One of the industries hit hardest by the pandemic was the hospitality industry. Hotels were largely empty, restaurants were limited to takeaway deliveries, and resorts were closed for months on end.

Now, as travel returns to most countries, businesses in the hospitality industry are finding themselves pushed to keep up with demand. The industry faces worker shortages due to a slow revival of immigration and businesses are keen to hire quickly to fill the gaps.

But as hospitality businesses rush to employ new workers, they must also remember to hire safely. One way to achieve this is by conducting thorough background screening on prospective employees, particularly adverse media checks.

What an adverse media check? 

An adverse media check involves searching media archives to identify any information associated with a person. It enables companies to identify any controversial issues or legal proceedings of a person that have been reported in the media. The search is conducted using thousands of adverse key words relating to crime, terror, fraud and other illicit activities. All articles found are reviewed directly with the source to ensure the most accurate and up to date information is considered. By searching breaking news articles, results can include an early warning on pending criminal and civil cases.

This search uses the candidate’s current and previous names to sift through a database collated from more than 12,000 sources including the world’s major trade, business, and scholastic journals, local newspapers, regional business publications, national and international business newspapers, industry newsletters, corporate news releases and newswires worldwide, for any information pertaining to the candidate.

Why are adverse media checks useful in the hospitality industry?

1. Safety is key

Hospitality is all about creating a safe and secure environment for customers, and the creation of a safe environment starts by employing workers who can be trusted with ensuring the health and safety of guests.

Adverse media checks enable businesses to check whether there are any links between a prospective employee and criminal activities, such as violent behavior or physical or sexual assault, or any reported connections to organised crime. Businesses can then utilise this information to assess whether the worker would be suited for a role that requires a high level of trustworthiness and integrity.

2. The need to hire efficiently 

Adding efficiencies to the recruitment process is crucial for busy hiring markets such as the hospitality industry.

Adverse media screening provides a quick overview of any major incidents linked to an individual, hence this type of screening is useful as an efficient first filter in the recruitment process. It can help  ensure that unsuitable candidates are weeded out of the process as early as possible, saving the business significant time and resources.

3. High proportion of international workers

The hospitality industry boasts a high proportion of international workers compared to other industries, yet it can be more complex to conduct effective background screening on international workers due to a lack of reach and resources.

An adverse media check is beneficial in this situation as it utilises global media sources to search whether the candidate has been mentioned in media articles internationally. This enables businesses to gain insight into whether the candidate has had any past incidents in their native country or other countries in which they have lived and worked that would raise a red flag.

4. Hospitality workers often work independently in high-trust environments

Hospitality workers often work in high-trust environments, such as hotel rooms, bars, or with young children or elderly people. Due to their employment in such environments, it is imperative for businesses to help them hire authentic, trustworthy and reliable employees.

Many hospitality roles also require employees to carry out tasks independently without direct supervision. For example, small hospitality businesses where there isn’t always a manager on hand but there remains access to the cash till. These positions call for the hiring of employees that can be trusted to fulfil their role with integrity.

Adverse media check helps to identify any prior integrity issues and incidents for candidates, particularly in past employment roles that may have been omitted from their CV. This helps businesses feel confident to take the next step in making fully informed hiring decisions and recruiting workers who can be trusted to work independently and in high-trust environments.

How can Sterling help? 

Conducting comprehensive background screening, including adverse media checks, helps to ensure that your business is hiring the right staff to maintain safety and security at your hospitality venue.

Sterling are experts in delivering adverse media check and other background screening services to the hospitality industry in the Asia-Pacific region and globally. We have specialist  expertise and knowledge of each of the markets in which we operate, and can offer tailored services and guidance to suit the unique requirements of your business.

If you’re looking to hire safely and quickly for your hospitality business, contact us on info@sterlingriq.com to discuss your needs.

HR teams are challenged every day with a variety of different tasks. In addition, they are regularly faced with new obstacles like time pressures, talent shortages, and even world-changing events like the pandemic.

However, one challenge that has persisted since the dawn of recruitment is that of identifying and weeding out fraudulent candidates from the hiring process.

In this article, we’ve collected the latest employment fraud cases from around the world, along with our recommendations about how you can help to protect your business from fraudulent candidates and financial risk.

Heisting Jobs at a Hospice

In 2004, Jon Andrewes fraudulently obtained a job as chief executive at a hospice in Somerset, United Kingdom, using false qualifications and experience in his job application. He also successfully applied to two other paid roles within the National Health Service (NHS) during his tenure, using the same false experience and qualifications.

Mr Andrewes’ employment and appointments ended in 2015, when the truth about his qualifications were finally discovered. He was charged with fraud and deception and sentenced to two years in prison. His full earnings over the period from 2004 to 2015 were calculated at £643,602.91. This represents a significant loss for the hospice and the NHS – not only financially but also in terms of the expertise that they could have hired in the roles instead of Mr Andrewes.

Employment fraud is particularly worrying in industries where there is a high level of vulnerability on the part of customers (or patients). It is strongly recommended that organisations in high-trust industries like healthcare implement a comprehensive background check program to verify that candidates have suitable integrity and background for a role in the industry.

Documents in Question

In India, a sobering investigation revealed that at least 250 people with fake certificates got jobs in various government departments, including the armed services petroleum department, railways and more, over the course of 38 years in Rajkot, India.

Alarmingly, the scam was flourishing since 1983, and that unqualified students getting jobs in government departments are not new. When it comes to hiring employees, there are ways that companies can increase their safety, security, and confidentiality.

This case shows the importance of conducting thorough background screening when hiring candidates. While background screening must be performed carefully and accurately, it is an important way to protect a businesses and institutions.

When conducting background checks on your candidates, we recommend leveraging the expertise and reach of a global background check provider like Sterling. Global providers will have the existing infrastructure and contacts in place to conduct screening in an efficient and accurate manner, enabling businesses to hire safely and efficiently.

Negligent Hiring In Dallas

An employee of a Dallas telecommunications company made a service call to an 83-year-old female customer but ended up killing the woman and stealing her credit cards. He was arrested, pled guilty to murder, and was later sentenced to life in prison.

Subsequently, the organization who hired the man was also found guilty of negligent hiring of an employee and unsafe practices and ordered to pay damages to the woman’s estate. This employer was found to have eliminated its employee background check program and did not conduct any background checks on the employee.

This case found that   “employers can be held civilly responsible for their employee’s acts if the employer knew or should have known of the employee’s potential risk to cause harm, or if the risk to cause harm would have been discovered by a reasonable investigation of the employee’s background.” It sets a precedent that businesses need to take steps to make themselves aware of the background of employees and their potential risk to cause harm. It is no longer sufficient to rely on a candidate’s application alone; rather, thorough background checks must be conducted by businesses, who should also retain background check records.

How Can Businesses Help Protect Themselves from Fraudulent Candidates?

All these cases demonstrate how important it is for businesses to conduct due diligence during the recruitment process to help ensure that candidates are thoroughly background checked and screened prior to making an employment offer.

Employment lawyer Sue Gilchrist, from Pinsent Masons said, “Strong due diligence is needed in recruitment to avoid errors… particularly checks relating to regulated roles, and to ensure compliance with immigration checks which must be undertaken. Failures regarding the latter can result in criminal [and civil] penalties.

“Honesty is an integral and essential part of the employer-employee relationship. A breach of trust will often form grounds for dismissal.”

Sterling is the expert at delivering comprehensive background check services to businesses in the Asia-Pacific region. We have nuanced knowledge of each of the markets in which we operate and can offer tailored advice and services to your business.

If you’re looking to help safeguard your business from fraudulent candidates, contact us on info@sterlingrisq.com to discuss your needs.

As we kick off the new year, some of the tech companies that have successfully navigated the Covid-19 pandemic may now be faced with another difficult challenge — industry layoffs.

Hiring within the tech sector in 2023 will mean navigating through large-scale industry layoffs, coupled with candidates who want to work for a company whose mission and culture align with their own personal values.

So what does this have to do with potential hiring slowdowns?

EVERYTHING…. As recruitment slows or grinds to a halt, now is a perfect time to reimagine the whole recruitment journey from application through to the candidate’s first day. Let’s look at three cost effective areas that can make a real difference.

1. Re-valuate your Employee Value Proposition

• Provide useful and specific details about the role. Mention projects your candidate may undertake or teams they will work with. Clearly outline “Must-have” vs “Nice-to-have” so candidates are clear on requirements.
• Choose straightforward job titles that clearly define the role for which you are hiring.
• Promote your company and consider what makes your company unique. Talk about company values, mission, as well as the benefits & perks your company offers. At a time when candidates are in the driving seat and be more selective about the  organisation they choose to work for, it is important to not just show how diversity, equality and inclusion (DE&I) are a part of  your company values, but how they are embedded in the day-to-day life of everything you do.
• Use clear inclusive language, avoid jargon, and speak directly to candidates (e.g., use “you” instead of “the ideal candidate.”)

2. Improve your recruitment processes

• Use email templates. Choose templates to invite candidates to interviews, but make sure these are updated regularly.
• Invest in recruiting software. Applicant tracking systems can help you manage your hiring stages, keep candidate profiles in a searchable database, and collaborate with your team. Sterling integrates with a number of ATS Systems to further streamline the onboarding process, and we also have our own open API for custom built systems.

3. Enhancing the candidate experience

• Be informative on your careers page of the process so the candidate understands what will happen and when at each stage of the hiring process.
• Evaluate your screening process. Are the checks you are currently running still relevant for the role? Is the information you are getting back sufficient or are you having to follow up? Are you adopting a one size fits all approach and potentially overspending?
• Hiring globally? Emails in local language when onboarding or completing pre-employment screening checks can put the candidate at ease, allaying any fears of missing something when trying to communicate in a different language (Sterling can support with this).
• Keep candidates in the loop. Your ATS’s built in email templates, coupled with live updates from your integrated screening provider, can help facilitate communication at every hiring stage.

In summary, some organisations in the tech industry may be experiencing hiring slowdowns, but the race for the best talent will likely return. Companies with the strongest processes, a focus on values, and the best technology will be the front runners when this happens. The time to review these processes and make the necessary changes is now, to help ensure you’re ready and don’t get left behind.

This publication is for informational purposes only and nothing contained in it should be construed as legal advice. We expressly disclaim any warranty or responsibility for damages arising out this information. We encourage you to consult with legal counsel regarding your specific needs. We do not undertake any duty to update previously posted materials.