Company includes social media screening in background checks

Background screening and vetting specialists Managed Integrity Evaluation (MIE) has added social media screening to its inclusive background screening service offering, to help companies to better identify whether potential employees will be a risk to the company.

MIE communication and supplier relations head Jennifer Barkhuizen says MIE uses different sources to conduct background checks. The company created the National Qualifications Register to verify qualifications and it uses the South African Police Service’s automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) to check whether people have criminal records.

She points out that the company also interacts with the Department of Higher Education to confirm matric qualifications obtained prior to 1992. There are also other sources used to conduct background checks; the resources used will depend on the type of background check requested and information provided to complete the requested check.

“The importance of background screening is, first and foremost, to ensure that people are who they say they are. Do they, for example, have the qualifications they say they have? This is particularly important in specialised industries like engineering, mining or medical, however, it is important regardless of the industry,” she stresses.

However, she says, while MIE does provide a complete background check solution, the decision to appoint a person is not within MIE’s scope of authority. The decision to hire someone based on a background check sits with the potential employer.

Further, the MIE background-check system is not limited to larger companies or recruitment agencies. Barkhuizen says companies comprising two to three people can also use MIE. Potential employees can also do a check on themselves to verify whether their information that is in the public domain, is truthful and correct.