When adverse information concerning an executive comes to light, the reverberations are both damaging and widespread; the trust of customers, business partners, and shareholders is compromised while companies are exposed to legal, regulatory, and financial penalties. Vetting executive-level candidates with investigative due diligence is a proven method for mitigating these risks.
Keep these three considerations in mind when evaluating the efficacy of an executive screening due diligence report:
Adverse Media Review
Relying solely on checks of criminal and court records runs the risk of missing out on pertinent insights into a candidate’s behavioral tendencies and public reputation. Targeted media screening offers a look at the individuals and organizations within a candidate’s professional and social circles. Given social media’s ability to instantly tarnish an individual or organization’s reputation, it’s worth confirming that any screening covers a variety of social media platforms. In order to maximize informational access, a language-enabled researcher may need to be engaged, based upon a candidate’s location history.
Resume Verification
Headlines announcing resignations and terminations of executives caught lying on their resume have become commonplace. However, the information garnered through an effective executive screening process goes beyond confirming prior employment, academic degrees, and professional credentials. Attention needs to be paid to instances of resume embellishment, particularly when a pattern of intentional exaggeration is identified. Moreover, the resume verification process can uncover valuable information pertaining to a candidate’s location history, which may have been intentionally, or accidentally, omitted from any provided or publicly available resumes or bios. Similarly, this process often reveals prior or alternative names of both the individual and associated organization(s).
Discreet Source Inquiries
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is an integral component of organizational reputational risk management. Reliance on public records alone to identify executive candidates with a history of misconduct or insensitivity carries the risk of pertinent information going uncovered. Discreet source inquiries are a proven method for filling knowledge gaps while obtaining industry-specific insights. These targeted conversations can reveal workplace complaints that were not yet escalated internally or externally. An added benefit is their ability to paint a picture of a candidate’s management style.
To learn more about integrating investigative due diligence into your executive search process, reach out to Vcheck. Our Executive Screening Report provides the risk management insights needed to make confident hiring decisions.
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