from different verticals in the Asia-Pacific region were screening their candidates, the statement said adding that Australia and New Zealand topped the list with 23.38 per cent in 1Q14.

This is followed by Singapore, which recorded 18.78 per cent in 1Q14. The statement said it was found that 26 per cent of the employers in the Asia Pacific region were now conducting more than six checks and above.

They were 11 times more likely to uncover a discrepancy as compared to those who conduct only two checks (three per cent) or five checks (nine per cent), the statement added.

The study also noted a growing trend toward ‘infinity screening,’ in which screening programmes are extended to include contractors and vendors and to introduce periodic re-screening of existing employees.

“Through this trends report, First Advantage seeks to help employers in Asia Pacific identify the current employment background verification trends and understand how they can optimize their screening programmes,” said Matthew Glasner, managing director of South APAC at First Advantage.

“We are seeing a significant increase in discrepancies in region and this further highlights the importance of using state-of-the-art screening practices available to ensure companies know who they are hiring, thereby mitigating the business loss associated with a wrong hire.” — Bernama