Do You Screen Your Employees from the Caribbean?
This is not only local to the Caribbean region, but that's the target for this case study.
So, your new candidate. Their resume looked impressive: ten years of experience, university degree, glowing references. The HR manager at a Kingston-based financial services firm was ready to extend an offer.
Then they ran a background check. The university degree? Fake. The previous employment? Exaggerated by four years and the contributions excessively magnified. One of the references is thee candidate's cousin pretending to be a former supervisor.
You can say the company dodged a bullet, but only because they decided to screen. Many companies aren't that lucky or diligent.
The Fraudulent CV Epidemic
Let's not sugarcoat it. CV fraud is rampant. According to recruitment professionals, anywhere from 30-50% of resumes contain some form of misrepresentation. We're not talking about typos or minor embellishments—outright lies. Funny enough, this also applies to CVs from top management!
Recruiters have seen fake degrees being sold for J$150K, from universities candidates never attended, not to mention job titles they never held. Employment dates get stretched to cover gaps, and references who are friends or family members coached on what to say.
Why is it so common? Because candidates know most employers don't verify. They're betting you'll take the CV at face value, do a quick interview, and make an offer. And often, they're right, until the mis-hire costs you.
We've even seen candidates lie about their criminal history, and because the checks were ordered by the employer, they are done and they show adverse antecedents that wouldn't have been caught had the employer taken their word that there was nothing on their criminal file.
Key Risks for Employers
Financial Loss
A bad hire costs money. Salary paid to someone who can't do the job, time wasted training them, and productivity lost while the position remains effectively unfilled. There's then the cost of firing them and restarting the hiring process.
Estimates suggest a bad hire costs 30% of the person's annual salary at minimum. For senior positions, it can be 2-3x their salary when you factor in all the hidden costs.
Compare that to the cost of due diligence, which is just a few dollars.
Security Risks
If you hire someone with undisclosed criminal history, you're exposing your business to theft, fraud, or worse. If they have access to sensitive data, customer information, or financial systems, the risk multiplies.
NB: we do not judge, we only provide facts; but we can't ignore the existential risk in this editorial.
Legal Liability
In Jamaica and most regional islands, employers can be held liable for negligent hiring. If an employee harms someone and you failed to conduct reasonable background screening, you could face lawsuits. This is particularly relevant for positions involving vulnerable populations, children, elderly, healthcare.
Reputation Damage
Word travels fast in business communities. Hire someone who turns out to be fraudulent or dangerous, and your company's reputation takes a hit. Customers lose trust. Partners become cautious. Recruiting future talent gets harder.
Team Morale
Nothing kills morale faster than a bad hire who doesn't pull their weight or, worse, creates a toxic work environment. Your good employees suffer while you figure out the problem.
What Comprehensive Screening Looks Like
Screening shouldn't be a single check. It should be a layered approach that verifies multiple aspects of a candidate's background:
- Identity Verification — confirm they are who they claim to be. Real person, valid ID, matching government records.
- Address Verification — confirm current and previous addresses to establish location context in history.
- Criminal Background Checks — search local, national and international databases for criminal records, court history, pending charges, and watchlist flags.
- Employment History — confirm previous employment, job titles, dates, and reasons for leaving.
- Driving History — for fleet or transport related positions, check the candidates driving and ticket history, and understand their behaviour on the roads.
- Reference Checks — structured verification with previous supervisors and professional references, not just the names they provide.
- Education Verification — confirm degrees, certifications, and professional qualifications claimed on the CV.
Not every position requires all of these checks. But critical positions, those involving finances, sensitive data, vulnerable populations, or significant responsibility, absolutely do.
Case Study: The Cost of Not Screening
A retail company hired an accountant without conducting background screening. The candidate had excellent references and a solid CV. Six months later, they discovered J$2.3 million missing.
Investigation revealed the accountant had previous convictions for fraud, at two different companies. Both convictions would have shown up in a criminal background check. Both previous employers would have flagged concerns if contacted.
The company lost the money (only partially recovered through insurance), paid legal fees, suffered reputation damage, and lost customers who questioned their security practices. Total cost: over J$4 million when everything was factored in.
The cost of comprehensive screening for that position? About J$1,000.
That's the mathematics of screening: tiny cost upfront, massive protection against catastrophic loss.
Building a Screening Culture
The best companies don't screen reactively; they build screening into their hiring workflow, systematically. Every position, every hire, every time. It's not about distrust; it's about due diligence.
Smart employers communicate this to candidates upfront: "We conduct background screening on all positions. This protects our team, our customers, and our business." Legitimate candidates appreciate the professionalism. Problem candidates go elsewhere.
Fact is, the cheapest employee is not the one you hire for the lowest salary—it's the one who doesn't destroy your business from the inside.
Protect Your Workforce
You wouldn't let someone drive your company vehicle without verifying they have a licence. You wouldn't pay money to a company without verifying that they are the actual company. You wouldn't deliver a high value item to someone without verifying their identity. Why would you give someone access to your business without verifying their background?
Cleared™ provides comprehensive background screening for Caribbean employers, covering identity verification, criminal records, employment history, address verification, and more. We've verified thousands of Caribbean nationals for jobs across industries.
Start your first verification order and protect your business from costly mis-hires.