Background Checks Are Neglected By Filipino Companies

Trying to establish business operations in an emerging market is never easy. Aside from the usual maze of exotic work cultures and regulations, another hurdle is finding the right people who can lay the groundwork for success. While there are no shortage of success stories in the Philippines, the truth is there’s a dark side to the white collar world’s cool professionalism.

Since founding Adsum Risk Consulting (ARC), John Walker has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of Asia’s corporate world. Some of it is pretty messed up. But there’s one great vulnerability that haunts Filipino companies in particular–the people it hires. Let John explain.

Carelessness Is Criminal

What never ceases to irritate John about labor practices in the Philippines is the uselessness of background checks. “It’s a lot more than collecting [background info] from a potential employee,” he says. When a company’s hiring team fail to assess and investigate backgrounds they overlook a candidate’s past misdeeds that might put the organization at risk later on. Another red flag is whatever educational attainments are listed by a prospect. These can be easily faked in the Philippines where unqualified individuals are brazen enough to apply for jobs with their dubious records.

So if hiring is careless there’s a greater possibility for real criminals to join the enterprise.

Good Employees Are Gold

In the Philippines, an erring employee isn’t an exception but an expectation. After decades of working locally, John and his team at ARC are familiar with the damage a white collar perp can inflict. Among the multitude of cases he handled, one particular train wreck stands out. According to John, a woman finance manager hired without a background check swindled her employer of millions over many years. The funds were siphoned to different small businesses that catered to the company she worked for!

Unknown to her employers, this crooked finance manager had pulled the same fraud in her previous job–and she was never charged.

Leadership Philosophies Matter

“A company reflects the philosophy of its leadership,” is a maxim John lives by. He must because ARC has stepped in and helped so many troubled organizations whose pain could’ve been mitigated by principled decisions straight from the top. One effective rule of thumb John subscribes to is ID compliance. It means the more widespread use of identification by employees shows their managers run a tight ship, which is always a good sign. If a company can’t enforce IDs, what more its record keeping?

Less disciplined organizations always invite trouble on a scale that can overwhelm their own administrative resources. Companies who need experienced risk consultants who specialize in due diligence, stopping fraud, and protective services should reach out to ARC.