NASSCOM :  Rs.2000 To Double Check IT/BPO Background

By Pooja Mathur

India’s National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) is well on its way to set up a central database for all IT and BPO employees in India.  This central database is a reactive and proactive measure.  Reactive to the highly publicized data thefts from Indian BPO’s,  and proactive with a clear knowledge that Indian has to take extraordinary steps to given Western companies the confidence that private data is in safe hands in India.

The basic elements of this centralized database managed by respected NSDL Database Management Limited are -  IT/BPO Candidates will own his/her resume and has to give permission before an employer can see it,  verification will be by Biometric technology,  NASSCOM certified background checkers will charge up to Rs. 2000 to double check your professional background.  Employers can pay a one-off Rs. 50,000 to access this database.

NASSCOM claims that this database will be voluntary,  but the fact is that  if this takes off few employers will hire you for a senior job if you are not in this database.  According to NASSCOM internal documents, they are currently targeting 25 IT majors who account for 70 percent of the workforce within the IT/ITES sector for this national skills registry database.

Will NASSCOM employees make themselves available to these checks as well?  NASSCOM has empowered First Advantage Quest Research Pvt Ltd,  KPMG, ONICRA Credit Rating Agency of India Ltd, PAMAC Finserve Pvt. Ltd, Press Enterprises Private Limited, TOPS Security Ltd and Verifacts Services Private Limited .  Will the employees of these companies also undergo background checks ?  Will business rivals of KPMG allow it to do background checks on their employees ?  Will there be conflict of interests ?  Will American and European citizens working in India allow their details posted in such a database ?  These issues will be answered and worked out as more and more Indian professionals join this database.  NASSCOM has its heart in the right place and the best interests of Indian professionals in mind,  but this venture will face some unique set of challenges.

The following is an internal NASSCOM fact sheet which gives all the details - some of which are not publicly available.
 
National Skills Registry

The IT software and services industry is one of India’s outstanding successes. It is now India’s top exporter, and provides direct employment to over 10 lakh people (and, indirectly, to 2 or 3 times that number). It has catalyzed the growth of commercial real estate, automobile, catering, hospitality and mortgage banking industries. It is contributing to better governance and efficiency, even as it has transformed the image of India abroad. The industry is making a significant positive impact on the Indian economy and the people of this country.

NASSCOM has just completed a joint NASSCOM-McKinsey study and this indicates strong growth in the years ahead. According to the study, the IT-BPO exports are expected to reach US$ 60 billion in 2010, from just over US$ 17 billion last year.

Today, issues such as governance, physical security, business continuity, logical security, safeguarding IP, software change management and personnel security are becoming key for both customers and outsourcing service suppliers. These issues, if not properly handled, could derail the growth and hopes of the IT industry.

The Indian IT/BPO companies need to continuously raise the standards for the safety of the employees and the clients. These issues are being taken extremely seriously, not only by NASSCOM, but also the government, the legal authorities and the police.

In recognition of these, NASSCOM - working closely with industry colleagues - has taken a number of pro-active steps. NASSCOM has undertaken an initiative to create, operate and maintain a national database of employees working in IT/BPO industry in India, known as National Skills Registry (NSR): A centralized database of all employees of the IT services and BPO companies in India. This database contains third party verified personal, qualification and career information of IT professionals.

Objective

The objective of NSR is to improve recruitment practices in IT and BPO industry, which will in turn help in maintaining India''s global competitive advantage. It is an employee-friendly measure to minimize any misuse of employee identity. The prospective employers will be able to view the verified resume of the IT professional, if authorised by the professional.
Implementation of NSR

The NSR implementation agency is National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), a decade old depository offering services to over seven million investors. NSDL Database Management Limited (NDML) - a subsidiary of NSDL is responsible for creating, operating and maintaining this database of IT professionals.  The database will be voluntary in nature.

Validation & Registration

The database for BPO employees will require authorisation by the candidate himself. IT/BPO aspirants and existing industry employees can go and register themselves either online (www.nationalskillsregistry.in) or through empanelled points of sales (PoS), and provide details like their name, educational qualification, professional qualification, previous employment information, photograph and fingerprint, on NSDL database. There is a validation history associated with each section that will reflect who was validated what when. This would be charged at Rs 300-500 per person. NSDL will also have an empanelled group of background checking agencies.

IT or BPO employees can approach any of these agencies and ask them to run verification checks for which the charges would be Rs 1,500-2,000, or the same can be done by their existing or prospective employers after an authorisation by the
employee. Firms that use information from the registry are expected to contribute the results of their validation efforts back to the registry.

Benefits to stakeholders

Employees

• Increasingly, the foreign clients, especially,government or public bodies,are insisting on background check of an individual before recruitment. The employee resume will be ready for showcasing to such clients and thus ensure better employment opportunity for them
  
• There are several undeserving candidates who fake their resume to grab employment opportunities.  IT professionals can prevent such people from taking away an opportunity they deserve, by being a part of this database
  
• The employer will save time on background check since the employee background information is only a click away.  This will result in faster completion of HR processes (formalities).
  
• As more and more IT professionals join the database, Industry may decide to recruit only such candidates that have registered in the database. If someone is already registered, he/she will be in a better position to avail of the new opportunities. 

Employers

• Menace of bloated resume will be eliminated as pre-verified facts are available for cross-checking
  
• Risk of engaging any employee on the basis of fake/forged documents is minimized
  
• Benefit of back ground check done by any of the NASSCOM member companies will be available to all other members of the industry.  This will save cost and time involved in having background check done
  
• Indian IT/BPO industry can confidently claim higher standards of recruitment practices in front of international customers, through NSR

Customers

• The customers can view employee information-his background, qualifications, etc. directly, depending on employee’s consent
  
• Pro-active step by Indian IT/BPO industry to ensure customer information is in safe and secure hands

National Skills Registry is another milestone for the Indian IT/BPO industry. Together, we will leave no stone unturned and we aim to make India the “Fort Knox” of security, positioning ourselves as the gold standard for security as we are today for quality.

Since its launch in January 2006, 22 IT companies (names below) have come forward to join the NSR. The target for the next 2-3 months is to reach the top 25 IT majors (who account for 70% of the workforce within the IT-ITES sector) to enroll for the NSR.

The first stage (which is underway) is getting the company to join. Post this; it takes a few months to carry out the background check for employees by the empanelled agencies (by NSDL).

Companies which have joined as of now

1. Satyam Computer Services Ltd
2. Mphasis BFL Ltd.
3. CMC Limited
4. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd
5. GE Capital International Services
6. ICICI OneSource Limited
7. Franklin Templeton International Services (India) Pvt Ltd
8. Zenta Pvt Ltd
9. Scope International Pvt Ltd
10. NIIT Technologies Ltd
11. 24/7 Customer Pvt Ltd
12. Fusion Technologies (India) Pvt Ltd
13. Deutsche Network Services (P) Ltd
14. Zensar Technologies Limited
15. e-Serve International Ltd.
16. Wipro BPO
17. Tech Mahindra
18. Cognizant Technology Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.
19. WNS Global Services (P) Ltd
20. Perot Systems Business Process Solutions India Pvt Ltd
21. Network Systems & Technologies (P) Ltd.
22. Wipro Ltd.
23. Accenture Services Pvt.Ltd.
 
Additionally, NASSCOM is also in touch with engineering graduates to sign up for the NSR. Letters have been sent by NASSCOM last month to heads of institutions like IITs, NITs and several private engineering colleges with details about NSR, and an outline of advantages it offers requesting them to share this information among final year students.

The letter outlines the rationale behind NSR and the benefits that these students will have (who voluntarily register themselves with the National Skills Registry) once they start looking for jobs in the IT sector. Care has been taken in the NASSCOM letter to address concerns that students may have about the ownership of their personal records.

NASSCOM is also holding roadshows (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore – already done; plan to go to other cities in the next few months) with the objective of sharing information and talking about advantages that would come by being a part of the NSR.