Difference Between Reference Check & Background Verification?

Hi,
I am working as an HR Executive in one of the ITES company and take care of both Recruitment and as well as HR general activities. Hence I handle background verification as a part of recruitment.
Kindly help me in explaining the difference between Reference Check and Background verification and the best ways to perform both.
Looking forward for your kind help.
Vinitha

Hi ..
Hope ul find this Useful...

Dear Vinitha
Reference check is part of Background Screening. Background Screening is a broad terminology that involves a series of checks on an individual to ensure that the candidate one hires has a clear, non-toxic background. The various checks that are included in Background Screening are: Education Checks, Employment checks, Professional Qualification / Certification checks, ID Checks, Address Checks, Credit Checks, Criminal Record Checks etc.
Generally this is a very time consuming process and companies prefer to hire a third party to conduct this verification.
Hope this information helps you.
Kind Regards,
Sonia

Dear All,

The questions are elloborate and requires the respondent to take time to answer with desired interests.

Having conducted 100s of background( antecedent verification ) checking including telephone reference verification across 4 states with cross section of different levels of human resources, I totally agree that these are inputs which we need to know on background level. In my experience it is very seldom answered ellabrorately as much as you expect. Here a lot of psychological and external factors contrbute during the checking. A lot of inferences are also coming to play in our process.

Many points that are included in the questions are a part of hard core HR related areas which do not come purview under concept of background checking. It is a domain of HR department in the selection process.

I firmly beleive that a reference check is a short route to back ground checking. Which many HR would willingly do because backgrund checking requires a host of skills not merely asking questions and listening.

What is most relevant and critical in back ground checking is the integrity of the inputs stated in the resume of the candidate. Having seen varieties of offences, civil suties, fraud, misappropriation of cash, credit card fraud involving/originated by the candidates it is appropriate for us that we background investigators or consultants do justice to our clients with utmost genuenity to all concerned. We are not here to examine the suitability of the candidate for the position he has applied for us. It is not expected of us as critical or Key Areas of Contribution in our business.
practice by majority of our clients.

I will share a copy of the background report if anybody is interested.

Thanks and all the best

V. Rangarajan and Usha

Referral check is a verification method in which we can ask something from an employee's current friends and known persons about his behavior, his likes/dislikes etc.
While background verification includes a wide range of activities. In which we investigate about someone's behavior in past time. It for this we can take help of private investigators as well as doing it our selves. It's something hard act from referral check.
for more information about you can check :
CIIW- Background Check Services in Europe | Background Verification Services Europe
CIIW - Pre Employment Background Screening Europe| Pre-Employment Screening Europe