Startup Faces Setback Due to Hasty Hiring Practices
A recent revelation by Ashutosh Gupta, Chief Business Officer at Praper Media, underscores the significant ramifications that can ensue from hiring decisions made on instinct rather than thorough verification. The startup reportedly incurred a loss exceeding Rs 2 lakh and four months of productivity due to an employee with a fraudulent resume.
Gupta’s LinkedIn post elucidated the circumstances under which the hiring took place. “We engaged a candidate who misrepresented virtually every detail on their CV. By the time the deception came to light, we had lost a substantial amount,” he remarked.
The event transpired during a phase when the company was still in its infancy, leading to a neglect of rigorous background checks. Hiring decisions relied predominantly on interview performance and instinct, with candidates often onboarded without formal vetting procedures.
The individual in question claimed to possess three years of experience and stated a previous salary of Rs 40,000. The startup, seeking talent, offered him Rs 45,000.
However, Gupta revealed that suspicions began to emerge just two months into employment. The employee was tasked with producing a routine reaction video, a job typically managed by junior team members, who deliver three edits daily.
“The candidate took an astonishing two days to complete this basic assignment, and what he produced was entirely unusable. For someone who touted three years of experience and a salary of Rs 40K at their last position? It was puzzling,” Gupta noted.
In pursuit of clarity, the company reached out to the candidate’s former employer. This investigation uncovered several inconsistencies: the individual was actually earning Rs 25,000, not Rs 40,000 as he claimed.
Additionally, Gupta recounted that the individual had not resigned from his previous role but was, in fact, terminated due to inadequate performance. The “manager” referenced turned out to be a mere acquaintance who provided what Gupta termed a counterfeit recommendation.
Gupta elaborated on the financial repercussions of this hiring misstep, disclosing that the firm expended Rs 1.35 lakh for three months of salary, Rs 40,000 for training, and Rs 25,000 to recruit a replacement. Delays in client deliverables, diminished team morale, and wasted time cumulatively magnified the losses, surpassing Rs 2 lakh.
In light of this incident, Praper Media has instituted mandatory background verification for all new hires. Gupta emphasized that their revised process now involves reaching out to the human resources departments of previous employers, conducting verification calls through official company lines, cross-referencing LinkedIn profiles, and validating salary slips.
“Individuals attempt to circumvent these checks with fabricated figures and doctored documents. We catch them 90% of the time,” he asserted, advising fellow entrepreneurs to implement rigorous verification protocols early in their hiring processes to prevent costly blunders.
For confidentiality, Gupta mentioned that the names and images pertaining to the employee were altered, describing the account as a “true story.”
Source link: Storyboard18.com.
