From Screening to Safeguarding: The Evolution of Risk Management in Hiring
Background checks were once seen as a simple screening tool—an administrative step in the hiring process. But at eeCheck, we know that the role of background checks has evolved far beyond that. Today, they are a critical safeguard for organizations, ensuring compliance, protecting reputations, and enabling HR teams to make confident people decisions.
Driving Client Value Through a High-Performance Culture
At eeCheck, we believe that delivering the best results for our clients starts with cultivating a high-performance corporate culture. Every member of our team is driven by a shared commitment: to provide efficient, accurate, and effective background check services that safeguard our clients against people risks.
Why Turnaround Time Is a Competitive Advantage
In today’s hiring environment, speed matters. For employers competing for talent, a slow background check process can mean losing top candidates to faster-moving competitors. At eeCheck, we recognize that turnaround time is not just an operational metric—it is a competitive advantage.
Seamless Hiring: ATS-Integrated Workflow for Employment Background Checks
At eeCheck, responsiveness is more than a service standard—it is a mindset. We know that employers rely on timely updates and clear communication to make informed people decisions. That’s why responding promptly to client inquiries and ensuring full visibility into the background check process is at the heart of how we operate.
As eeCheck rapidly expands to become one of the leading global employment background check firms, there’s much more happening behind the scenes than just winning tenders and establishing new offices. The essence of our growth hinges on scalability and an unwavering commitment to service quality and technology innovation. Here’s a look at our approach, as shared by the leadership team:
1. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs): Our foundation. Everyone on the team adheres to our SOPs to ensure accuracy and quality are never compromised.
2. Robust Internal Audits: With a dedicated internal audit team, we continuously monitor adherence to SOPs, ensuring any potential lapses are promptly addressed.
3. Comprehensive Training Programs: Training is integral to our DNA. We employ step-by-step guides, video demonstrations, and continuous access to SOPs, ensuring new team members quickly come up to speed and maintain our quality benchmarks.
4. Rigorous Researcher Assessment: After completing their training hours, every researcher undergoes an assessment by our internal Senior Trainer. This ensures that our focus remains on quality, not just headcount.
5. Embracing Workflow Automation: Spearheaded by our EELAB division, we’re constantly reevaluating and innovating our workflows for increased efficiency and precision.
6. Cultivating an Agile and Nimble Culture: At eeCheck, our culture isn’t just a buzzword; it’s the bedrock of our operations. As we grow, agility and adaptability remain our guiding lights.
7. Local Practices, Global Standards: While we respect and incorporate local practices in our global offices, our unwavering commitment to service quality, data security, and client promises remains universally consistent.
8. Regular Client Feedback: Our true performance metric? Client feedback. We engage with our clients regularly, ensuring that as we grow, our standards of care and attention remain unparalleled.
The leadership team’s perspective is unequivocal: Growth, while desirable, must never overshadow client satisfaction. We’re proud of our 4.5 out of 5 client satisfaction rating in 2022. For us, this metric holds more weight than revenue or expansion metrics. As we navigate this period of intense growth, our clients remain at the heart of every decision.
In Conclusion, at eeCheck, our eyes are set on the future. But as we grow, our commitment to excellence and client satisfaction remains unwavering. Join us in celebrating our increasing global presence, and let’s journey together towards making eeCheck the gold standard in background checks worldwide!
Singapore stands tall as an epicenter for business in Asia, and at eeCheck, we’re proud to mirror that prominence in the background check industry. Our roots run deep in Singapore, yet our branches stretch out globally, encompassing a vast array of research and background check capabilities.
The Singapore Advantage:
1. Recognized by Key Institutions:
2. Local Expertise with a Global
Backing:While our Singapore team offers unparalleled local research and client support, they’re reinforced by our global and regional teams that ensure centralized control, seamless communication, and robust global research.
3. Trusted by the Best:
We’re privileged to partner with Singapore’s premier local firms and multinational corporations who’ve chosen Singapore as their Asia HQ. Our client experience in Singapore is unparalleled.
Full Compliance in Singapore: We adhere rigorously to Singapore’s regulations, ensuring total compliance in data privacy and security for both employers based in Singapore and those coming to work in the city-state.
4. Extensive Insights in Singapore:
We delve into various industries, ensuring our clients are adeptly trained and equipped to comply with distinct regulatory mandates. A prime illustration of this is our in-depth understanding of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)’s proposed mandate reference checks scheme. For a comprehensive exploration on this topic, especially tailored for the finance and banking sector, click here to access our whitepaper.
5. Speed and Compliance:
In Singapore, we offer swift turnarounds. Most background checks are completed within 24 to 48 hours. Furthermore, we ensure full adherence to data privacy and security regulations, safeguarding both employers and potential employees.
Our Global Screening Prowess:
1. Proven Track Record:
Since inception, eeCheck has successfully executed over 1 million global background checks for top global and local firms.
2. Extensive Reach:
With data points spanning 100+ countries, our researchers are equipped to provide comprehensive insights.
3. Comprehensive Research:
Our team actively collaborates with authorities and data sources worldwide, guaranteeing rapid, compliant results.
4. Multilingual Mastery:
Our in-house expertise encompasses 35+ languages, ensuring we’re well-prepared for any global screening task.
5. Upholding Global Standards:
We maintain stringent global standards in data privacy, security, human rights, and related regulations.
6. Technologically Advanced:
Our systems are optimized for managing expansive global employment background check programs, complete with advanced access controls and multiple contact points.
Our Ambitious Horizon:
At eeCheck, our vision is clear: to ascend as Asia’s premier global background check firm. Our stronghold in Asian nations, especially our robust capabilities in Singapore, positions us uniquely in the industry. Melding our regional expertise with our global reach and years of industry experience, we’re poised to deliver an unrivaled background check experience for Talent Acquisition teams, HR departments, and candidates alike.
As we look towards the future of talent acquisition in Asia, we can see several trends that are expected to shape the hiring landscape in 2023 and beyond. These trends include a greater emphasis on technology, increased focus on employee experience, and prioritization of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
One of the most significant trends for talent acquisition in Asia in 2023 is the increased Adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, and other data-driven technologies to streamline the hiring process. This includes tools such as automated resume screening, chatbots for initial candidate interaction, and predictive analytics to identify the best candidates for a specific role. These technologies are expected to help hiring teams save time by automating repetitive tasks, reducing bias and improving the accuracy of candidate matching, and ultimately producing better-quality hires.
Another trend we can expect to see in 2023 is a greater emphasis on Employer Branding to attract top talent. With competition for skilled workers getting more fierce every year, employers will need to differentiate themselves to stand out in the crowded hiring landscape. To do so, organizations will focus on creating compelling employee value propositions that resonate with candidates while demonstrating their unique strengths and benefits.
In addition to these technology and branding-focused trends, talent acquisition teams in Asia are also expected to prioritize Employee Experience in 2023. With a growing need for remote and hybrid work setups, organizations will need to adapt their hiring processes accordingly. This includes designing effective virtual onboarding programs, leveraging tools to create a sense of community and digital team-building, and providing ongoing training and development opportunities to help employees grow and stay motivated.
Finally, we can also expect to see a continued increase in the focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in talent acquisition practices in Asia and beyond. This includes the use of data analytics to drive decisions around DEI, as well as the integration of DEI practices into employer branding and hiring strategies. By prioritizing DEI, organizations can create a more inclusive and effective hiring process while expanding their talent pool to include a wider range of candidates.
In conclusion, the talent acquisition landscape in Asia for 2023 will see many exciting changes as organizations continue to adapt to new technologies, changing employee expectations, and a growing need for diversity and inclusion. As these trends continue to evolve over time, employers will need to stay up to date to stay ahead of the competition and attract the best talent possible.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is taking a proactive stance in mitigating the risks of potential misconduct within the financial industry. As part of this effort, MAS has proposed mandatory reference checks for prospective representatives and is considering extending this requirement to other employees in the industry.
In a Consultation Paper issued in July 2018, MAS outlined the requirements for financial institutions (FIs) to conduct reference checks and respond to reference check requests on their representatives. Senior managers are identified as individuals whose misconduct can negatively impact an FI’s soundness, reputation, customers’ interests, or public confidence. To prevent the movement of “rolling bad apples,” MAS is considering two options for expanding the scope of employees that FIs need to perform reference checks on.
Option 1 aligns with the proposed Harmonized and Expanded Power to issue Prohibition Orders (POs) and requires FIs to perform reference checks on individuals in risk-taking functions, risk management and control functions, critical system administration, and those who can authorize or approve payments. Option 2 is narrower and focuses only on functions that can cause or result in financial risks to FIs or customers, excluding individuals responsible for operational risk, technology risk, legal risk, regulatory risk, or reputational risk.
MAS proposes that reference checks for assessing the fitness and propriety of prospective employees in the financial sector should cover mandatory information related to the individual’s records for the past five calendar years. The lookback period is not based on years of employment but on calendar years. Employers are not required to extend the lookback period for gaps in employment history. If an individual requests confidentiality of the job-seeking process from their current employer, reference checks can be conducted after their employment has ceased.
The mandatory information to be provided for reference checks by FIs includes employment history, compliance record, balanced scorecard rating, and persistency ratio of insurance policies. FIs must provide the mandatory information specified within 21 calendar days of receiving a reference check request. The individual should be given the right to view the references prepared, and FIs should make arrangements to allow individuals to make requests and share the references prepared.
FIs may face difficulties when performing reference checks on prospective employees who are from companies outside Singapore, non-financial sectors, or FIs outside the scope of FIs described in this initiative’s scope. MAS expects FIs to take reasonable steps to request relevant information and satisfy themselves of the fitness and propriety of the prospective employees. If an FI has requested for reference checks and deemed the prospective employee suitable for the position based on other due diligence checks, it can proceed with recruitment despite the absence of a response to the reference check requests or reference checks containing insufficient information.
In conclusion, the proposal for mandatory reference checks is intended to ensure consistency and meaningful information exchange in the financial industry in Singapore. It is aligned with the international focus on preventing the movement of bad apples as outlined in the toolkit published by the Financial Stability Board Working Group on Governance Frameworks.
Check out eeCheck’s Whitepaper to Get Ready to Comply With The Newest MAS Requirements with eeCheck!
Ensure a seamless process by integrating it with your existing employment screening process and following these 6 best practices:
Check out our MOM Verification Fact Sheet to learn more about MOM Verification.
