Press Release Summary = India Inc. is reacting with caution to the rape and murder of a young women employee of a call center in Bangalore.
Press Release Body = December 17, 2005, (Mumbai) - India Inc. is reacting with caution to the rape and murder of a young women employee of a call center in Bangalore.
The incident has sent shock waves through the outsourcing industry in India. The industry, which was rocked by a series of security lapses earlier this year, is now facing criticism for their lack of concern towards the safety of women employees.
However, India Inc. is reacting with caution. While condemning the barbaric act, Sanjay Arora, Vice President, CRP Technologies, notes, "These incidents only reflect the tendencies of certain individuals and not society as a whole."
"These crimes are first committed in the mind before they are enacted, so we need to make an attempt to isolate individuals with criminal tendencies. There is a critical need for society to become more vigilant in exposing individuals who break societal mores."
There are already indications that this is happening in India with employee background checks becoming more regular and popular among corporates. The fact that the police are actively investigating the antecedents of the driver involved in the call center employee's rape and murder is testament to the need for such verification at the time of employment.
While a majority of Indian companies are beginning to realise the benefits of pre-employment screening for their own employees, that enthusiasm is yet to percolate down to the contract employees working within the system. Corporates should require that their vendors get a risk-mitigated certification from a third party before integrating outsourced staff into their system.
As Indian society globalises, it is becoming more vigilant, a change that is for the better, maintains Arora, noting that the police have even woken up to the fact that background checks are necessary in situations like leasing of apartments.
CRP Technologies [http://www.crp.co.in] conducts pre and post employment background checks for employers in India. Their vision, as Arora states, is to make India, India Inc., and Indian society a safer place to live in.