Screening Format

TRACE offers one, several or all of the following screening options to its clients –

• Criminal record verification
• Civil & Criminal litigation search
• Educational verification
• Prior employment verification
• Address verification
• Professional reference checks
• Lifestyle mapping – only for senior candidates
• Suitability/Assessment for Senior Management through Interviews/ Psychological Inputs by experienced professionals

Our experience is that clients are increasingly choosing to address all the above components as the cost of erroneous hiring is far too high.

There is no centralized online database listing charge sheeted and convicted elements in India in the public domain. If any screening firm has indicated otherwise, it is a gross misrepresentation of facts. The only foolproof method is to approach respective police stations (that number more than 30,000) with a request to verify antecedents or in some cities (like Bangalore & Mumbai) do likewise with the Commissioner’s office which has a special window for these requests. Ordinarily, it takes about three to four weeks for the police authorities to turn around on such requests.

Litigation records are promptly available only in the main cities of India where the courts have automated their archives. In any Tier II or Tier III city (most new economy professionals tend to come from obscure towns of India), only a registered advocate can access these records which are maintained in a rather disorderly manner. TACT’s battery of legal professionals is far better equipped to conduct litigation searches than any other screening firm.

Only the top end universities and colleges in India are cooperative in releasing details about their alumni. The majority of educational institutions are disorganized and reluctant to part with information, especially on e-mail or on the phone. TACT’s ground presence in all university towns is an unmatched strategic advantage.

Candidates often refer to their friends in previous organizations to cloak their actual performance. TACT’s database of HR managers of more than two thousand companies does not allow such scheming candidates to circumvent the HR verification route.

TACT ensures through discreet enquiries if the professional references submitted by a candidate were indeed part of his / her earlier companies before making contact with them. Clients rarely authenticate whether potential candidates are referring the name of their former immediate superiors but TACT’s robust process serves as a viable check and balance.

On a bespoke basis, TACT also maps the lifestyle of senior candidates as an enhanced screening initiative. TACT can also carry out independent assessment of aspirants for Senior Management.

Ever since TACT initiated employee screening as a dedicated line of business, the firm has conducted more than 10,000 checks on individuals covering close to 4,000 companies, about 2,500 educational institutions, more than 5,000 police stations and about 12,000 residences.

The database that has been built in the process is not only humongous but also very sharply organized.

About 12% of the candidates that have been screened by TRACE were found to have been untruthful in their disclosures. On the basis of TRACE’s recommendations, almost 60% of the disclosures made to these “discrepancy” cases were terminated mid stream.

Lifestyle mapping has also led to the summary withdrawal of about 20% of offers made to senior managers. Independent Assessment by senior and experienced interviewers can further refine the selection Process.

In select cases, multinationals have mandated TRACE to undertake continuous lifestyle mapping of senior candidates even after hiring them to establish conclusively that there is not even a shred of doubt about the individual’s integrity.

TRACE is among the few Indian members of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (www.napbs.com). Leaders of the firm have been regular delegates at NAPBS conferences in the US and have gained valuable expertise in these areas.

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