Background
In 2021, the Background Verification (BGV) industry introduced UAN (Universal Account Number) checks. This step marked a significant shift in how companies address challenges associated with remote work. Due to the rapid rise of work-from-home practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, employees holding multiple jobs simultaneously, often referred to as moonlighters, became more prevalent. With limited in-office supervision, companies required new strategies to protect productivity and proprietary information from being compromised by employees splitting their time across multiple roles.
The Challenge
Company A, a leading Fortune 500 company seeking expansion, acquired two companies, each with a sizable employee base of 5,000 to 7,000 employees. This acquisition added approximately 13,000–14,000 employees to Company A’s workforce. However, given the remote working trend, Company A was concerned about the potential for moonlighting among these new hires. To address this, they enlisted Vibrant Screen’s expertise to identify any instances of moonlighting within the newly acquired teams.
The Approach
Vibrant Screen, leveraging its industry-leading BGV services, conducted thorough background checks on all employees in the acquired companies. This included the newly established UAN check to help identify potential moonlighters.
Findings
Vibrant Screen’s verification process revealed a surprising result: approximately 3-4% of the new employees were engaged in moonlighting activities. However, one case stood out, both in terms of scale and complexity.
Case Spotlight: The Moonlighting Mastermind
One individual in the group presented an unusual pattern. Upon closer investigation, Vibrant Screen discovered that this employee, a woman, was concurrently working for up to fouremployers at any given time. Over her career, she had held positions with 18 different organisations, maintaining 3-4 jobs simultaneously.
Her strategy was sophisticated. She limited her time with each employer to no more than four months to avoid in-depth scrutiny. Additionally, she manipulated the previous BGV firms that screened her by submitting incomplete documentation, stalling the process so she could slip through the cracks unnoticed. To manage her workload across multiple jobs, she outsourced tasks by hiring three to four individuals to complete her assignments. While they did most of the work, she attended meetings to keep up appearances.
Results and Impact
The uncovering of this case highlighted the value of UAN checks in identifying employees with conflicting commitments. Company A, through Vibrant Screen‘s meticulous BGV process, was able to pinpoint individuals involved in moonlighting and take appropriate steps to secure its workforce.
