2016 HireRight APAC Employment

Screening Benchmark Report

 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword
Crisis of culture: Page 1
Corporate culture and branding to attract top-talent are revealed as significant challenges for APAC organisations.

Under the rescreening radar: Page 2

APAC companies are promoting staff and changing employee roles without the full picture.

Retention attention: Page 3

Employee engagement is a top priority for APAC companies when compared to other businesses around the world.

Upgrading to a strategic approach: Page 4

Finding, retaining and developing talent is the most significant business challenge for APAC organisations.

Rise of the machines: Page 5

APAC businesses are the most receptive globally to using technology in their HR processes.

International outlook: Page 6

APAC organisations lack international due diligence when screening candidates.

Top 6 tips for APAC HR departments in 2016 Page 7

FOREWORD
Today, organisations looking to hire the best and brightest recruits have
access to a truly global talent marketplace. As more organisations in Asia
Pacific face a talent crunch, especially for specialised skills, enticing overseas
Asians to return home is a viable option. The skills and experience these
people would have accumulated, with their combination of international
exposure and knowledge of local business culture, make them especially
attractive to organisations in this region.
However, as the economy continues to become more global and firms gain access to world-class talent pools
around the globe, the potential risks grow too. Threats appear both in terms of the authenticity of candidates,
and the potential threat they pose to a companys information and reputation.

The continued evolution of technology and social media means that even low-level incidents can escalate into
international firestorms, and the potential for scandal seems ever-present. Even senior figures operating below
board level now find themselves in the spotlight in a way that was unthinkable even five or ten years ago.

Addressing this is one of the themes in the 2016 HireRight APAC Employment Screening Benchmark Report.
This report focuses in on businesses operating in Asia-Pacific (APAC) and finds one issue that permeates all
geographies is an inconsistent or simply non-existent approach to background checks, demonstrating that
companies around the world are leaving themselves open to physical, financial and reputational damage
through inadequate screening.

Other concerns of HR professionals here are building strong corporate cultures and employment brands, the
rise of technology and analytics, employee retention and the strategic role of HR.

Thank you to the HR departments around the world that took part in this study for their openness and insights.
I hope that our valued customers and prospective HireRight partners find this useful throughout 2016.

Steve Girdler
Managing Director EMEA and APAC
HireRight
CRISIS OF CULTURE
Great performance is indelibly linked to great people,
and a culture that allows them to thrive. Its no wonder Companies investing in corporate
that some of the most highly regarded and successful culture across the world:
businesses in the world are renowned for their standout
cultures. Companies like Google dont struggle to hire
the best staff; they struggle to weed out unqualified Canada:
32%
candidates.
For companies in Asia Pacific, booming economies have brought with them EMEA:
a broad, diverse and rich talent market that stretches around the globe. The
relatively rapid shift in power from employer to candidate has created the urgent
need for companies to differentiate themselves from competitors.
26%
Companies wishing to compete for talent have found that corporate culture
suddenly has to place very highly in their priorities. More than a third (36%) of US:
APAC organisations now consider creating a positive corporate culture to be a
significant challenge for talent acquisition and management. Two in five (41%)
already plan to invest in initiatives for cultural improvement during 2016. Both
25%
of these statistics place APAC companies as the world leaders in their pursuit of
healthy corporate cultures.
APAC:

Employer brand credentials South 41%

Closely linked to corporate culture is a companys ability to project such internal America:
28%
strengths out into the talent marketplace.

Owing in part to the on-going drive for cultural improvements, more than half
(54%) of organisations in APAC consider the creation of an employer brand
that attracts candidates to be one of their most significant talent acquisition
challenges. A similar number (49%) has plans to invest in this area over the
coming year.

1
UNDER THE RESCREENING RADAR
One of the most overlooked areas of background
screening. Understandably, it can be a politically difficult Failure to rescreen employees who
practice to introduce, especially in companies who are promoted or change roles:
retain staff for a long time and potentially have board
members that have never in their career had their
Canada:
qualifications and experience questioned.
However, just because someone did not raise any red flags when they were first 82% EMEA:
hired, it doesnt mean their situation hasnt changed in the interim. Knowing if
someone has criminal or financial issues can help to ensure that the right action
is taken whether that is help and support or taking more stringent measures.
71%
Additionally, some companies only initiate screening for senior employees,
US:
which means that people who work their way up can rise to power without
ever being checked. 86%
APAC countries provide an important example of why this process is so
APAC:
important, with 59% of organisations having uncovered problems through
the screening process that otherwise would have been missed. Despite this, South 80%
four out of five (80%) APAC companies do not rescreen at promotion. America:
68%
Increasingly, rescreening is being seen as best practice by the worlds leading
organisations and in 2016 this is likely to increase with regulation being
introduced in financial institutions elsewhere in the world likely to have a
knock-on effect in other countries and industries.

2
EMPLOYEE RETENTION
When the market for new hires is tough, and cultural
issues are holding companies back from attracting Where do companies consider staff turnover
new talent that matches up to its needs, the issue of to be one of their greatest challenges?
employee engagement and retention automatically
increases in importance.
Unfortunately, for companies in APAC, the on-going struggle to bring corporate APAC:
cultures in line with global standards impacts employment brands and staff
engagement in almost equal measure.
54% US:
Consequently, half (50%) of organisations in the APAC region place maximising
employee engagement amongst their most significant talent management
challenges. Two in five (43%) are actively looking to invest in this area.
44%
Poor engagement impacts productivity and motivation, but most seriously of all, Canada:
43%
it can lead to concerns around employee turnover. Perhaps unsurprisingly then,
companies here are the most likely to view this as one of their main challenges.
EMEA:
36%
South
America:
35%

3
UPGRADING TO A STRATEGIC APPROACH
Nearly two thirds (63%) of APAC companies consider the hiring, retaining and developing of talent one of their most
significant business-wide challenges, making it the single greatest challenge that these companies face and by a
significant margin.

The five greatest business challenges for companies in APAC:

Finding, Finding, and/or Managing Growing Improving

retaining and/or retaining competitive costs: revenues: analytics:

34% 27% 26%

developing talent: advantages:

63% 36%

The Human Resources function is gaining importance in organisations and can have an impact on its success.

A goal for many HR professionals is to get to the point where the everyday struggles of filling urgent gaps and holding onto disengaged employees gives
way to a considered, best practice process. In Asia Pacific, where the labour market is undergoing sweeping changes, the urgent day-to-day tactical
challenges still equate to the bulk of the departments work.

But with HR needing to address their business number one challenge, its time for practitioners to take a more strategic approach.

4
RISE OF THE MACHINES
One of the most common gripes of HR professionals Finding a balance
around the world the efficiency and quality of HR Nevertheless, getting the technology right, and using it to effectively manage
processes is one that APAC companies are certainly acquisitions and talent is a challenge that APAC companies are struggling with.

not immune from.

The good news, is that APAC companies are determined to address this
issue, with more planning to invest in their HR processes than in any APAC companies that consider use of
other region: half (51%) have investment planned, compared to a global technology and analytics to be one of
average of a third (37%).
their greatest challenges:
One of the first steps toward streamlining HR processes and making the
function more efficient is getting the technology right. In this respect, APAC
businesses score highly as the most receptive companies globally to using
technology in their HR processes, with 31% planning to invest in this area

33%
in 2016.

Virtually ideal
To truly open up the global talent market on a scalable and affordable basis,
one of the most important technologies is the already widely-available
video call.

Its becoming more and more likely that the first time candidates meet
their future employers will be through a computer screen. It ticks all the
boxes of being affordable, recordable and far more insightful than the
telephone equivalent.

With globalisation and efficiency presenting themselves as two of the

most prominent HR trends, the role these technologies will play is set to
increase drastically.

5
INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYEES
Immigration may remain one of the most divisive
topics in international politics, but outside of the APAC companies that screen the
government sphere, businesses are increasingly international backgrounds of
embracing the access to an enlarged talent pool domestic employees:
that is provided by a more connected world.
Better still, there is evidence that recruiting talent from overseas is
encouraging economic growth, giving businesses greater access to talent
and an even higher chance of finding that elusive perfect candidate.

29%
Additionally, some companies only initiate screening for senior employees,
which means that people who work their way up can rise to power without
ever being checked.

Cross-border diligence
There is a particularly sharp disparity in the instances of screening among
APAC organisations, which suggests a lack of international diligence:
while 74% of companies screen domestic employees, only 42% screen
international employees. Background screening international candidates is highly complex and in
many cases the only option will be to outsource the process to a company
It is especially concerning that so many international employees are
with the expertise to navigate the legal, cultural, language and industry
unscreened because international moves are a means by which candidates
intricacies it inevitably entails.
may try to escape negative records. However, the biggest gap in the defences
for APAC companies in this area is screening the international backgrounds of
domestic employees.

6
HIRERIGHTS TOP 6 TIPS FOR
APAC HR DEPARTMENTS IN 2016

1
Continue to develop
2
Make retaining staff a
your company culture strategic priority and invest in
and ensure that candidates it with both time and money.
are aware of the importance Develop a workplace where
you place on it. people want to work, with
career opportunities and a
culture to be proud of.
3
Implement a rescreening
policy to make sure that you
are aware of any potential
issues with your staff, so that
you can offer support
or take measures to protect
your organisation.

4
Decide on and implement
5
Make the most of technology
6
Upgrade your
a long-term HR strategy, in order to decrease the international approach
taking into consideration costs of recruitment while so that it is robust,
key issues and strategic offering a better candidate consistent and auditable.
business priorities. experience and preventing
yourself from becoming
caught up in processes.

7
 ABOUT HIRERIGHT
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an innovative platform to help you hire the right candidates, so you can grow successfully and
efficiently no matter your size or where you operate. We offer a comprehensive screening solution
that you can tailor to the unique needs of your organisation giving you peace of mind about
your people and your processes. Our platform can be integrated with existing HR platforms, making
it easy for you to use and giving your candidates the best possible experience.
How you build your organisations talent is one of the most critical business decisions you make. Trusted by 70 percent
of the Fortune 100, when you partner with HireRight, together, we make sure you hire the right people.

HireRight is headquartered in Irvine, California, with offices across the globe, including regional headquarters in London
and Singapore.
The 2016 HireRight APAC Employment Screening Benchmark Report is based on surveys of more than 3,459 human
resources, recruiting, compliance, and management professionals worldwide, with 489 being from the APAC region.

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