First Advantage CEO John Long

Mumbai, May 15: Background screening of potential employees ? a multi-million dollar business in the US and Europe ? may be extended to prospective brides and bridegrooms in India.

John Long, CEO of First Advantage Corporation ? one of the top three background screening companies in the US ? has acquired Hong Kong?s Quest Research, which carries out a major portion of its work from India.

A frequent visitor to the country because of a call centre of First Advantage in Bangalore, Long said the potential for background screening in India is immense.

He is not only looking at firms to deliver business but is also willing to tap the matrimonial market to generate revenues. Background screening of prospective brides and bridegrooms is practically non-existent in marriages arranged online. ?Every market has its needs and we will certainly look at background screening for prospective grooms and brides, if it pays.?

Quest Research has a call centre with 400 employees in Mumbai.

In the US, the retail and healthcare businesses use background screening apart from infotech companies. In India, the healthcare and organised retail sectors are yet to take off. Long, however, expects the growth in Quest to mirror the increasing activity in the two sectors.

The domestic IT industry has a high percentage of misrepresentation of employee facts. Recently, Azim Premji brought the issue into full public glare by mentioning how a multinational detective agency, hired by the company, had found out that ?about 1 per cent of Wipro?s employees had submitted false documents at the time of interview?.

First Advantage offers a variety of services, including employment background verifications, occupational health testing and investigative services like computer forensics, data recovery, electronic discovery and surveillance.

The Indian operations of Quest earn revenues close to Rs 30 crore from screening the backgrounds of employees of firms at home and abroad.

Long is disappointed that a proper electronic database of criminal records in India is not available, unlike in the West. He said his company recently chanced upon an Indian job hunter, who was silently shifting base to an India-based infotech company after he was penalised in the US for molesting a colleague at his previous workplace. This would be difficult to find in India, as computer records are not available. ?It may take time,? he added.

In India, Quest checks the bonafides of employees, by ascertaining the credibility of educational qualifications and the past record of a person. It is ascertained by placing a phone call or a fax to universities and previous employers.

?If they can bluff about their educational qualifications with fake degrees, they (employees) can get emboldened to commit bigger crimes later. Background screening is risk mitigation and not risk elimination,? Long said.

In the US, the background screening industry size is over $2.5 billion to $3 billion. First Advantage will consolidate revenues of $266 million and target a turnover of $600 million by 2006-07.

In India, Long expects Quest Research to become a $100-million company in the next 5-6 years.