The cost of employee background verification depends primarily on the types of the checks selected, number of each such check and the vendor selected. This has been dealt with in detail in a previous blog post – How much does Employee Background Verification cost? The reason behind these checks being so costly in India is that there are certain checks that require a lot of physical operations and running around as against online database checks (which are the norm in more developed nations). The address, education and criminal verifications in particular are relatively costlier. This post will focus on why these verifications cost as much as they do.
Address Verification
Address verification is conducted through a field officer’s visit to the mentioned address. The field officer verifies the address details, the tenure of stay, the ownership status and details of other members residing there. If in case the door is found locked, the officer goes ahead and verifies the details from people residing in the neighborhood. The cost of such a check will typically depend upon the remoteness and accessibility of the location. This check may not be feasible in certain disturbed areas or may cost extremely high. With the advent of Aadhar, this cost may probably be lowered substantially, as physical verification might not be required anymore in some cases.
Education Verification
Absence of a centralized database is the main cause behind education checks being high-priced. Some of the universities have started maintaining online records of their students. However, development of the system and implementation going forward will may turn out to be fast but retrospectively will take time; they have a huge data to transfer from the old system to the new online model. Therefore, a unified, centralized educational database will still remain a challenge.
So physically, you can go to the universities and check the old records, but there are hurdles associated with that. Thanks to the endless sinewy protocols in Indian academic institutes, it can take a long time for the university authorities to find and verify the record you are looking for. Only a few of the higher education institutions have placed their graduates’ lists online. In addition, the HRD Ministry sponsored National Database of Academic Qualifications is still in the development stage. So a physical visit to the institution becomes imperative in most cases.
Therefore, the best and only reliable method is that a designated officer physically visits the registrar’s office with a photocopy of the certificate, mark sheets and sometimes even examination hall cards to verify the authenticity of the degree. The pricing therefore depends on the distance and the mandatory university fees.
Criminal Verification
The police records are available at different levels – national (National Crime Records Bureau), state, city/town/district, and local police station. While the records are computerized at NCRB and most of the state levels, they may not be available in electronic form at most of the district and local police station levels.
Therefore, the criminal records have to be accessed at the state, district, or police station level by physically visiting the specific office and requesting the criminal background verification.
Criminal verification in India is more difficult as there are no Felony or Misdemeanor courts in India like western nations. Instead, India has Police Departments of various states and metros. With each Indian state having its own system of functioning, and absence of computerized database in many cases, as almost all records are filed manually, it becomes difficult to verify criminal records.
Now you have a fair idea about the costs associated with verifications. However, have you ever wondered what is the cost of negligent hiring, or not executing due diligence in the Employee Background screening process. The blog post Employee Background Verification and its effect on Employee Turnover Rate will help you understand the implications of negligent hiring.
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