You requested a socio-environmental report, it arrived, and it runs several pages of verifications. How should you read it? How much weight does each piece of data carry? And what do you do if something does not match what the candidate told you in the interview? This guide explains how a good report is put together and how to use it to make better decisions.
How a good report is structured
A serious report is organized verification by verification: identity, address, employment history, references, education, and the other points agreed for the role. Each point is a separate block, with its result and its origin. It is not a running narrative of impressions: it is a list of facts.
And every fact carries two things: the source the data came from, and the verification level that data reached. The usual levels are three:
- Verified against source: the data was checked with the source that can confirm it — a registry, an official document, the previous employer, the educational institution. This is the highest level of backing.
- Provided by the data subject: it comes from documentation the candidate delivers (for example, a certificate or a pay slip). The document exists and was reviewed, but the data was not additionally checked with a third party.
- Self-declared: what the candidate states in the interview and could not, or should not, be cross-checked. It is reported as a statement, not as a confirmed fact.
That labeling is the heart of the report: it tells you not only what is known, but how much backing each known item has. Two identical data points can deserve very different weight depending on their level.
Why a serious report carries no score
A report does not tell you whom to hire. It shows you verified facts, each with its source, so the decision remains yours and rests on solid ground.
Some reports on the market end with a score or a "pass / fail" stamp. A serious report does not, for three reasons:
- A score hides the reasoning. You do not know what weighed in, how much, or why. With the facts in view, you can audit your own decision.
- The decision belongs to the employer. The verifier does not know the role, the team, or the context of the search the way your company does. An external verdict replaces that judgment with a black box.
- There is a legal framework. Whoever produces the report processes personal data under Law 25,326: their role is to gather and report lawful, relevant facts with the candidate's consent — not to pass judgment on the person.
A discrepancy appeared: now what?
An end date that does not match the one declared, an address different from the one on the document, a reference who remembers a different job title. First things first: a discrepancy is a data point to talk through, not a condemnation. Many have simple explanations — a recent move, an outdated registry, a memory slip about something that happened years ago.
The reasonable approach is to size it and clear it up:
- Is it central to the role or a minor detail? A difference in the dates of an old job does not weigh the same as an inconsistency in a requirement that is essential to the position.
- Give the candidate the chance to explain it. The conversation that follows is often more revealing than the data point itself: how a person responds to a concrete difference says a lot.
Good employer practices when deciding
- Relevance to the role. Weigh only what matters for the job the person will actually do. A verified fact that is unrelated to the role should not define the decision.
- Non-discrimination. Argentine law forbids inquiring into political, religious or union views and sexual orientation (sec. 73 of the Employment Contract Law), and a serious report contains none of that. Even with lawful data, deciding on grounds unrelated to the role exposes the company.
- Right to clarify. Before ruling someone out over a discrepancy, hear their explanation and, if needed, request an additional verification of that specific point.
- Confidentiality. The report contains personal data: it should circulate only among those involved in the decision and be retained according to your company's data policy.
Read this way, the report stops being a formality and becomes what it should be: a base of sourced facts on which your company decides with its own judgment.
Want to see how we structure our reports, or have a new hire to verify? Write to us and we will get back to you shortly.