The protection of patrons, infrastructure and resources within the entertainment and hospitality sector has emerged as a market of growing potential within the security technology services market. This is the view of experts at Managed Integrity Evaluation (Pty) Ltd. (MIE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Ideco Group and an established credentials verification provider in South Africa.
Ina van der Merwe, CEO at MIE, says service providers in the security services space have had to become increasingly proactive in order to meet market demand.
As an example Van der Merwe refers to operators of casinos and other gaming/ entertainment outlets who are compelled to be meticulous in the recruitment process. They have to ensure that potential employees – particularly those that will handle funds directly or manage finances – have clear records and can easily fit into the HR structure of the organisations
“Operators within the hospitality sector, such as hotels and casinos, continue to seek out and engage with prospective partners that can add immediate value. They must have the resources, technical knowledge and expertise to offer their clients the highest level of security. We have found that background screening services have become particularly meaningful and relevant to the recruitment process within these industries,”
MIE provides a credentials verification service, including background screening, to operators who want to conduct a thorough background check on prospective employees.
“Background screening is by far the most efficient and cost effective way to ensure that an employee has the qualifications that he or she lays claim to and also to verify that the CV they present at the time of their interview is accurate and presents a clear picture of who the aspirant worker really is,” says Van der Merwe.
According to specialists at MIE the consequences of not screening candidates can expose the company to significant risk and could be very costly.
For example failure to check qualifications could result in the employer hiring someone that does not have the ability to perform the job.
“The consequences of not subjecting prospective employees to background screening can be both far reaching and expensive to the company. The employee’s lack of ability to perform results in lost man-hours. Trying to get rid of the worker then becomes costly because of the legal fees and severance pay,” she adds.
The basic principle behind the credentials verification service is to ensure the person sitting in front of the employer at the interview is in fact who they say they are and all information supplied is true.
“It is very important to verify if the employment claims are true. If the person has not held the positions that they claim to have held, then why are they lying? And, obviously they do not have the skills that they claim to have. These are all critical to safeguarding the interests of the employer and their environment,”
Van der Merwe also says it is important to understand why someone left a previous position and try to ascertain an accurate assessment of what they were like as a worker.
The stance that MIE takes is that factors such as credit checks, criminal records and fraud listings must take precedence within the recruitment process.
“Every employer looks at the complete picture when it comes to criminal records. What is important to find out here is if the prospective employee has a history of repeated offences. Things of interest would be violent crimes, and fraud/theft-
Whilst the credentials verification service is aimed at ratifying information supplied and protecting the interests of companies, Van der Merwe says that this is always done with the legal rights of the individual/ candidate in mind.
According to MIE there are rules that govern the process of background checks and screening of individuals. These have to be adhered to by employers and include written consent from candidates, the requirement for a comprehensive check that will provide an accurate and complete assessment and the fact that certain checks can only be conducted in certain circumstances (i.e. a credit check on individuals only when that person is applying for a position that deals directly with finances, for example).
“There are a number of aspects to consider in the process of employee screening. While the main objective of decision-makers in business is to take every precaution to recruit honest employees with integrity, the rights of individuals must also be taken into account. To this end, it is advisable for organisations to be fully aware of legislation that governs human resource practice, particularly from an equal opportunity and anti-discrimination point of view,” she adds.
This is where having the service of trained experts in the field can make a significant difference to levels of success and progress of checks on potential employees says Van der Merwe.
Management at MIE continues to witness growth within the hospitality and entertainment markets.
“The outlook for the industry looks promising. We anticipate an increase in competition amongst service providers and an increase in investment in credentials verification as a primary means of personal identification and security assessment in human resources,” Van der Merwe adds.
