The HR Community Podcast
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Civitas Talent is excited to bring you a series of podcasts dedicated to the HR community. This is a space where you can learn best-practice solutions from HR community leaders, with host Shane O'Neill.
Whether you’re a CEO, HR executive or operating across the wider HR sector - this podcast is for you!
The HR Community Podcast
The HR Community Podcast: Darragh Ahearn, Elevating Workplace Security with Essential Background Checks
Unlock the secrets behind securing your company's future as Darragh Ahearn, an expert in background checks and compliance, joins me in an eye-opening discussion that delves into the indispensable nature of meticulous vetting practices in the workplace.
We've seen the corporate landscape shift, and with it, the heightened necessity for detailed scrutiny becomes clear—especially given recent high-profile blunders. Dara's insights illuminate the types of checks that are becoming crucial, from social media check to 'create your own' style, and how these are not mere formalities but foundational elements for integrity within recruitment.
Our dialogue reveals the power of vetting.com, Darragh's brainchild, in transforming this complex task into a streamlined, accessible service for HR professionals worldwide.
As you settle in, prepare for a candid exploration of the balance between the rush to fill positions amid talent shortages and the perils of skimping on thoroughness in background checks.
The discussion touches on real-world consequences of inadequate vetting and the emerging trend of employers reevaluating their current workforce. You'll learn why a robust system is not just a luxury but a necessity, as we showcase how vetting.com is revolutionizing the hiring process with a comprehensive toolkit offering over 4,000 types of checks across 250 countries. This is an episode that could change the way you perceive the security and authenticity of your organisation's most valuable asset—its people.
Welcome to the HR Community Podcast. My name is Shane O'Neill, founder of Sila Tiles Talent, the HR and HSE recruitment community. Each episode, we will host HR leaders and discuss their journey and discover best practice HR solutions across the HR industry. Whether you're a CEO, hr executive or operating across the wider HR space, this podcast is for you. Please like and subscribe, and don't forget to comment and share your views. Enjoy the episode.
Speaker 2:Hi everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the HR Jor community podcast. Today I'm joined with Dara Hearn. Good afternoon, dara.
Speaker 3:Shane, how are you?
Speaker 2:my man Happy Friday. Happy Friday indeed. Dara, if you haven't guessed already, is another fellow Irishman. So we made a pact before the podcast that we would try and talk a bit slower if we can. Normally, when Irish people are together, they tend to talk faster and faster and the accent bit slower, if we can. Normally, when Irish people are together, they tend to talk faster and faster and the accents can get a bit thick. But don't worry, we also have subtitles in the video.
Speaker 2:So this series, it's a little bit different to our normal HR community podcast. It's more of a value-add series that we put together and one of the reasons why we've done that is there's been a lot of noise, there's been a lot of debate, particularly around compliance and background checks. So I brought Darren here today because his expertise has not just come from the recruitment field, like myself, but he's branched into a number of different organizations, um, including where he's now, which is bettingcom. So would you mind maybe giving usa bit of an overview, dara, who you were, where you come from and, uh, um, what, uh, what your role is at the moment and a little bit about bettingcom, yeah, of course, shane, of course.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much for having me. By the way, mate, I think it was that big plenty award.
Speaker 3:We were having a few drinks and we said that we might as well get a podcast going, but no, look, mate I obviously came over to australia just like any other irishman what 15, 14, 15 years ago and I just started working then with randstad. I got six years under my belt there with them. Once I got my pr, got my sponsorship, I was tapped on the shoulder to go and launch Gumtree Jobs. From Gumtree Jobs I always just liked to stay in tech kind of HR, tech, learning, development, just been fascinated with the space and obviously from there I went to a unicorn company called Go1. Then I just always kind of stayed back partnerships and stayed back in partnerships and now obviously working with vettingcom because I don't know, I just always seen from my experience at Randstad, shane it was always such a headache Anytime one would mention a background check or police check.
Speaker 3:Oh my God, I want to do it, pass it off to someone else. So we've been having serious success here with vettingcom across A&Z in the last what, the last kind of three years since our inception really Shane, and it's quite simply objective just to become the world's simplest, fastest and safest background check provider love it, love it.
Speaker 2:And then obviously you know most of our community. They're in the HR, the talent or recruitment field, um, but if we were to just sort of scale it back to basics again, like tell us a little bit like why checks, why why? Why do checks exist, why are they important and what sort of checks are the most? Sort of common or popular ones? Yeah, chain, how much time do we have? Oh my god, what a question no look um recently made.
Speaker 3:I don't know what's been happening.
Speaker 1:You know we're on the brink of world war three.
Speaker 3:The world just seems to be pointing up a little bit. You know, people are spending serious money with inductions, getting people involved, getting people part of their company. I know that from my recruitment days as well. Why go to all that effort if you're not then going to turn around and do background checks? So the second part of your question there is what kind of checks? It's obviously all very sector dependent, but what we're seeing is massive raises in medical healthcare, aged care, transport, logistics, warehousing. There's just an awful lot going on.
Speaker 3:And then the third part of your question there, mate, was just in regards to what checks. We're seeing a massive rise with the ACIC police check, police check. Uh, more recently we're seeing an awful lot of directorship checks, pet checks, that's a politically exposed check. Our social media checks, our qualified checks alone are just going crazy because it's like people go to so much effort, someone, and it works hand in hand with both clients that are recruiters and then non-recruiters as well. So it just depends on compliance. Like typical example, one of our clients over in New Zealand this morning. I asked him what kind of checks have you been doing? And they haven't been doing any.
Speaker 2:And I'm like it's 2024, you know, people are not keeping the rocks anymore.
Speaker 3:It's well worth finding out that little bit of information, because then what that does, then, shane, it kind of moves into the tough conversations. Is this person going to be honest? Why didn't they tell me they had a police raid? Why didn't they tell me this happened? And then it's opened into interpretation from the HR community whatever HR leader is there, what they do with the results. Our platform is a simple platform. We keep it so simple. Over 4,000 checks in over 250 countries, states and territories across the world, and everybody seems to be using two or three or four different platforms. We already know the companies who do the reference as well. We obviously do reference as well.
Speaker 3:But, the fact of the matter, shane, and you would know this yourself. I think I demoed you the product just before we took on the podcast. Basically, what it shows is it's just a time-saving element of why are people logging into three or four different platforms when they can just log into one.
Speaker 2:That's basically it, and you touched on a couple of things. Why are people logging into three or four different platforms when they can just log into that space? Yeah, and you touched on a couple of things there. Obviously, references, you know they're fairly common practice, particularly in, you know, in my space and in recruitment, and a very important part of the process as well, generally done towards the end, towards the offer stage. You touched on social media checks, which I've obviously heard of and done for some organizations, but maybe showing our age a little bit here, like I don't think those checks were around 10 years ago or, you know, so many years ago. Are you seeing the introduction of new checks or are you hearing a bit of noise about new checks that could be coming into the process in the future as well?
Speaker 3:Yeah, great question. It's again all sector dependent, you know, and depending on what happens. But another great functionality just with betting is that you can make your own check as well. So if that's anything from an induction, health and safety, whatever it is, our customizable check option has been very important. But I've seen, even in the last, even this year, I've seen social media checks skyrocketing because the typical kind of situation, shane, where I'm sitting down doing a demonstration and the client will ask well, look, dara, this is fine for all our future placements, but I want to do social media checks right now on all our c-spedes.
Speaker 2:So, so, so it always kind of works both ways yeah, yeah, and are you seeing or hearing as well, um with the with the rise in demand in a lot of these checks, like the social media? But you know, across the whole um check process and all the different various checks that you do, are you, are you seeing that there is a little bit of a let's shy away from this because we really want to hire, because obviously in a recruitment seat myself, there's still a lot of demand in certain sectors right for for talent and um skill shortages and supply and demand. You know, if we can take a couple of shortcuts we might be able to hire the person quicker than our competitors. Like, are you hearing those kind of things? Because I know I've experienced that as well from time to time.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, look, and it's a great point. But again, this is where the difficult conversations kind of come from.
Speaker 3:It's like I speak to HR leaders every day, as I'm sure you do, and it's not so much an area that's you're right with what you said people do shy away from it. It's so surprised, like that, every conversation that I'm having when I ask so what, like what? Have you ever done a qualification check? Have you ever done a pep check? Politically exposed person? And you'd be so shocked the amount of people that don't actually do them. But with the platform and what we're trying to do here globally with vetting is just put it in front of people, you know, put it in front of people saying that, hey look, these checks are here. You've got over four thousand to pick from on the platform away you go.
Speaker 2:You know, yeah, and I found it fascinating when we caught up earlier, like some of the, I guess, examples or stories that you had, and some of these stories are fairly public in the media. I know some of the media channels have been publicising, you know, episodes and news articles about areas or, I guess, issues where checks were not done, simply, and some of those industries you know they're pretty essential and pretty critical. So tell us a little bit about that. Yeah, no look.
Speaker 3:I'm actually glad you brought that up, shane, because, look, there's been so many cases recently. You know, the likes of Telstra, webpack, combine there was a very famous story with Boy Wonder, and I think it's also Child Care Services, advantage, advantageous Investments. Crown Casino was another one, you know. But look, shane, there's so many of these cases that I hear of nearly not so much every day, but you know every other day of hey, we didn't hire this person because their police check or this underlining that kind of peace of mind.
Speaker 3:That example that I use was obviously the horrible incident that happened in Quaker Hill with the nurse where I think that's over 10 years old now. More recently I actually posted about it on my LinkedIn the Arabana scandal over there, the Autism Services Centre, just things that happen. And it's tough conversations. You know it's a trigger warning to your listeners now that these kind of cases are very tough. But again, if protocols are in place, compliance is in place, that, hey, everyone that we're going to bring into our autism center, child care, age care center, whatever it's going to be, get them vetted so you have some mind in who they are and what they've been doing. That's it, quite simply, shane, and it's that peace of mind that we try and, kind of you know, get across to our clients.
Speaker 2:And so far, far, so good yeah, and and a lot of those stories that you know we touched on and obviously um listeners can um google. I'm sure a lot of the stories um have been heard or seen already but, like with some of those instances, um very tough and obviously um very sensitive stuff, but a lot of it seems to be with staff that are currently working there. It's not so much obviously future staff, because it was future staff they would have done the check. So, again, I know we talked a little bit about it earlier, but are you seeing organizations now come to you and go, hey, we need a bit of a sense check on who we've hired um and and it's it, that's that, as you said, like that's the the tough conversation to have, because it's almost like, do I look under the hood and see what's wrong with this engine or do I just keep driving until it it blows?
Speaker 3:yeah, what, what you've just said there is what we're trying to stop doing. It's like, oh, can we just keep this going with 50 people hired here and 22,000 wherever it's going to be? But again it just comes down to that peace of mind. Do you feel confident with this person, and especially across HR? It's that old adage of I don't need to do a background check, I just want to get the fee. You know, what we've seen with our customers is just that we're kind of educating them in the importance of what's happening. We have a platform that's, you know, like. It's just it all comes down to our foundation simpler, faster and safer.
Speaker 3:Every HR leader that's going to be listening to this fully understand that your job is hard enough. You're already having tough conversations outside of background checks. So why not have that peace of mind, have one platform that has, as I keep saying, over 4,000 checks in over 250 countries and away you go. You know you can segment it up geographically, add in your checks. The customizable check option has been very popular, but so far this year there hasn't been one check that's been easier or higher than the other.
Speaker 3:It just seems that whatever's happening with the world, as I said at the beginning, kind of tightening up a little bit. I know the unemployment rate now is at the 4%. I think it's a 3.8%. So look, since the C word and since everything that's happened over the last three years, I see it kind of coming back and I think people and HR leaders across Australia, new Zealand, apac what they're realizing is that people that we bring into our organization are our people.
Speaker 3:So what we need is get them vetted and let's see if anything comes back on them and then leave it up to the hr leader to have that conversation, or if the background check, the social media check, comes back good or whatever. You know we have 14 different risk factors that we identify with the social media check. It's, it's crazy, and we created, you know, a word cloud as well for all your favorite words. You can imagine what some of them would be on and some of the checks that we've done. But again, it's going back to that peace of mind. Yeah, hey, I welcome shane o'neill into our organization with every confidence and his background checks work. You know, like it's.
Speaker 2:It's just getting back to basics yeah, exactly, and and with the, with that whole process, with the whole check and I'm sure there's a lot of HR and talent leaders listening with an old pad of pen now looking under the hood this is what you need to do to have a more effective, high-touch, speedy background check process organize a demo with anyone here at bettingcom.
Speaker 3:That that's. That's basically what we do, because what we do is we'll look at your organization.
Speaker 3:We'll look at what you've done previously. We'll look at who you're currently dealing with and then again coming back to basics of how important it's, how. It's a question I ask hr leaders of like how important are your staff? You know how important are background checks. I know trust is a massive issue now with hiring people, and are people as good as their word chain? Yes, they are, but in some of them cases with the examples that we gave earlier and with the examples that I see every day, it's coming back to that same point. If background checks were done, would this have happened?
Speaker 2:yeah, exactly, and what do hr leaders or organization and organizations listening as a whole? You know, whether you're um small to medium-sized business, large enterprise, whether you're hr leader, talent leader, or whether you're um simply the ceo or business owner like, what do these people need to be listening out for? Um, you know, maybe they don't believe that there's an issue or a problem with their process. You know what? What sort of speed bumps or what sort of cracks do you think that they could be looking out for or gaps is probably a better word. Yeah, what?
Speaker 3:what I like to do with the customers that you know when our customer are here is that offer, basically a trial. It's not the 14th day, 21 day trial. Whatever get them to do social media check, hep check, directorship credit check, whatever range. Please check out our website. You'll see the. You'll see the range of checks. But what I often do is get them to do one on their staff. Okay, do one.
Speaker 3:Do come in, have a trial, see what it's like, see if it suits your organization, because the way the platform was built is just for that. And it goes back to the foundation, as I keep kind of mentioning as well simpler, faster, safer. Our objective is very simple it's just to become the world's number one background check provider in the safest and in the simplest way. And getting back to that, the HR leaders that are listening. Now we understand your job is hard enough. You know that's what I'm constantly saying to people, that you can jump in. But again, to go back to your kind of original question what can they be listening out for? Original question, what can they be listening out for? It's basically up to the organization. If you're not background checks, why not? Are you going to wait until an incident happens, like with the previous examples, and then that lives are at stake, people are at stake, them tough, them tougher.
Speaker 3:Conversations have to happen, but, um, but what we do is we, we're just basically there. If you want to do background checks, come have a chat with us. Yeah, I can give you, I, we can give you a look at the platform, um, and we can go from there. Basically because what I found with, especially with our australian clients, is, once they start doing their acic, police checks, afp checks, it just kind of organically blossoms into oh hey, I'm gonna be. You know, in banking and finance, let's do a credit check, let's do. You know, if it's going to be a more senior role, let's do a credit check. Why not do them? You know you're already going to so much effort hiring this person, having interviews, why not just take it an extra step further?
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, I'm sure there's a lot of people currently logging out of their social media Facebook, instagram deleting lots of photos. But, on a more serious note as well, like the future of background checks. So like we love talking about the future talent, the future HR, the future of recruitment, et cetera, future background checks because it's a big component of what we do on a day-to-day basis. You know what are you seeing um. We have talked a lot about technology in previous episodes and how that's enhancing different um emerging areas to recruit through, to manage the process in our hr, through to um, generate lots of data, I guess from from an AI perspective. You know candidates now can actually match their CV with the role using AI. And I've even heard crazier stories where people have passed exams, passed the bar, the lawyer bar, with AI.
Speaker 2:I've heard lots of these. So linking that back to that whole background check process, that must open. Heard lots of these, so linking that back to that whole background check process, that must open up lots of curiosity as well, like, are you hearing what you're seeing? Much in that area 100%, all.
Speaker 3:And you have to mention ai, didn't you? But now look, um, we fully understand that we've got massive, massive components.
Speaker 3:Uh, okay where anti-fraud algorithm, things like that, that will pick up the same and photos and ids as well, just to financially match up, you know, with the police check. That's what we do. We've got the identity verification in with the visa check as well, so you're kind of getting kind of kind of three in one, um. But getting back to your question, we see it, um, we see it rising. But again it goes back to trust and I'll make that point again.
Speaker 3:It's like you can, you can talk about ai all you want and you can do this, but the fundamental factor comes down to a chain. This is that you're bringing someone into your organization or you're placing someone in an organization. Let's get them vetted, let's make sure they are who they say they are, and we're stopping. You know the frank abagnales, or the australian version of frank abagnale. Based on it and based on leonardo carlo's role, there was a. There was a guy here and fried, fried, rich, and who I cannot wait until they make a movie on him because he is the uh, he is the frank abagnale of australia. Love that amazing.
Speaker 2:Well, look, um, I think we're running out of time, but I know you've until they make a movie on him, because he is the Frank Abbey male of Australia. Love that Amazing. Well, look, I think we're running out of time, but I know you've got a million things to do across the globe, so I will let you go. But look, thanks so much for jumping on, dara. Like that was very insightful. Lots of knowledge there, like lots of meaty knowledge around a topic that, like I said at the start, it's creating a lot of noise and, you know, in some instances people might say it's not the sexier side of HR and recruitment, but it's critical and, from what I'm hearing, there are options there to ensure that you've still got speed to market. It's not slowing down your process, it's not creating loads of manual paperwork. There's options there. Yeah, exactly, shane, thank you. So it's not creating loads of manual paperwork.
Speaker 3:There's options there. Yeah, exactly, shane, and thank you so much for having me on like.
Speaker 2:This has been great no problem at all thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for tuning in to the HR community podcast. Remember to like and subscribe and share your views and comments below. This podcast was brought to you by Civitas Talent, the HR and HSC recruitment community. Whether you're a candidate looking for a new role or organization looking to secure brand new talent for your team, please get in touch with us today, thank you.
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