Nov 06 (newsonjapan.com) - It’s been over 60 years since the 1957 Australia-Japan Agreement on Commerce.
Having one of the best economies in the world, it’s no surprise that foreign investments in Australia are flush. Japan, in particular, has companies in Australia that cut across diverse sectors from financial services to agribusiness, to tourism. Some of the established Japanese companies here include Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Nippon Steel, among many others, of which the top 100 companies provide over 50,000 jobs to Australians.
When hiring, the sole aim of these companies is to find the right talents that will contribute positively to the growth and development of their organization. This post explores the top 3 employment screening trends that Japanese employers in Australia use to filter out such candidates from a pool of applicants.
✔ A Holistic Approach to Background Checks.
About 96 percent of employers carry out, at least, one form of background check, of which criminal history check is the most prevalent (done by 86% of employers). However, to get a fuller picture of an applicant, more than just one check is required. A national police check can provide insight into the criminal past of an applicant. This information can be used to identify sex offenders, as well as those prone to violence - both of which may threaten workplace safety. Japanese companies with employees working in Australia can use online services like the Australian national character check. Human Resource managers can lodge, track and manage checks online. Further information about Australian criminal history checks can be found here: Australian national character check offsite link.
A credit history check is used to determine the financial situation of an applicant. This way, those that are financially-stressed will not be put in money-related roles due to the higher probability of theft. An Employment/education verification helps Japanese employers verify the technical competence of an applicant before an offer is extended. Reference checks, drug screening, driving records, and other forms of screening tests add their unique flavors. However, only background checks that are relevant to the role should be carried out on applicants.
✔ Greater Adoption of Social Media Checks
Social media has truly transformed the field of background checks, offering new insights about applicants that may be unable to obtain otherwise. Not every criminal has a criminal record - that’s why disreputable applicants sometimes slip through the cracks.
To a great measure, lots of people are more themselves on social media. Through the posts or comments they make, employers can get a good grasp of the ideologies of potential hires. For instance, those that are racists or sexists can potentially tarnish the image of the organization. But thanks to social media, they can now be identified and filtered out.
✔ Regular Background Checking
For many Japanese employers, it is no longer enough to carry out background checks at the point of hire. This is because background checks are only valid up to that point in time. If an employee becomes an offender of the law after they’ve become an employee, employers want to know of that. Also, for whatever reason, unsuitable applicants might slip through the cracks.
That’s why regular background checks are now being adopted by Japanese employers in Australia. That way, they can stay informed of the records of each of their employees. Such checks are typically carried yearly or every two years. It is also carried out before any employee is promoted.
