Powerchex wins Business of the Year - Again!

Powerchex have scooped the Business of the Year award at the Docklands Business Club and East London Chamber of Commerce Business Awards. The awards and gala dinner were sponsored by Barclays and were held at the prestigious Formans Fish Island, overseeing the 2012 Olympics site. Powerchex’s success follows on from last year when they were awarded Business of the Year at the Thames Gateway Business Awards.
Powerchex were shortlisted for the much converted Business of the Year award alongside other businesses who had managed to sustain growth and profitability despite the tough economic conditions. The company have followed up on impressive financial results in 2007 and 2008 by continuing to be profitable in 2009 despite the recession. They have also acquired over 50 new clients since the turn of the year and boast an impressive office in London close to many of the financial institutions they service.

Powerchex specialise in employee screening and check the background, employment history, criminal records and professional qualifications of applicants on behalf of financial institutions and set the industry benchmark of 5 days for a background check. Alexandra Kelly, Managing Director of Powerchex, first took her idea to the Dragons Den on the BBC but was told that pre-employment screening could not be delivered in 5 days. Undeterred, Alexandra went it alone and started the business in 2005 with 1 employee, one desk and 2 computers.
Within months Alexandra convinced one of the largest insurers in the world to give Powerchex a chance and four years later they are just 1 of 310 financial institutions who entrust Powerchex with their employee screening.
Richard Keenan, Local Business Manager for Barclays, said, “Despite the economic downturn, Powerchex demonstrated their ability to grow the business substantially, concentrating on beating the competition hands down whilst developing their staff in a highly effective manner. Alexandra is the driving force behind the business and the team and Alexandra herself have built a solid foundation. I wish them all the best in the future.”
Powerchex reputation preceded them when they entered the Business of the Year category in this year's DBC/ELCC Business Awards sponsored by O2. Sweeping the opposition aside Alexandra Kelly stepped up to the podium to hear DBC Chairman Rita Beckwith tell her audience "Alexandra's vision, perseverance and entrepreneurial skills took Powerchex from a failed Dragon's Den competitor to become a highly respected, successful company. The motivation and management skills of her team deliver outstanding service and innovation to their clients."

Powerchex sign up to the Information Commissioner's Personal Information Promise

Powerchex have strengthened their commitment to data protection by signing up to the Information Commissioner’s Personal Information Promise.
The initiative was launched by the Information Commissioner in January 2009 in response to recent reports of major data losses by organisations and is designed to improve compliance with the Data Protection Act and help restore public trust and confidence in those who are entrusted with their personal information.
The Information Commissioner is urging the heads of organisations to sign up and commit to the principles outlined in the pledge to prove that they are dedicated to protecting data. So far senior leaders from organisations such as T-Mobile, British Gas, BT, the NHS Information Centre, Royal Mail and Vodafone, have all signed up.
Alexandra Kelly, Managing Director at Powerchex, said it was an easy decision to make. “Powerchex are already registered with the Information Commissioner as a data processor and data controller so this just backs up what we already do. Protecting the personal data of our clients and their applicants has always been one of our top priorities. Whether that means making sure that visitors are always escorted around the building or disabling USB ports on all of our computers, we have always been dedicated to complying, and more often than not, going beyond what the law requires.”

What are the most common CV lies?

According to Les Rosen, author of the Safe Hiring Manual and founder of the NAPBS (National Association of Professional Background Screeners), the six most common fabrications from job applicants are:

Claiming a degree not earned: Yes, believe it or not, applicants will make up a degree. Sometimes, they actually went to the school but never graduated. Some applicants may have had just a few credits to go, and decided to award themselves the degree anyway. On some occasions, an applicant will claim a degree from a school they did not even attend. The best practice for an employer is to state clearly on the application form that the applicant should list any school they want the employer to consider. In that way, if an applicant lies, the employer can act on the lack of truthfulness regardless of whether the educational requirement is part of the job requirements.

Diploma Mills or Fake Degree: A related issue is diploma mills or fake degrees that can be purchased online. For those that actually attended classes, read books, wrote papers and took tests to earn a diploma, you apparently did it the old fashioned way. Now, getting a “degree” is as easy as going online and using your credit card. There are even websites that will print out very convincing, fake degrees from nearly any school in America. In fact, the author obtained a degree for his dog in Business Administration from the University of Arizona-and the dog had been dead for ten years. A transcript was even obtained and the dog got a “B” in English! Some sites will even provide a phone number so an employer can call and verify the fake degree. Some of the degree mills even have fake accreditation agencies with names similar to real accreditation bodies, in order to give a fake accreditation for a fake school.

Job Title: Another area of faking is the job description or job title. Applicants can easily give their career an artificial boost by “promoting” themselves to a supervisor position, even if they never managed anyone.

Dates of Employment: Another concern for employers is applicants that cover up dates of employment in order to hide “employment gaps.” For some applicants, it may be a seemingly innocent attempt to hide the fact that it has taken awhile to get a new job. In other cases, the date fabrication can be more sinister, such as a person that spent time in custody for a crime who may be trying to hide that fact.

Compensation: A related issue is pay – applicants have been known to exaggerate compensation in order to have a better negotiating position in the new job.

Lack of Criminal Record: Nearly every application will have a question about past criminal conduct. Although employers may not “automatically” eliminate a job applicant without a showing of a “business necessity,” if the person lies, then the employer would have grounds to deny employment based upon dishonesty.
The common denominator in all of these: they can be all be discovered by a program of pre-employment screening. To quote a phrase popular in the 1980s. “Trust, but verify.”

Powerchex issues statement on Data Security in Financial Services

Powerchex warns financial institutions on poor data security


London, June 19th, 2009. Powerchex Limited, the leading pre-employment screening firm for financial institutions, has backed the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in their stance on the data security measures finance firms should be employing to protect customer data.

In a paper released in April 2008, the FSA highlighted a number of examples of bad practice by financial services firms. Amongst their findings they discovered that generally a high level of vetting is being applied to senior staff, but junior staff and those working in areas that would allow them to view sensitive data are not being vetted appropriately. Most notably very few firms were found to be conducting criminal record checks on junior staff.

“We strongly advise our clients to determine the level of vetting required using a risk based approach rather than a rank based approach. Someone who works in a call centre is likely to have access to large volumes of customer data. So are they less of a risk than a senior manager? Not in our view, so why should they be vetted to a lower level?” says Alexandra Kelly, Director of Powerchex.

The FSA also found that some financial firms were subjecting temporary workers to less rigours vetting than permanently employed colleagues carrying out similar roles. Kelly believes that firms are starting to realise the biggest threat is from within.

“Temporary workers pose the same, if not a bigger risk to the company than permanent employees. Data Security is not just an IT issue. Firms should appoint a senior manager who heads a committee that has representation from all areas of the business, including Human Resources. And firms should also be asking their suppliers the same questions they ask themselves in regards to how sensitive data is kept safe.”

The FSA backed up their report by handing out a hefty fine to Merchant Securities Group Limited (Merchant Securities) in June 2008 for weak data security. Margaret Cole, Director of Enforcement at the FSA, said, “Reducing financial crime in the UK is a priority for the FSA and our recent data security report showed that many firms still need to do more to get it right. We will not wait until information has been lost or stolen before taking action against a firm. The level of the fine for a firm of this size should serve as a warning to others to take data security seriously.”

As the need for financial institutions to hold and transfer sensitive data increases, so does the risk they face. In the future financial firms are likely to employ more and more stringent data protection measures and their employees and suppliers can expect to be checked more thoroughly and more often.

Powerchex supports the launch of PREFiT

In the past 3 years the Met Police, through its Operation Sterling has established a number of forums in key business sectors as part of its approach to combating fraud. PREFiT which is to be officially launched on June 19th at the New Scotland Yard, is the Vetting and Screening Industry’s Counter-Fraud Forum.

Recent high profile cases have brought vetting in the forefront of HR policy but due to the specialised nature of the searches, it is not practical for most organisations to conduct the full spectrum of checks in house. “For the past five years Powerchex has worked side by side with HR professionals in assisting them to strengthen their pre-employment screening policy. A wider independent forum such as PREFiT will provide further guidance and best practice in our efforts.” states Alexandra Kelly, Director of Powerchex.

Even though PREFiT currently represents a very small number of firms in the industry Powerchex has been assured that it is the full intention of the Metropolitan Police to make it an industry wide forum designed to support employers in their effort to prevent fraudsters entering the organisation through the false pre-text of seeking employment.

“PREFiT is a great initiative by the Met Police which Powerchex supports. The Vetting/Screening Industry has been gaining awareness amongst employers who have been the victims of economic crime. This initiative will strengthen and further support employers in their battle against fraud.” says Alexandra Kelly, Director of Powerchex.

In the financial services industry, screening has been the norm for several years. The FSA which is the industry regulator for financial firms has provided guidance as to the level of checks that organisations must perform prior to employment. In other sectors, screening is still very new and HR departments need support with policy.

In an email to Powerchex (powerchex.co.uk), Russell Day Detective Superintendent of the Specialist Crime Directorate Metropolitan Police stated: “PREFiT is designed to be complimentary to the NAPBS (the official industry body for the screening industry) and to enable an interface with the other industry forums to raise awareness and good practice to target harden businesses. It is an essential part of the emerging MPS Fraud Strategy 2009-2013 and compliments the recently launched National Fraud Strategy. The forums have additional benefits because it allows access to a target audience to provide counter-terrorism awareness training and to shape our response to the London 2012 Olympics.”

Employers and recruiters are increasingly expected to protect their organisations from potential fraudsters through screening, both at the hiring stage and periodically once employment has started. PREFiT in conjunction with NAPBS Europe will give them the tools to succeed in this goal.

Don't they ever learn? More CV lies on the Apprentice

Lorraine Tighe has been caught out lying on her CV stating that's she has worked for a company longer than she actually did.

The Apprentice wannabe's lie is exposed on the show when she is grilled in an interview from Sir Alan Sugar's close business friends.

Karren Brady, the managing director of Birmingham City Football Club tells her: "If intuition is your gift, why didn't you use it to put your correct dates of employment down?

"You've overstated your length of time working in your current employment by 12 months, which is quite significant."

Claiming it was a "misprint", Tighe replies: "I suppose I have not fully succeeded in the way that I think I am capable of."

Brady adds: "So is that why you lied on your CV?"

Lorraine, looked puzzled and said, or it must have been a typo... Easy to see why this sort of answer can destroy an applicant's professional credibility, what is not so easy, is to understand why she did it. She knew her CV would be scrutinized and she knew her references would be checked.

It is so common for people to think they can get away with it. For some reason, that we have yet to understand, applicants who know that they will be checked, keep on lying. In this difficult job market this can be career suicide, don't they see it?