Corporate Organisations Urged to Embrace Background Screening
The role of background screening in eradicating fraud and criminal tendencies in corporate organisations is the key, the Managing Director of Background Check International (BCI), Mr. Kola Olugbodi, has said.
Olugbodi, who stated this in a chat with journalists recently, asserted that it is high time corporate organisations embraced thorough background screening to eliminate fraudulent acts that may affect their business negatively.
The expert, who bemoaned the increasing rates of fraudulent activities in organisation, said that efforts aimed at riding Nigeria of all forms of corruption will become more effective when background check on both private and public functionaries before assuming office is entrenched.
He advised both private and public sectors to stop trivialising the importance of due diligence on the background check of prospective employees or functionary, saying morally bankrupt people can be checked from getting to position of trust through diligent background check before appointment, especially, when it has been established that more than seventy percent of fraud in organisations are perpetrated by staff members.
According to him, prospective employees will do everything possible to conceal their dark past which might include propensity for fraud and other anti-society vices, saying that it is the duty of smart employer to dig out such areas through some level of background check on such individuals.
He pointed out that many corporate organisation have burnt their fingers arising from negligence and lackadaisical attitude to background check, stating that the deed would have been done before they realise the repercussion of such disposition.
“Negligence hiring does not only result in fraud. It may also result in bodily injuries arising from assault from a co-worker who is pruned to violence, a tendency such staff would have carefully concealed away during job interview but which some level of background check would have exposed. And in most cases, injured staff institute legal action which the company end up being joined with the co-worker who unleash the violence”, BCI boss explained.
Explaining further, Olugbodi said: “Background check has capacity to protect the good image a corporate organisation has labored over the years to build as it help to shut out prospective employee whose activities may the inimical to the goodwill of the company. People need to know that beyond fraud, there are other collateral damages a company could suffer that would negatively affect the accomplishment of corporate goals and missions of a corporate organisation.”
He stated that background check helps organisations reduce staff turnover as the morally and professionally employees are employed ab initio.
He disclosed that BCI was set up to help Nigeria comply with best international practices that is capable of drawing foreign investment based on perception of less fraud index. And BCI has taken it upon itself to entrench the culture of background check in the country in all ramifications, particularly being a pioneer in this sector of business in Nigeria. Olugbodi called on government to devise appropriate strategies that would entrench holistic embrace of background check by all Nigerians.