Off late there is but one news that is makings the headlines over all media of broadcast – the change in the US S&P ratings from AAA to AA+ status. There are a million explanations being offered for this rating change, ranging from less than practical US debt management policies to its ‘spend now think later’ mindset. The policies and mindset did have an implication on the economic crises that have lead to the revised S&P rating but the element that has been downplayed is the role of the thousands of employees that work at the hundreds of financial institutions across the USA.
Now I am not stating that all the employee in the US financial sector have a role to play in the countries current financial crisis nor am I saying that there is lack of an effective background checks system in places for hiring new employee. On the contrary the major credit for introducing background check policies would go to the US. However it is important to look at the issue from a workforce perspective. Based on historical evidence almost all financial crises are accompanied by a set of underlying malpractices.
The question then begets that if there is nothing wrong with the current set of background checks in place and the employees that are hired are well suited for the job then where would the limitation lie and how do we resolve it? The way I see it the background check process, like all other processes, needs to evolve to cater to the demands of the new circumstances. There has to be two sets of background checks in place, one can be labeled as the basic background check and would include the absolute necessary checks such as the education, residential and professional background checks.
Basic level of background check would suffice for markets where jobs are primarily related to back office responsibilities. However for markets where the core financial and transactional decisions are made, we would need to include an advanced level of background checks. This level should include a test to check the employee’s aptitude, ethical quotient and identification of traits in the candidate’s professional career that reflect his/her integrity.
The ideologies of a company are created and implemented by its employee. There needs to be a substantial change in the current self preservation, profit through any means corporate mindset. This mindset change can only be brought about by hiring candidates that maintain a certain level of ethical decorum. Then again I am all for companies making as much profit as possible. The suggestions that I have made are for introducing employees that bring a certain level of do-right attitude to the company. All big changes start from small initiatives, if implementing the above suggestion can bring a sigh of relief to even a small percent of 401K holders then I would presume it to be a good start.
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