Sunil Kumar, CEO, The Data Flow Group
In today’s highly competitive and compliance-driven business world, recruiting or registering the right talent is critical to the success of any organization. But when faced with a pool of candidates, some of whom will have likely embellished their résumé to bag the desired job, separating fact from fiction is a hard path to navigate. You cannot rely solely on a “gut instinct” to make hiring decisions, as this can result in businesses wasting their resources. Thus, background screening has developed as a key component and the first line of defense to help organizations protect themselves (and the broader community) against fraud and the associated financial, regulatory and reputational risks.
However, this vital measure – to weed out fraudulent individuals and ensure protection against the risks posed by document fraud, is a complex task, one that is difficult to accomplish without specialized assistance. And this is precisely where the implementation of an advanced, rigorous and accurate background screening process becomes imperative — especially in countries that rely mainly on foreign talent.
The emergence of the DataFlow Group as a trusted expert to support employers and employees alike to address the challenges associated with hiring for high-risk jobs is a direct result of a few cross-industry specialists identifying this risk mitigation requirement; the outcome of which we see today in the DataFlow Group’s compliance technology services adopted by public and private sectors globally, including Primary Source Verification (PSV), background screening and immigration compliance solutions.
An Insight into the DataFlow Group’s Origin
The DataFlow Group opened its doors in 2006 with a vision to provide employment risk management services to governments and quasi-government bodies worldwide. Its strong marketplace expertise, initially within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, has now extended cross-industry to ministries, regulators, immigration departments and licensing authorities globally for critical professions.
In 2014, when the leading Swedish private equity group EQT invested in the DataFlow Group, it further drove the company to focus on future-proofing services within the verification space including the introduction of a breakthrough technology solution built on Blockchain, designed to prepare professionals for employment by verifying their credentials at any given time, even prior to signing an overseas contract. This enables employers to gain access to a global—qualified—talent pool that ultimately reduces the onboarding and licensing process time and costs to the minimum.
Today, the DataFlow Group is headquartered in Dubai, with worldwide locations, geographically located in line with the major talent hubs; providing multilingual services that are uniquely tailored for the local markets and native languages.
“The DataFlow Group’s mission is to ‘Protect Communities’ which we achieve through facilitating the risk-free global movement of talent, an operation that is deeply rooted in our understanding of today’s marketplace, that in turn helps optimize costs while maintaining the quality standard of those hired and overall access to talent,” affirms Sunil Kumar, the passionate CEO of the DataFlow Group.
A Trusted Resource for Online Database Screening
With an outreach to a database exceeding 99,000 Universities, Colleges, Employers and Issuing Authorities throughout more than 200 countries and territories, the DataFlow Group is well placed to expose the risk of fraudulent credentials. Its extensive global risk database called CrossCheck complements this process while further helping public and private entities to make informed decisions regarding their candidates through specialized public datasets that encompass Medical Risk, Diploma Mills, and Un-accredited Institutes and Professionals’ Misconduct Risk.
“By screening and detecting misrepresented or forged credentials, we are able to actively safeguard the interests of our stakeholders (governments, regulators, organizations, customers, and patients) around the globe, from the countless unnecessary risks posed by document fraud,” states Sunil.
Leveraging Technology for Enhanced Future-Proof Services
Since its inception, the DataFlow Group has been at the forefront of specialized Primary Source Verification (PSV) solutions – the highly reliable, accurate background screening process used to verify credentials directly from the original issuing source. The verified credentials in question may include identification data, education degrees, job histories, practice licenses, work permits, and passports, among other personal or professional documents.
As a trusted partner for robust risk mitigation, the DataFlow Group is focused on new advancements in technology to ensure services that meet the requirements of the future and keep up with the latest marketplace trends and global regulations.
And, as the marketplace continues on its digital path, the company strives to deliver technology solutions in the PSV space that seamlessly fit the needs of its customers.
Spearheading this vision, a portable blockchain verification solution – TrueProfile.io, (and a suite of technology tools) has been developed by the company specifically for the core stakeholder groups in the verification eco-system – Regulator, Employer, Applicant, and Issuing Authorities.
TrueProfile.io provides an online platform that connects Applicants and Employers. While the applicant members can use the secure portal to upload and verify their documents and data to keep and control their ‘TrueProofs’ as a form of portable credentials, the Business partners can use the platform to view potential employees’ verified credentials and save valuable time in the hiring process.
“Our industry knowledge and clear data-driven understanding of how and where professionals seek employment outside their home countries, ensures our processes are aligned with international licensing, accreditation and professional qualification requirements,” observes Sunil.
Aspires to Be the Partner of Choice for Its Clients
When asked about their relationship with clients, Sunil states, “The client relationships the DataFlow Group is honored to hold today are a testament to the hard work that goes in to earning customer loyalty and nurturing those connections.”
The customer-centric company works closely with its customers to understand their issues and strengthen the process with technology solutions that identify risks at the right time in the verification ecosystem thereby reducing the time to hire.
Built on the core values of security, integrity, accuracy, and flexibility, the DataFlow Group aims to maintain its position as a pioneering global expert in both professional integrity and immigration screening services.
“We strive to be the partner of choice – for all Ministries, Regulatory, Licensing or Immigration Authorities where the identification of any potential risk due to the questionable credentials of the professional workforce is critical. As an organization we pride ourselves on providing customers with the best in class, consistent service that adheres to the highest industry standards; and with blockchain-based solutions via TrueProfile ensuring a qualified and verified workforce for the future’’ concludes Sunil.