BPO staff under lens for data security
12 May 2008, 1038 hrs IST,TNN
MUMBAI: In the wake of BPO employee
Prakash Jadhav’s alleged involvement in a multi-crore credit card fraud,
BPOs and ITeS companies are once again in the limelight for data security
practices.
With the rising number of such cases coming to light,
outsourcing companies in the country have now resorted to conduct infinity
screening -- background screening more than once for the employees -- as a
measure to strengthen security.
Jadhav, a Mumbai-based BPO employee
was caught on Friday by the local police for alleged credit-card scam.
The focus has also shifted to transport personnel who are
increasingly being subjected to regular background checks.
While
some companies are content with mere address verifications, a few others are
playing Sherlock Holmes conducting sting operations on the cabbies to ensure
safety of their associates.
Infinity screening process entails
conducting background screening more than once during the year. Background
screening typically happens when the employee joins the organisation.
According to First Advantage managing director (West Asia) Ashish
Dehade Indian companies are the only ones practising infinity screening.
“It helps in checking criminal records as these are dynamic in
nature. Previous employment and education records remain static,” Dehade
says. First Advantage is one of the largest employment screening and
verification company.
It is difficult though to base this concept on
random sampling as it affects companies’ resources. Gurgaon-based
background verification company, AuthBridge Research Services’ CEO Ajay
Trehan says that background checks conducted more than once have a rationale
behind them.
“These tests are held when an employee is put on
another project which is more sensitive or when he is sent abroad for an
assignment,” says Trehan.
There have been cases of
acquisitions where employees of acquired companies are made to undergo
background screening. “In one case 10,000 employees of an acquired company
underwent background screening,” he adds.
Background screening
is a recent concept in India undertaken at the insistence of clients. Screen
Facts co-founder Kalpesh Desai says risk mapping followed by perpetual checks
would be the ideal.
“High risk areas should be mapped and
details of the employees working in these departments should be verified from
time to time. As of now, the number of companies doing this is
negligible,” adds Desai.
Further, forethought needs to be
given to this process as it has a huge financial impact. WNS corporate HR chief
people officer Aniruddha Limaye says that under normal circumstances it is not
feasible to conduct background screening for a random sample periodically.
“It takes anywhere between Rs 1,000-2 ,000 per person to
conduct a background check,” adds Limaye.
And checks are not
limited to employees anymore. WNS, a third party BPO with over 17,000 employees
conducts fingerprint tests for its drivers apart from its employees in
association with district forensic departments.
It also conducts
behavioural tests for the company’s transport staff. “The drivers
are basically aggressive. The training aims at educating them with the driving
norms. We tell them to adhere to the speed limit and not be pressurised by
employees,” says Manoj Sharan, chief administrative officer, WNS.
These work shops are held during weekends. The drivers are selected
on the basis of feedback received by the employees. There are close to 2,000
drivers at WNS. While WNS has been conducing address verification in the past,
license checking and finger printing etc have been institutionalised in the last
one year.
Like WNS, the BSE-listed Firstsource too has started
taking fingerprints of its security personnel and driving staff. They also
conduct random alcohol tests on the drivers.
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