First Advantage Releases Background Screening Trends - India Report

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April 13, 2010, MUMBAI ‒

Approximately Nine out of 10 Background Screening Discrepancies Relate to Past Employment-related Information in Third Quarter of 2009

First Advantage, a global risk mitigation and business solutions provider and a wholly-owned subsidiary of The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF), today announced the release of  its Background Screening Trends—India Report for the quarter ending September 2009. The banking and financial services sector topped the list for educational qualification-related discrepancies while the hospitality sector witnessed the highest past employment-related discrepancies among all industries.

“We have seen a considerable increase in the volume of background screening requests in this quarter, which can be attributed equally to an improved employment outlook and increased number of hiring across sectors, as well as a greater awareness about the need for background screening,” said Ashish Dehade, managing director (West Asia) of First Advantage. “Employment-related information is the easiest to misrepresent and with hundreds of companies making a business out of issuing fake employment certificates, an increase in the employment-related discrepancies is not surprising. The banking and financial services sector, given the nature of its business, is the most vulnerable to fraud and hence it tops the list with the highest share of education-related discrepancies.”

The Background Screening Trends—India Report is based on background checks conducted by First Advantage between July and September 2009. Discrepancy rates are determined by the differences discovered between job-applicant-provided data and data uncovered by First Advantage while conducting background checks.

Significant observations for third quarter 2009 include:

  • The overall discrepancy rate declined to 15 percent. The discrepancy rate had remained steady at 26 percent in the second quarter of 2009, when compared with the first quarter of 2009.
  • Background screening volume increased considerably for most sectors, as compared to the second quarter of 2009.
  • Employment-related discrepancies increased to 86 percent from 73 percent in the second quarter of 2009.
    • Information technology (IT) companies continue to lead the list of industries with the most suspect companies. Their share moved up from approximately half during the second quarter of 2009 to more than two-thirds in the third quarter of 2009.
    • The IT-enabled Services/Business Processing Outsourcing (ITeS/BPO) industry is next in line with one out of every four suspect companies identified from this industry.
    • IT and ITeS industries constitute 92 percent of all suspect companies.
    • For the first time, most employment-related discrepancies were the result of companies not being found at the stated address.
  • Education-related discrepancies dropped to 5 percent from 16 percent in the second quarter of 2009.
  • Discrepancy by employee category:
    • For the third consecutive quarter, most discrepancies continued to be at the associate level. 
    • Three out of every 10 discrepancies came from the middle management level in the third quarter.
    • The discrepancy rate showed a consistent increase across three consecutive quarters, with the third quarter of 2009 showing the highest discrepancy rate for this hierarchy level. 
    • Two out of every three discrepancies in India came from the banking and financial services sector.
    • One out of every five discrepancies was from the IT industry.
    • Ninety-two percent of all discrepancies came from just three industries—banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), IT and ITeS.
  • Of the drug screenings performed by First Advantage in India between the first quarter of 2009 and the third quarter of 2009, 0.36 percent of candidates from IT and ITeS industries (combined) tested positive.
  • Around three percent of driving licenses screened by First Advantage in India between the first quarter of 2009 and the third quarter of 2009 were found either to be forged or invalid.

About First Advantage

First Advantage is Asia-Pacific’s leading background screening, end-to-end risk mitigation and talent acquisition solutions provider. As part of the California-based First Advantage Corporation, First Advantage pioneered the region’s background screening industry and has led the industry in setting background screening benchmarks as it expands operations throughout the region. The exponential growth of First Advantage’s Asia-Pacific operations has enabled the company to leverage regional expertise, technology and service strengths with international experience, skills, products and reach. The Asia-Pacific operation handles large volume screenings for some of the world’s largest organizations in the financial services, retail, IT/IT-enabled services, manufacturing, oil and gas, pharmaceutical and many others sectors.

As part of a growing offering of solutions for the employment continuum in Asia-Pacific, First Advantage has launched more than 1,200 automated, customizable skills assessments and behavioral tests for measuring a wide variety of employee competencies, including knowledge, skills, aptitudes and attitudes.

About First American

The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF) is a FORTUNE 500® company that traces its history to 1889. With total revenues of approximately $6.0 billion in 2009, it is America’s largest provider of business information. First American combines advanced analytics with its vast data resources to supply businesses and consumers with valuable information products to support the major economic events of people’s lives, such as getting a job, renting an apartment, buying a car or house, securing a mortgage and opening or buying a business. The First American Family of Companies, many of which command leading market share positions in their respective industries, operate within five primary business segments, including: Title Insurance and Services, Specialty Insurance, Information and Outsourcing Solutions, Data and Analytic Solutions, and Risk Mitigation and Business Solutions. More information about the company and an archive of its press releases can be found at www.firstam.com.