2016 Background Screening Landscape
Background Screening Index 2015
Download the full Background Screening Index 2015
Quick Jump:
2016 Background Screening Landscape
Looking ahead into 2016, MIE forecasts continued growth in demand for background screening services.
A factor contributing to this growth is that businesses are increasingly recognising the benefits of screening their existing and potential employees. From improving the quality of hires, to uncovering discrepancies, background screening not only ensures that an organisation’s workforce standards are upheld but also mitigates financial and reputational risk.
MIE expects background screening to continue growing in Africa in 2016.
South Africa's Unemployment Rate
The job market is becoming increasingly competitive and job-seekers are becoming more and more desperate for employment. This desperation increases the risk of job-seekers lying about their professional, criminal and academic histories.
While students were out of class protesting for #FeesMustFall, they may have missed out on crucial time needed to prepare themselves for their final examinations. It is a concern that due to this lack of preparation, these students may not perform to the level required to enter their career of choice and may find themselves taking extreme measures (such as misrepresenting or overstating their qualifications) to secure an opportunity.
With this in mind, background screening will be vital consideration for businesses hiring entry level employees in 2016.
(Click to ZOOM)
Changing Business Needs
As the business environment is constantly changing and adapting to new technological trends, the needs of organisations to meet business and staffing objectives have evolved. MIE has, in turn, developed new products and services to fulfil these needs.
The industry is becoming more automated and electronic background screening verifications will soon become the norm.
MIE expects background screening to continue growing in popularity in Africa in 2016 with technological developments transforming the way vetting is conducted on the continent.
In addition to expanding it’s list of African countries in which MIE offers screening services, the company aims to add a number of institutions to the Africa Qualifications Register (AQR).
MIE’s electronic Candidate Capturing System (eCCS) is the first of its kind in South Africa and is poised to change the background screening landscape. The portal requires for client organisations to make a screening request, the respective candidate then receives a link and is required to complete the process online.
Another trend unfortunately on the rise in the South African business environment is corruption and procurement fraud. Being in the spotlight of a corruption scandal exposes companies to increased costs from fines or investigations as well as reputational damage.
Recently developed and introduced to the market - as a possible solution to mitigate such risk and combat procurement fraud - ZoomOut™, is a software application which filters through employee and vendor information. Potential conflicts of interest or corrupt relationships within an organisation’s supply-chain is then flagged for attention.
