Employee vetting should not require Olympian effort

Daniel Peel says G4S's problem was not using the right workflow software

There is only one day to go before the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, and the news has been full of stories about more military being drafted in to cover a shortfall in security staff.

Reportedly, one problem was the time taken to vet applications for the 10,400 posts. There have been tales of paper documents going missing and corners being cut in the recruitment process. Some have claimed there were delays in the security check procedure, and that some had been contracted but then heard nothing further.

This recruitment drive was handled by G4S on behalf of Locog and the UK government. Allegedly, it was managed with scrupulous attention to detail to ensure that the people selected had the right credentials. But there is no excuse for such problems.

Of course, I am not privy to the finer details and am basing my opinion only on news reports.

Yet companies exist that do better. I know one that is vetting, on-boarding and managing 4,000 full-time and contract recruits a year, relying on workflow and business process management software.

Such technology removes the need for a paper trail while improving document security and speeding up recruitment.

Prospective security staff should be going online to submit their initial application using a secure connection. This initial vetting form should trigger the creation of a new project folder and case ID for each applicant.

The HR department can be automatically notified, and the applicant receives an automated email confirmation which also contains documentation in PDF and his or her case ID details.

The applicant completes and e-signs the PDF, scans any other requested documentation to provide, say, proof of identity and qualifications, and emails these to the HR team. This information is then routed automatically and securely to the corresponding project folder, and again the HR team is alerted and prompted to take the next step in the process.

Following a pre-determined workflow based on recruitment best practice, the HR team is then instructed to verify and review the application documentation. Once this is authenticated, a digital signature is provided.

At this point, shortlisted applicants can be invited for interview.

Applications can then be dismissed, or sorted into a 'waiting for references' workflow queue, after which the HR team can make offers of employment.

Once an applicant is successful, a further series of steps are invoked automatically to on-board the new employee. This may include the signing of contracts and the sharing of bank account details. This all still follows a prescribed electronic workflow and can be scaled up or down according to the number of employees being recruited.

Such a process works because it removes the reliance on expensive, cumbersome paper and post. Application forms can be distributed, completed and returned more quickly. There is no potential for documents to be lost or tampered with in transit.

Every step of the process must be adhered to and completed before progressing to the next, so no required checks and safeguards can be bypassed. This delivers consistency and reassurance across all applications.

Managers can continuously monitor the progress of the every applicant and identify or pre-empt bottlenecks, an issue particularly pertinent to the G4S case given the eleventh-hour notice of the problem.

I am sure the recent negative headlines will not detract from what will be a glorious spectacle for London, but I also hope we will learn from these experiences and adopt the Olympic ethos in our own organisations.

Daniel Peel is partner account manager for the UK and Ireland at Perceptive Software