全球信息和洞察公司 TransUnion（纽约证券交易所代码：TRU）和领先的背景调查和身份审查公司新的数据和见解，揭示了香港雇主在招聘和合规过程中使用财务诚信调查的趋势。TransUnion 的数据显示，雇主在 2021 年第一季度招聘过程中要求的员工参考查询数量同比增长 8.1%，这表明有可能从 COVID-19 的负面影响中恢复过来。人才市场。
作为对潜在雇员进行背景调查的一部分，雇主可能会检查潜在候选人的财务背景，包括他们的付款、债务和破产记录。在某些高度监管的行业，如金融服务、银行和保险，进行这些检查通常是雇主评估首选候选人是否符合在其行业工作的监管要求的合规问题。检查可以在雇用时进行，也可以在整个员工生命周期中通过重新筛选过程进行。
在香港，大约 80% 的员工推荐信请求包括信用检查。信用检查越来越多地嵌入到多个行业的人才招聘和获取过程中，无论资历和薪水如何。虽然它主要在金融服务行业是强制性的，但在过去十年中，越来越多的跨市场、行业和管理层的雇主引入了这些检查。
虽然信用检查在高级招聘中更为常见，但对银行柜员、交易员、客户关系经理和抵押贷款经纪人等一线职位的审查也越来越多。
近年来，有权访问敏感专有、财务信息的角色，甚至是承担某种形式的金钱责任的角色，如 IT、人力资源、会计和秘书，现在可能需要进行信用检查。
“信用检查正在成为雇主评估潜在候选人的可靠参考来源，作为其可信度的指标。风险可能变得太大，招聘人员无法忽视。” TransUnion 消费者互动总监 Irene Foo 说。“对于求职者来说，保持良好的信用记录非常重要，即使在大流行病这样的困难时期，也要按时偿还贷款，而不是过度借贷，而不是只偿还最低限度的还款额。保持良好的信用行为大约六个月可能已经提高了您的信用评分，从而提高了您获得理想工作职位的机会。”
“拥有良好的信用评分非常重要，尤其是对于那些从事财务相关工作的人。它向雇主保证候选人的财务状况良好，并能够保护其职位的完整性。它还为员工创造了一个安全的工作环境，并将内部欺诈的风险降到最低，这些欺诈每年给公司造成数十亿美元的损失，”“在亚太地区的大多数地区，包括香港，公司会考虑基于负面的财务诚信检查撤回工作机会。”
As a part of background checks on potential employees, employers may examine the financial background of a potential candidate, including their payment, debt and bankruptcy records. In certain highly regulated industries such as financial services, banking and insurance, conducting these checks is often a compliance issue for employers to assess whether the preferred candidate meets the regulatory requirements for working in their industry. The check can take place at the point of hire as well as throughout the entire employee lifecycle through the process of rescreening.
In Hong Kong, around 80% of employee reference requests include credit checks, according to Sterling RISQ. Credit checks are increasingly embedded in the talent recruitment and acquisition process across multiple industry sectors, regardless of seniority and salary. Though it is primarily mandatory in the financial services industry, more employers across markets, industries and management levels have introduced these checks in the last decade.
While credit checks are more common in senior-level recruitment, the same check is increasingly being conducted for front-line positions such as bank tellers, traders, relationship managers and mortgage brokers.
In recent years, roles with access to sensitive proprietary, financial information, or even those holding some form of monetary responsibility such as IT, HR, accounting, and secretarial, are now likely to require a credit check.
“Credit checks are becoming a reliable reference source for employers evaluating a potential candidate, serving as an indicator of their trustworthiness. The risks are perhaps becoming too big for recruiters to ignore.” said Irene Foo, Director, Consumer Interactive at TransUnion. “For job hunters, it is very important to maintain a healthy credit record by repaying loans on time, not over borrowing and not just making the minimum repayment, even during difficult times like under the pandemic. Maintaining good credit behavior for around six months may already raise your credit score, improving your chances of securing a desired job position.”
“Having a good credit score is extremely important, especially for those taking up financially related roles. It provides employers with the assurance that the candidate is financially healthy, and able to protect the integrity of their position. It also creates a safe working environment for the workforce and minimises the risk of internal fraud which costs companies billions annually,” states Elizabeth Fitzell, Managing Director APAC at Sterling RISQ. “In most locations in Asia Pacific, including Hong Kong, companies will consider withdrawing a job offer based on a negative financial probity check.”
