A HireRight roundtable on employee vetting identified the key challenges faced by the UAE's financial services industry when it comes to ensuring they recruit the best candidates to their firms.
The lack of a central database holding key information about potential employees, including their personal financial status and debt default information is a key cause for concern in the industry, as is the absence of a functioning persona non grata - or PNG - list, identifying employees that have been terminated by banks or other financial services firms for reasons relating to fraud.
An absence of reliable information is exacerbated by references that fail to offer up meaningful information about a person's employment record, leaving one bank vulnerable to employing an individual with a bad history at another.
Clearer guidelines and greater collaboration with the regulators was also cited as an area for improvement in the financial services industry in the Middle East, with many feeling that this would help mitigate some of the other challenges being faced, and helping ensure all firms have a greater grasp on best practice in the industry.
Panelists participating in HireRight's inaugural roundtable also identified the cultural challenge faced when initiating a full screening of potential employees in the region, where the concept is not widely understood, as an area requiring careful management.
Ensuring that candidates have a smooth screening experience is an important part of the hiring process, especially for those unfamiliar with what it can mean. But Steve Girdler, Managing Director, EMEA and APAC for HireRight suggested that explaining the screening process and why it is needed to candidates from the very beginning of the recruitment process can make all the difference.
"If you point out the screening process right at the start of recruitment, it's easy," said Mr Girdler. "We screen 14 million people a year globally. We have to be an important part of the recruitment process and what you don't want is the candidate experience to be tarnished by the vetting experience."
HireRight, a global provider of candidate due diligence services discussed with financial services leaders from the UAE's banking sector these key issues related to employee background checks and candidate screening. With a panel including representatives from UAE bank ADCB and international banks such as Barclays, Nomura International, Standard Chartered, UBS and HSBC, Mr Girdler moderated a discussion that also tackled emerging global regulations, their impact on financial services firms in the UAE and the development of best practice in the sector.
An audience, which included members of the Dubai Financial Services Authority, heard how the recent UK legislation introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), regarding a greater degree of senior level accountability for managers within the sector might be felt in the Middle East. Panelists from the international banks noted that they were often obliged to follow their organization's tougher international requirements for screening potential employees, above and beyond local regulatory requirements.
The roundtable served as a precursor to HireRight's official launch of its office in Dubai, to service its growing client base across the region. Following the outcome of the roundtable, HireRight will be releasing a white paper summarising the findings of the event.
About HireRight
HireRight Ltd. is a leading global provider of candidate due diligence services, providing background screening of employees and job applicants in order to help organisations mitigate employee risk, make informed hiring decisions and meet compliance obligations.
The HireRight family of companies works in more than 200 countries and territories, and has offices across the globe, including the UK, USA, and Hong Kong. Seventy per cent of the Fortune 100 and one-third of the FTSE 100 use HireRight's services.
For any further information, please contact:
Adil Elaouad: adil@limeilghtprme.com | +971 56 5053480
© Press Release 2016
