Employers are struggling to cope with a deluge of identity fraud, false credentials, use of AI, and even undisclosed convictions among job seekers, research has found.
As many as 90% of EMEA employers are reporting finding candidate discrepancies during their pre-employment screening process, the global research by background screening services firm HireRight argued.
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The survey of 1,000 HR, risk, and talent acquisition professionals found the most inconsistencies were in past employment details (64%) and education credentials (47%). Additionally, 22% discovered undisclosed convictions while conducting criminal record checks on their candidates.
Despite identity fraud reportedly being on the rise, only three in five respondents globally said their company conducted identity checks as part of their pre-employment screening.
Worryingly, one in six respondents said their business has experienced ID fraud as part of their hiring process, and another three in 10 were unsure.
Globally, almost two in five respondents said they found, on average, at least one discrepancy per 20 candidates screened. One eighth (13%) said they typically found at least one discrepancy per five candidates.
More respondents from the EMEA region had seen discrepancies in their candidates’ education credentials in the past 12 months, with 47% saying this was one of the areas where discrepancies were most commonly found.
Employment verifications remained another area where candidate discrepancies were often found, with consistently high figures reported in APAC (72%) and EMEA (64%).
These ranged from the innocuous and unintentional (for example, employment dates being wrong by a month or so, or a job title not matching verbatim what the candidate provided) to the more devious and deliberate (such as claims of more senior job titles or even entirely fabricated employment).
Candidates dropping out if remote working wasn’t offered was the top recruitment challenge reported by employers in 2024, the research concluded.
More than twice as many EMEA respondents said this was an issue compared with last year’s survey findings, 47% versus 23%.
The next most common challenges were positions remaining unfilled for three to six months (North America and APAC) and understaffing in HR/recruitment teams (EMEA).
Most companies were also unsure how to respond to candidates using generative AI in the hiring process. Seven out of 10 respondents globally said their company was undecided on their views on candidates using generative AI tools to assist with their job applications or resumes.
Finding qualified job candidates was the most common talent acquisition challenge expected for 2025, the employers also said.
More than half of respondents foresaw sourcing candidates with the skills their company needed as being their biggest talent acquisition challenge for this year.
Other top concerns include candidates ‘ghosting’ their potential employers (or being non-responsive), fielding multiple job offers at the same time, and not having their pay/benefits expectations met. More employers were expecting an increase in office-based work this year, the research also found.
Peter Cleverton, executive vice-president of international at HireRight, said: “With nine out of 10 businesses in EMEA identifying discrepancies during the candidate screening process, it’s clear that the challenges facing employers are intensifying, particularly as both identity fraud and AI-assisted job applications become more prevalent.
“Our latest Global Benchmark Report highlights the urgent need for organisations to review their screening processes and packages to thoughtfully evaluate how AI is used in both hiring practices and candidate applications. As the landscape evolves, trust, transparency and vigilance will be key to building effective and secure workforces,” he added.
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