Document Verification
Before the pandemic, remote work was a rare option available to accommodate a few employees. The mass transition to this form of work came about during the pandemic. Beyond preventing disease spread, it has proven beneficial in multiple ways. A survey revealed that at least 35% of US employees work full-time from home. Since it is here to stay, companies must transform their onboarding process and employee due diligence to maintain security standards. Document verification is the first and foremost step to curbing fraud and security risks when hiring remote workers. During employee verification, documents act as proof of identity for authenticating credentials.
For instance, government-issued IDs, education documents, and experience letters are essential for thorough validation. However, there are certain challenges to document verification that need to be overcome to create a safe working environment. This article explores the main issues of traditional document verification and addresses their solutions.
Challenges and Solutions of Document Verification
1. Security of Confidential Documents
During traditional document verification, a company representative is tasked to ensure the security and privacy of employee documents. Although time-consuming, it is secure since the point of contact is trusted. On the other hand, ensuring the security and confidentiality of employee documents is one of the major concerns in online document verification. If the process is not devised correctly and there are access issues in the system, unauthorized personnel can get their hands on the document. Besides internal theft, remote document verification is susceptible to cyberattacks and data breaches. Reports indicate an average data breach caused companies a loss of $4.35 million in 2022.
To prevent these issues, companies must invest in online document verification tools that employ modern encryption and security measures. Moreover, the tool should also enable access rules to the portal linked to document verification. Therefore, allowing the company to limit access to the employees’ confidential information.
2. Collaboration Among Team Members
Remotely verifying documents can be challenging for the workers assigned to this project. Especially if it is done manually, there are concerns about document management and data duplication. Similarly, if there is no specified portal for uploading documents, it can cause ineffective collaboration among team members and stakeholders. To overcome such problems, companies must use reliable and user-friendly document verification tools that provide centralized data storage and management.
Moreover, as mentioned above, the tool should give the option to enable access rules in the verification portal. Therefore, team members looking after the data can establish clear roles and responsibilities. It will also help them in real-time collaboration. Therefore, if a new employee is undergoing the onboarding process, all team members will be aware of the onboarding status. In short, collaboration tools for document authentication are essential as they establish consistent communication and centralized data management.
3. Accessibility and Accuracy of Document Verification
To continue the previous point, a segregated document-checking process can also cause problems in ensuring the accessibility of required documents. Without a proper backup, the data is at a constant risk of loss. Apart from internal problems, this issue can also result in legal repercussions. Since law enforcement requires companies to store the data for a specified amount of time, this data loss can cause significant damage to the company.
Another major concern of a haphazard approach to online document verification is accuracy. Traditionally, company representatives ensure the authenticity of documents by checking the security features or stamps on them. Moreover, they can consult concerned authorities to cross-verify the credentials. It can be challenging to replicate this in remote work. Therefore, investing in a third-party document verification tool is more viable. Modern solutions use AI and machine learning algorithms to enhance verification accuracy.
4. Compliance with Regulations
A fourth challenge for document authentication in remote work is compliance with regulations. Even though digitization provides ease to people, it also opens avenues for criminals to exploit unsuspecting people. Since identity theft and document fraud are rising these years, law enforcement authorities require organizations to conduct thorough due diligence on their employees. Violating these regulations can result in monetary fines, and if continued, more significant repercussions can ensue. However, it can be challenging for companies to ensure compliance with regulations without expending considerable resources on the project. To overcome these problems, companies must implement document verification solutions that stay updated with evolving regulations.
Key Takeaways
Since more and more people are opting for remote work, it becomes a necessity for companies to ensure security with online document attestation. However, it can be challenging to overcome issues such as document security, collaboration, accessibility, and regulatory compliance. If companies do not overcome these issues, it can allow scammers to exploit the companies. Companies must rethink their strategy and implement AI-powered document verification tools to address these issues. These solutions provide real-time authentication with unparalleled accuracy and efficiency.
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