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In today’s volatile job market, trust is no longer a given – it’s a gamble. With South Africa’s unemployment rate exceeding 32% and expected to rise beyond 33% this year, desperation is fueling deception in the job market. Fake qualifications, identity fraud, and financial misrepresentations are infiltrating hiring processes, while businesses, under pressure to cut costs, screen fewer candidates. The result? A hiring crisis in which overlooking due diligence could lead to regulatory breaches, reputational damage, and financial losses.

Against this backdrop, Managed Integrity Evaluation (MIE), the leading provider of background screening services in Southern Africa and a division of Mettus, has released its 2024 Background Screening Index. The report was compiled based on over 3.2 million background screening transactions that uncover key hiring trends and risks shaping the job market.

Fake credentials on the rise: The truth behind qualification fraud

“Among the most prominent concerns is qualification misrepresentation,” says Jennifer Barkhuizen, Head of Marketing at MIE. “Of the 652,133 qualification verifications conducted by MIE, 6.59% contained discrepancies, with matric certificates (7.82%) and tertiary short courses (8.28%) the most commonly falsified. Notably, fraud is even higher for international qualifications, with 11% failing verification.”

Criminal background checks: The most requested but still overlooked

Criminal record checks remain the most requested verification, with 939,863 screenings conducted in 2024. Although the risk percentage dropped to 7.15% from 12.38% in 2023, 3.74% of candidates were unaware or dishonest about their criminal records. The demand for cross-border criminal verification is also rising, particularly in logistics, finance, and security.

The growing threat of financial instability

Financial instability among job-seekers is another growing risk. Adverse financial history screenings show risk levels increasing from 16.44% in 2023 to 19.25% in 2024, with debt defaults and judgments on the rise. Industries such as real estate, security, and private education are prioritising financial checks, particularly for roles involving fiduciary responsibility.

Social media: The background check that’s raising red flags

“Employers are also increasingly assessing candidates’ online behaviour as part of the hiring process,” explains Barkhuizen. “Social media screening has surged, particularly in finance, legal, logistics and e-hailing industries, as companies seek to mitigate reputational risks.”

The report reveals that 69.44% of flagged content is linked to discriminatory remarks, while unprofessional behaviour and online misconduct are also red flags. TikTok and X (Twitter) are the primary sources of problematic content, reinforcing the need for online behaviour checks in hiring decisions.”

Striking the balance: Cost-saving vs thorough hiring

With hiring slowdowns, businesses are streamlining verification processes. The challenge is balancing cost-efficiency with due diligence, and companies must ensure they mitigate risks while keeping hiring processes efficient.

Digital verification tools are emerging as a means for businesses to improve accuracy and speed. Here, features such as automated employment reference checks have boosted response rates by 70%, while real-time tracking systems allow for faster, more transparent screening.

The future of background screening: AI, biometrics, and beyond

Looking ahead, AI and biometric authentication will assist in identifying, reducing and preventing incidents of fraud; while regulatory compliance in qualification verification and financial risk management will continue to tighten.

“The job market is evolving and so must hiring practices. Fraud is rampant, risks are rising, and the cost of getting it wrong has never been higher. Employers who fail to screen effectively don’t just risk bad hires, but risk their reputation, compliance, and bottom line. Now is the time to act, because in today’s world, trust isn’t given – it’s verified,” concludes Barkhuizen.

To explore the full insights from the 2024 MIE Background Screening Index and see how your business can mitigate hiring risks, visit our new website by click here.

There is no doubt that every industry across the world has been impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, and the background screening industry is no different. In South Africa, as in many countries, the hard lockdown enforced in March 2020 and the months that followed had both immediate impact and long-lasting repercussions.

Managed Integrity Evaluation’s (MIE) 10^th annual Background Screening Index (BSI) shares statistics and highlights the impact the pandemic had on levels of activities in the industry, showing how the lockdown affected demand for background screening, and emphasizing which industries were impacted in both activity and risk.

“One of the challenges continuously faced by recruitment professionals is the risk of candidates misrepresenting their professional, criminal, and academic histories in order to secure work,” says Jennifer Barkhuizen, Head of Communications at MIE. “This places added pressure on the recruitment process and further underpins the need to accurately and reliably assess candidates before hiring commences, to ensure that the candidate is the right fit for an organization, and that the necessary due diligence has taken place. Not only are financial and reputational risks mitigated for the organization, but undue pressure on recruitment budgets can be avoided.”

Another trend highlighted in the 2020 BSI report is that criminal record checks remain the most requested amongst all available checks, and although risk levels dropped to below 20% in 2020, this is expected to increase in 2021 due to lower lockdown levels, increased unemployment and economic strain.

“Interestingly, integrity assessments were the most-requested stand-alone psychometric assessments in 2020,” notes Barkhuizen. “This highlights the need for businesses to ensure that they are hiring quality candidates who will uphold the integrity of the organization.”

“The high unemployment rate in South Africa, coupled with retrenchments and organizations closing their doors, will contribute to the many challenges job-seekers face with finding employment, and further emphasizes the importance of background screening vigilance on the part of those responsible for hiring decisions.”

Looking ahead to 2021, Barkhuizen expects that background screening solutions will become an integral part of HR policies and procedures as businesses look to mitigate associated potential risks.

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