The Atlanta business chronicle reports
companies are spending more
effort and cash to investigate executive hires
In short, times are good for ChoicePoint Inc., whose services include background screenings for corporations out to hire executive talent.
Corporations are vetting candidates in unprecedented fashion, putting their pasts under the microscope as never before. Probes that were once restricted to credit reports, a light parsing of the résumé and a reference call or two are now far more exacting.
"Background
checks are much deeper today, and it's not just the larger
corporations either," said David Cook, ChoicePoint's
vice president of workplace solutions. "We're seeing
small and midsized companies starting to do them, too. Was
this applicant really a vice president at IBM? Did he really
make $200,000 a year? Has he used drugs?"
Paul Winum, area vice president and managing director of RHR
International Co. in Atlanta, said there's a "heightened
sensitivity" regarding background checks these days,
"especially for financial positions and at the CEO and
board level. It's a lot more than talking to people at the
golf club about an applicant and determining that he's a pretty
good guy."
Increased scrutiny
Cook said today's skepticism is playing out on two fronts: more widespread criminal records probes and more detailed examination of employment and education claims.
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