Persian Gulf companies increasingly turn to background screeners

Many HR offices in the Persian Gulf are ill-equipped to handle thorough background screenings, “creating growing demand in the region for third-party companies providing such services,” the Gulf News reported.  The news website quoted Annalinde Nickisch, a consultant at a Dubai-based branding and HR firm called The Thought Factory, as saying that despite the growing demand, Gulf-area companies’ use of outside due-diligence firms “is not yet common practice.”  The Gulf News also said that UAE officials have considered requiring background checks on job applicants at financial-services companies, as the rapid growth in the industry there has overstretched corporate HR offices’ ability to keep up.