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Keeping tabs through SIA database

The long-anticipated Security Industry Alliance (SIA) database is now complete. Hi-Tech Security Solutions spoke to Steve Conradie, CEO of SIA, about the benefits of this industry resource.

The database, which is industry-driven, contains an employee’s employment history as well as any notations on a criminal record. According to Conradie, if an applicant is found to be credible and is entered into the database, it will provide them with 'employment for life'.

Once a person lists on the database, they will automatically receive membership to SIA and will receive a SIA loyalty card, with a unique registration number. “This loyalty card provides all members with a number of benefits whereby they can receive discounts at hundreds of selected shops on items such as airtime,” said Conradie.

The process to develop the database, which started two years ago, has not been without challenges. “Because of the sheer number of employees in the industry, the database has taken a great deal of time to populate correctly. We have also met with a fair amount of opposition as some parties view the database as a threat and tried to halt its progress,” Conradie explained.

Conradie pointed out that existing SIA members will need to register on the database at a minimal administrative fee. Thereafter, all members will pay a small 'per-hit' fee only if they receive a result when they conduct a search. “This will cost substantially less than undertaking a criminal record screening.”

The process is quite simple. The employer signs on as a co-administrator, with responsibility for keeping a record of signed consent forms from all employees entered into the database. While only one person within the company takes responsibility for administering the database, one can have an unlimited number of users within the company, with limited search rights.

If one conducts a search on a specific person, only their presence will be acknowledged if they are currently employed. By excluding the name of the person’s current employer, one protects the employer against losing staff to head hunters. The system will then automatically send an e-mail to the current employer to notify them of the fact that a search has been conducted on a specific employee. However, if a person on the database is currently unemployed, a full employment history on that person will be available.

“We have kept the database as simple as possible. Users simply conduct a drag and click exercise and you can also bulk import employee records via a spreadsheet into the database. We received positive feedback from industry at our recent conference and are now ready to roll out the database to all stakeholders,” Conradie concluded.

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