Healthcare industry witnesses highest surge in background screening discrepancy– 27.4% in Q3 vs 14.6% in Q2 of 2020
- Sectors like Banking, BPO, FMCG, Retail, Manufacturing, Pharma & Healthcare displayed background screening discrepancy percentages higher than the industry average of 9.4 percent in Q3-20
- The third quarter of 2020 showed an increase of 32 percent in screening as compared to the previous quarter
- Highest number of discrepancies among the candidates has been detected in the age bracket of 22 to 30 years
- The discrepancy versus verified percentage in 2017 averaged at 10.8 percent, in 2018 it was at 9.6 percent and in 2019 it averaged at 9.1 percent.
- Employment discrepancies have increased significantly in the Banking, BPO, Engineering& Infra, Healthcare, IT, Manufacturing, Pharma sector in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the second quarter.
- Digital services companies smartly diversified their operations to catch up on new trends: Online Education, Online Food Delivery, Over-The-Top Media Services and Medical Devices.
Mumbai 8thDecember 2020: Cases of discrepancies in the Healthcare industry surprisingly showed a higher discrepancy percentage of 27.4 percent in Q3-2020, way above than 14.6 percent in the Q2-2020; as per the Trends Report released by First Advantage – a leading background screening company in India. Sectors like Manufacturing, Banking, FMCG, Retail, Healthcare, BPO, Pharma, and Telecom have displayed background screening discrepancy percentages higher than the industry average of 9.4 percent in Q3-20. Several industries like Banking, BPO, Financial Services, FMCG, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Pharma, Retail and Telecom have hugely contributed to the industry average discrepancy percentage.
The COVID-19 being an extraordinary crisis brought the entire world to a standstill and organizations were forced to lookout for alternate methods to continue with their business operations. In the third quarter of 2020 – alternate modes of verification in the Employment component in sectors like E-Commerce & Logistics, Insurance, Manufacturing and Pharma – have increased in comparison to the second quarter of 2020.
The major forms of alternate mode of verification that have gained credibility in the last quarter are Digital Address, Employment through PAN & TAN Validation and Employment through PF Validation.
As we delve deeper into data to comprehend the changes that have swept through industrial sectors primarily through a background screening industry perspective, two things become quickly visible – Darwinian evolutionary theory of survival of the fittest and the ability to quickly adapt to change in vastly uncertain times worldwide. In Q3-20, 36 out of every 100 Address verifications were conducted through the alternate mode of verification. Even the traditional sectors like Banking, IT, Financial Services, Consulting and BPO have adapted to the alternate mode of verification in the Address component.
The Quarterly Background Screening Trends report by First Advantage has been able to deliver data which provide insights into cases of inaccuracy witnessed in the hiring process across all industries. This data is alarming as well as surprising. Although it calls for efficient screening practices to assure blot-free recruitment processes for all organizations, it is commendable to see how organizations are re-modelling their background screening programs to establish best practices with desired results.
“While companies continue to actively employ during this time and are working directly with people in remote locations, conducting background checks becomes an important task in the hiring process for organizations. Through this trends report, First Advantage seeks to help employers model their background screening programs to establish best practices. The data in the trends report will help the employers upgrade their risk mitigation and hiring strategies and benchmark them against industry standards. With an unprecedented crisis that has been brought out by COVID-19, organizations have responded swiftly by transforming operations and processes to provide innovative solutions. Recruitment is taking place through digitization in most of the industries in order to keep up their businesses operational.
While our processes have transformed in order to adapt with the new normal, our values and commitment towards our clients remains intact at First Advantage. Our focus, as always, has been to enhance customer on boarding experiences, reduce delivery cycle timelines and provide improved quality performance. We are achieving success through innovative product developments and digital screening solutions.” said Amit Singh, Head- Commercial, First Advantage India.
