Background screening for household staff

Recently while skimming through the newspaper, I came across an appalling article – ‘The abduction of an 18 month old child’. Can you take a guess from where was the baby abducted? The answer will send a chill down your spine – from the guarded confines of her home. The police are on the lookout; however they are handicapped due to the lack of any information on the domestic help. The family concerned hired the help and did not go in for a background verification of the domestic help. The help who had been employed barely 10 days ago had walked in for an interview and bagged the job. The family had recruited her on good faith and the consequence lies before us.

Domestic servants comprise of maids,nannies, cooks, drivers, houseboys, housemaids, and watchman; these are generally employed to work on full-time/part time basis and also made to stay in the employer’s house (in some cases) for convenience of the employers.

We consider ourselves the safest at home. We feel our families and loved ones are most secure at home. Well, we are only secure if we get our helps background screening done.

As a homeowner, you already have a number of things to worry about regarding the upkeep of your home. Having a major issue like a robbery because of an employee with an unverified background can be an unnecessary nuisance that can simply be avoided by conducting background verification on any potential or existing help to make sure that they are, in fact, who they claim to be.

We at JantaKhoj InfoServices are a one-stop-shop for all your verification needs. We provide the following verification’s to ease homeowners stress:-

Criminal Verification – A criminal verification is among the most basic aspects of a background check. Typically, in this check we ascertain if the person has a criminal record of any sort, that is, whether or not he or she was involved in any criminal activity in any capacity. A criminal verification is often considered a direct indication of whether or not the candidate is suitable for employment. Also for a lot of households this check is usually a make or break factor when it comes to employing someone in their home.

Domestic Help Verification – Home staff, popularly called domestic helpers, work in close proximity to the family. It is of utmost importance that comprehensive background verification be done for them. JantaKhoj provides such a background verification option tailored specifically for domestic helpers, like maidservants, manservant, nannies, gardeners, or security guards, which includes an address check, criminal verification and reference verification (by checking with the person’s previous employers and considering their experiences).

Driver Verification – Surprisingly, your driver can be a big threat to your family’s security, for the simple reason that he is in charge of your means of transport. Recently, there have been reports of incidents where drivers – even those enlisted by security agencies, gave their employers a slip and escaped with large sums of money. The driver verification process is therefore focused on minimising these risks, and includes driving license verification in addition to the basic verification (address, criminal record and references).

Tenant Verification – In today’s world, one’s word or a handshake has no value, as tenants renege on their promises without a care. If you are thinking of renting your home to a tenant, make use of this service provided by JantaKhoj that is targeted specifically at tenants. Services factored into the tenant background verification are a permanent address verification, criminal verification and reference verification.

Custom Verification – For those homeowners seeking a middle path, there is an option where you can put together your own made-to-order background verification package from the options of address verification, ID check, criminal record check, criminal verification via lawyer, previous employment verification and a reference check.

Mentioned below are some useful tips for employing domestic helps:-

• Helps should not be appointed based on mere references made by their acquaintance and relatives.
• Avoid displaying jewellery and valuables in the house.
• Good ‘references’ are not enough. Some who come with a good reference might still be tempted to steal or harm.
• It is advisable not to talk of money in their presence or keep jewellery in the house.
• Treat them with dignity.
• Keep your domestic help under your close observation at all times for any undesirable or suspicious activities and take action accordingly.
• Ensure you have recent and colour photographs of your domestic servants for future authentication.
• Most importantly please go in for comprehensive background verification of your helps.

With crime rates on the rise in recent years, it has become more and more important to check-up on the helps in your home both when you recruit them and periodically while they are working under you for maximum security and minimum worry.
Be safe, be secure!
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