Zero Tolerance, Zero Playbook: How BFSI Is Navigating Hiring Integrity Right Now | Global Interview Security Summit 2026 | BFSI Focus | India Edition

In this session, you will explore why hiring integrity in the highly regulated BFSI sector carries massive legal, operational, and systemic consequences. The panel examines the real-world dilemmas leaders face on the ground, from managing high-volume screening for specialized tech roles to making tough calls on senior executives under pressure. Discover why viewing a resume as an underwritten risk and empowering recruiters as your first line of defense are critical to managing risk in mass recruitment. The discussion highlights the delicate balance between urgency and security, showcasing how proctoring technology and flexible check criteria can protect an organization's compliance. Tune in to learn how industry frontrunners are navigating these complex trade-offs to build a real-time playbook for zero-tolerance hiring integrity.

Panel details:

Samaksh G
Shabeer Ahemed Sathar (KVB Bank)
Ritu Arora (Canara HSBC Life Insurance)
Sunu Philip (Talview)

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Welcome everybody to the session two of Global Interview Security Summit. And this time we are focusing on the BFSI segment. A bank gets a call, the new hire three weeks into the job, just failed a background verification that should have happened before the offer letter. The role, risk, and compliance. This isn't hypothetical. Versions of this are playing out right now across the BFSI organizations in India. This sector operates under some of the tightest regulatory scrutiny of any industry. The consequences of a bad hire aren't just operational. They are legal, reputational, and sometimes systemic. And yet the hiring integrity challenge in BFSI isn't solved. It's evolving. Today's conversation isn't about what the playbook should look like. It's about what actually is happening on the ground. The challenges, the decisions being made in real time, and what's starting to work. I am Suru Philip and I head customer success at Talview. Joining me today, there are three leaders who are navigating this from the inside. Samarkshji, a talent acquisition leader with almost two decades in the BFSI space, who's seen this sector transform and knows exactly where the pressure points are. Shabir Amit, heading staffing and HR systems at Karul Basha Bank, so sitting right at the intersection of hiring operations and banking compliance. And Ritu Aurora, corporate vice president of HR at Canada HSBC Life, bringing the insurance sector lens to a conversation that affects both sides of BFSI equally. Welcome, Ritu Shabir and Samaksh. Thanks a lot for joining in.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

Thanks for watching. Hello everyone.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

I want to start somewhere real, not frameworks of future strategies. I want to hear from each one of you about a specific challenge you have actually navigated. Think of it as your moment of truth on hiring integrity. It could be a process gap you discovered, a situation that changed how you screen, a decision that was harder than it should have been. Samaksh, you've been in the sector long enough to have seen it from multiple angles. I'll start with you. What's one specific challenge or situation around hiring integrity that shaped how you your organization approaches it today?

SPEAKER_03 2:08

Nice question, Sano. So recently we were uh supposed to hire about 40 modern data engineers. Now I'm saying modern data engineers because these are not regular data engineers, they are really modern. We are in back end, uh front end, including DevOps. Everything is combined together in the single role. Now, what happens is that these are roles, the new roles in the market difficult to find candidates. And when we go out of the market, we get against one role, we get 50 applications, right? So as at a recruiter level, it is impossible to screen the resumes, it is impossible to validate which is a good resume or a bad resume. Uh, we had to deploy an automated tool on an urgent basis, uh which eventually helped us in uh screening the resumes, not just screening. So no, we also enabled an assessment which filtered out not so relevant candidates and eventually helping the business in saving the interview time and also helping the candidates to get a better experience uh and helped us at the conversion level. Eventually, we will we were able to hire 40 data modern data engineers.

SPEAKER_02 3:17

Brilliant. That's very interesting, Samaksh. That uh while you're focusing on the entire aspect of policy and how we are doing it, the uh the experience of the candidates is also something that you were able to match up. So brilliant. Shabir, from your role heading staffing in HR systems at KVB, what's a hiring integrity challenge that's been real and messy to navigate for you?

SPEAKER_01 3:38

Um see uh nothing with specific to KVB. Uh uh generally, uh, if I look back in my journey in my previous associations also, see the integrity is uh not something which is very obvious. The integrity issues come from the the gray areas which we find in the uh you know, right from the beginners to the senior most level hires, also. So one uh specific thing which I wanted to maybe uh you know bring into the forum is uh there was an uh incident where uh one of the senior levels of higher uh we almost finalized the candidate because the position has been vacant for quite some time. It's a business role, so a lot of pressure on HR and uh also the the concern vertical had to uh ensure closure. Um we almost finalized uh it's like that that was the candidate we've been waiting for. So to that level of fit. Uh but then unfortunately, right, uh uh there was some negative feedback from the market. Uh the BGV report was clear.

unknown 4:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

There's no regulatory bars, there's no nothing on record per se. You know, uh, but usually when you hire at that level, right, you do a sort of ref check within the industry. So we got some negative feedback, which is not otherwise so uh easy for us to take it up. Uh so we had to say no. So it's it's a revenue generating role, it's gonna have a big impact. Uh, but all said and done, uh, from a positioning standpoint of that role and the impact it's gonna create, we had to take a hot call. So that is something which I wanted to bring into the forum here. And I'm sure uh uh Samakshandritu also will have similar experiences in their uh uh own industries.

SPEAKER_02 5:08

Thanks for sharing that, Shadeer. Um, Rritu on Canra HSBC life is it right the intersection of two regulatory domains, banking and insurance. What's one hiring integrity challenge that feels very specific to that world of yours?

SPEAKER_00 5:24

Thanks, Sunu. Uh it's not about Canva HSBC, you know, BFSI sector or wherever I think in the industry where you're hiring uh front level and mass levels, uh this is a challenge. Uh I always say that over my 25 years of experience that when you're scanning a resume, you're technically underwriting risk. So it has to be seen with that perspective. And all the enablers who make sure that your hiring is complete, uh, all of them have to be brought together and in sync to ensure that you know you put this entire integrity perspective onto your design. So, like one important aspect is yeah, that you know, we do a lot of hiring through our vendor partners. It's very important because they're the first uh point of contact who's contacting a candidate, selling them our story. So it's very important that uh the story it's sold is right and also they bring integrity to the table and to the entire process. So for that, we do a lot of engagements with our partners and we give them comfort. Uh and because you know these vendors and partners also have like people who are working only very old in a short span of time. So it's important that you keep communicating and you're very constant with your communication that you know uh there's no need to do these kind of uh changes in your resumes. Uh, we've done a lot of work in terms of analytics in identifying what are the reasons why BGVs fail. So we go back and communicate the same to the vendors uh and ensure that you know they're not repeating it. And rather, you know, if we have if we identify a belt or a cohort where we experience uh more uh BGV uh abnormalities than other locations, we do go back and say to every candidate at the end of the interview that we appreciate your uh we appreciate your job changes, we appreciate the gap, we took it from maternity, you had a medical health issue. We are appreciating of everything, we appreciate the diversity. So please put everything right onto the resume. So we do make an extra effort in terms of telling candidates and to our partners that while you are enabling us and getting the right person, let's together make sure that we have the right uh practices uh and compliances in the game.

SPEAKER_02 7:29

Brilliant. Thanks a lot, Ritu. And I think uh me coming from the tech side, that uh version of yours where you're saying that you allow the culture where you allow the candidates to speak up. I think that's uh very synonymous to our worlds as well. So thanks a lot for bringing that uh perspective outs. Um I want to put a real-world dilemma right now on the table. Uh, these are the kind of decisions HR and TA leaders in the BFSI are actually making right now. There's no clean right answer to this, and I want your honor's take on this, not the policy answer, but what you would actually do. Uh, this is around the speed versus security. So your hiring process now includes a robust integrity check, background verification, credential validation, digital identity screening, it all works. But it adds in three weeks of your time to join. The business is pushing you back, leaders are saying we're losing candidates, competitors are moving faster. Simplify this. So, how what do you do? Do you hold the line even if it costs you offers? Do you create a fast track tier for certain roles, or how do you decide which roles qualify? Has anyone actually faced this pushback and what really happened?

SPEAKER_01 8:39

Um go ahead, Richard.

SPEAKER_00 8:43

I was just gonna say that it was an everyday story we all uh HR folks are dealing with. But yes, HR is the one who's calling the shots, but not alone in partnership with sales. This is the last pressure we want to give to sales that you know the PGV is not correct and there's something that could happen. But yes, we do uh we we do fast track roles, uh, we do have conversations, we do try taking a lot of offline uh uh you know feedback on the candidate. But uh we don't want to compromise uh quality for time, but at the same time, we don't want to be uh the lazy ones who are taking forever on the uh on the BGV as well. So we want to we we understand business, you know. Uh HR is all about empathy, otherwise else nothing is in our own hand. So we understand there are business targets which are also on our head. So we make sure that you know we we we have a common platform and we bring uh uh the timelines to a level which is acceptable. Uh at times, if you think things are going beyond and we're not getting a clearance, then we go out and do a lot of uh unsolicited interview or conversations with people to figure out if if all is fine.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

Great. Yeah, just to uh add to Ritu uh in financial services, especially in banking, this integrity has to outweigh urgency. Okay, we all know that everything is urgent, nothing is uh uh not urgent here. So, what maybe I would like to add to what Ritu said is uh I would kind of bring them to a platform by asking uh questions like, will you feel good after six months of this hire? So at the same time, if there is a regulatory audit or inspection type of uh thing comes and sits on your table, uh, will you be able to answer to this question? So those kind of questions like uh maybe uh gives them a different perspective and then tries to make them think in the way we are thinking, because we are not uh uh uh uh uh an independent player in the game. We are also very much in the same game. We also have the skin in the game. So, but make sure that we will have to bring them to our orientation, otherwise, their focus is very uh immediate term. So if I am hiring this guy, what is my immediate business results? So only that much is the perspective which they carry. So that's my take also.

SPEAKER_02 10:48

Thanks, Shabir Samaksh. Your card.

SPEAKER_03 10:52

So a different perspective, and uh when I say different perspective, could be different organizations, uh, could be different roles. Uh when I say different organizations, I'd never had one single policy in all the organization it worked for. So, what is meeting the expectation of the market? You have to be realistic around that, right? So, when we say the integrity issues, the negative background verifications, everywhere it happens, it happens at the junior level, right? Maximum it has to happen at the junior level. So, how can we be more realistic in our approach at an organizational level? Uh again, I don't want to comment because comment on uh how certain organizations would man would be managing it, but I would I would want to say that let's be a little flexible, let's be more realistic that what meets uh uh our our expectation at an organization, I will design it accordingly. That's one thing. Second is um uh we also touched upon um uh that how can we uh ensure that candidates are also the cognizant of that they are also not doing the the this kind of silly mistakes of manipulating their resumes, right? So, how can we be transparent around the communication? So if we are very transparent around the communication and we are writing in black and white at different places and different uh engagement activities, I think that is going to help uh really ease out the pressure from both the sites, the HR, the the organization as a as a business, and the candidates.

SPEAKER_02 12:20

Great. Thanks, Samaksh. I think some of that I see a general agreement across the three of you because I think Ritva also touched upon the importance of how we communicate, and that's something uh which I see across all three of you. Great. Uh each one of you has tried different uh things in in your organizations, in the experience that you have had across different organizations, some of it has worked. Uh, I want one thing, one process change or uh one technology decision, one policy call, or a mindset, mindset shift that you would actually recommend a peer in the BFSI industry looking to strengthen the hiring integrity. Uh, not what on the roadmap, but what's working right now. So, Ritu, first to you, what's that one thing you have done in your experience that has actually improved how you protect hiring integrity and that you would recommend?

SPEAKER_00 13:08

Two things Sunu, we have done which have helped us, is uh we put a lot of our effort on recruiters, uh including asking sharper questions, uh also coaching them and training them on compliances and how should they identify uh these challenges on the resume. Uh, we also uh we also go back to our teams and circle back from the BGV teams on on what kind of uh experiences location by location we are ex we are having, and then we try to plug those gaps. These two things have helped have helped us uh in terms of uh you know covering up uh uh and uh improving our numbers uh and reducing our challenge. So yeah, as we all I always say that recruiters are your first line of defense. If you coach them well uh and they learn the game of elimination, uh they will never get trapped into.

SPEAKER_02 13:57

Brilliant. That's a real practical one. I think everybody has, and and I think mostly the recruitment is the cream of the layer that kind of does this entire work. So the more you focus on that, it kind of helps the entire benefit. Thanks a lot, Ritu. Uh Shabi, from your standpoint, uh, and I think a few things.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

I'm I I'm agreeing to what Ritu is saying. The first line of defense will be the concern recruitment team. But I added to that a bit of technology flavor, also, it's like the right time we have to uh embrace in, which has uh yielded results. Uh that's an experience which I'm sharing here. Uh, whatever technology works. I'm not going to prescribe any specific technology, whichever works, uh, but because this is a volume game, right? Especially in insurance and financial services, uh the attrition is so high. So you will have to backfill the positions and you will have the growth. Uh for that, the portions has to be filled in. So uh adding the technology at the right place and in the right processes will definitely help. So, one such thing is this proctoring-based assessment, which I have been using with uh product from Dalview, it has uh saved a lot of time of my own team. So uh the time which they used to take for uh you know clearing the uh when uh assessing the uh answer sheets or uh uh the proctoring feature, especially uh the flags which we get, right? That's really helpful. So my uh take on this would be uh to embrace technology, add whatever flavor level you want, the level of customizations you have to do. That would definitely add up to the recruiters. Maybe uh in your parlance, Ritu, that'll be our uh fallback to the first line of defense because their own team members, right? We can't uh um let them fail. So this will give them some solace, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 15:31

Thanks a lot, Shribi. And I'm sure all on the TalView side will be happy to hear her comments. So some clippings will go after the summit with yours echoing around with this. But thanks a lot. I think uh rightly said, I think technology always uh helps in some manner to kind of uh the human in the look kind of get some benefit out of that. Thanks a lot, Shribi, for that context. Samah, from your vantage point across the BFSI industry, what's the single highest level uh leverage intervention you would recommend to any TA leader trying to genuinely upgrade things?

SPEAKER_03 16:02

I would want to still say that one size doesn't fit all. Uh, every organization has own its challenges and nuances. I think it is important to understand what are the cultural elements uh which are hurting the most. If you are able to identify the pattern, if you are able to identify which roles, which market, which location, which which seniority it is hurting most, if you are able to identify, I think you will be able to solve the problem. The other thing I as I said, uh I would recommend that uh we need to be a little flexible. Uh I don't I don't recommend that we uh do background checks for entire organizers, all the experiences a person may have worked with for. Uh pick uh the most uh realistic last organization, maybe uh where again if it is hurting at the junior level, pick the last organization, highest education, maybe address verification, and that's about it. Uh use it uh diligently, uh not uh to reject the candidates, but to uh ensure that we are we we are meeting the expectation of the leaders in the organization.

SPEAKER_02 17:13

Great. Three very different answers, and all three are real, which tells you in the audience it's something that there's no universal playbook here. I think the right starting point depends on where your gaps actually are. Uh, which brings me to the actual final round. Uh, I'm gonna be trying to wrap this in uh three minutes. It's a rapid uh fire close that I call it. One question each, one honest line, no discussion. Samaksha I'm gonna be starting with you. Complete this sentence. The one thing BFSI is still getting wrong on hiring integrity is uh not using AI much, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:52

A lot of scope of in including AI, involving AI as an enabler in the background verification.

SPEAKER_02 17:59

Thanks, thanks. Shabir, the technology to solve this excess. So why hasn't BFSI solved it?

SPEAKER_01 18:05

One line. Um see, it's not that banking is not embracing technology, uh Sunu. They are very much embracing and uh there are uh early adopters as well. But only point uh which differentiates banking and financial service from other industries, uh uh we are asking a different question altogether whether this particular technology will satisfy our purpose, the regulatory requirements, with it will input the candidate, so on and so forth. So basically, it's not that we are uh uh averse to technology. Only thing is uh from this perspective, we ask different set of questions which technology has to answer. Only that is uh the uh difference.

SPEAKER_02 18:41

Got it. That was more than one line, but yeah, I think good context. So thanks a lot, Shabir, for that. Uh Ritu, five years from now, is ironic integrity in BFSI better words or the same?

SPEAKER_00 18:52

One word, one sentence, maybe scary, but maybe worse.

SPEAKER_02 19:02

Okay. Well, Samaksh Shabir and Ritu, this has been exactly the kind of conversation that this space needs, not abstract theory, real decision, real trade-offs, and real stakes. Uh, if you're watching this from a BFSI organization, I hope you found at least one thing you can take back and use, whether it's uh a process question you haven't asked yet, a dilemma you have now language for, or just a reassurance that leaders who are doing this well are still figuring out too, along with all of you in the audience. That's the honest truth about hiring integrity in BFSI right now. Zero tolerance as a goal, zero playbook as a reality. And that's the organizations, and the organizations that are winning are the ones willing to build the playbook in real time. Thanks everybody for joining. I really appreciate Sanaqsh, Shabir, and Ritu for your time on this. Uh, it's been a really engaging one. And uh, I really appreciate all three of you being so um engaged and then making this interaction really interactive. Really enjoyed. I hope you three enjoyed as well.

SPEAKER_01 20:03

That's what it's meant, Suno. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

Uh lovely meeting, Shabir, Samaksh.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

Yeah, same yeah, same year, Ritu Samaksh.

SPEAKER_00 20:10

Okay, thanks a lot.