Staff Screening

Know who you are working with

 

 

 Vetting & Screening – Introduction

The term ‘vetting’ was first used in relation to horse-racing where a veterinarian would verify whether a horse was healthy and sound and therefore fit to race.

We don’t have horses or veterinarians at Peter Knight HR Services Ltd. However, we do carry out background intelligence gathering for presentation to clients in order to facilitate well-informed employment decisions.

‘Vetting’ and ‘screening’ are two terms that are now used in a largely interchangeable manner in recruitment.

The service we provide is tailored specifically to the client’s needs. Firstly, the criteria for screening are agreed with the client.  We then gain the candidate’s permission before gathering information, references, certificates and proofs as required.

On completion of a vetting, the client receives an objective and factual report of the findings. This can take the form of just a summary flagging up any issues of note, or a comprehensive report including copies of all references and proofs obtained.  The report can be presented in the form of a pdf document sent by email or a delivered hard copy, all dependent on client needs.

Each report is signed by the person carrying out the screening, and then checked by another person independent of the work carried out. This minimises any possible error and provides quality assurance. Finally, the report is authorised by a senior member of staff.

Most screening systems are fully computerised and automated. This can lead to candidate vettings being automatically rejected where a reference or proof is not obtainable.  Here at Peter Knight HR Services, we do not lose the human element of screening. This allows us to retain the softer skills in extracting information from organisations and reference sources. We will continue to chase elusive pieces of information, and to provide notes and comments where they are unobtainable.

Please feel free to contact our consultant to discuss how we can expedite your vetting and screening processes.