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 recruitment sector, said experts.

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, is equally crucial, experts added at a roundtable focused on employee screening organised by HireRight, a leading global provider of candidate due diligence services.

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.

Panellists 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, panellists said.

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 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.”

With a panel including representatives from UAE bank ADCB and international banks such as Barclays, Nomura International, Standard Chartered, UBS and HSBC, 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.

Panellists 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, the company said. – TradeArabia News Service