Background Checks in Chile: Which to Carry Out?

If you are planning to incorporate a company in Chile and will be hiring local staff, conducting background checks will be an important part of the due diligence process to guarantee that you fill all available roles with the right personnel. Because when you conduct background checks in Chile, you are able to check the veracity of any qualifications or past experience a candidate claims to have, as well as identifying if there are any outstanding or historic legal issues that makes them ineligible for the job they are being considered for.

If you do not want to establish a legal entity in the country, hiring through a professional employer organization (PEO) in Chile could be a good option. Because when you hire through a PEO in Chile, that organization acts as the official employer of the workers, while you maintain control over their schedules and workloads. This can be an especially appealing option for companies planning a short-term or limited-scale operation in the country, as it allows quick and straightforward market entry and exit. Such a service will also come with a regulatory compliance guarantee from the PEO, meaning that they will carry out their own background checks.

Chile pioneered economic liberalization policies in the 1970s and 1980s and since then has emerged as a global beacon of free trade and economic development. Today, Chile is the highest ranked nation in Latin America in both human development and gender development, according to indexes published by the United Nations.

Between 1989 and 2019, Chile’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew from under $30 billion to more than $280 billion (all figures in USD), while gross national income (GNI) — a common indicator of general prosperity — rose to $15,010 at the end of that period, placing Chile as a high-income nation.

Chile has dozens of free trade agreements (FTAs) in place with countries and economic associations around the globe, and is a founder member of the Pacific Alliance — an economic integration that includes Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, and which has ambitions to expand beyond the region. Among the country’s major exports are copper, timber, fish and seafood, and fruits and nuts.

Chile’s pro-business outlook and status as a free trade hub attract considerable foreign direct investment (FDI) to the country, with FDI inflows hitting $11.4 billion in 2019. Chile is also known to be particularly active in promoting startups and innovation, with government-run incubator Startup Chile branded “revolutionary” by Forbes magazine.

If you are looking to incorporate a company in Chile, read on to learn more about the different types of background checks available for potential staff and who you may seek to conduct them on. Or reach out to us now to discuss your business options.

Choosing when to undertake background checks in Chile

When establishing a business in Chile, you should consider conducting background checks on any person you are looking at employing, regardless of whether they are an entry level worker or c-suite executive.

Depending on the role they will occupy, there are different types of background checks to consider. Some of them are particular to specific roles, while others are a part of standard procedure background checks in Chile.

In the section below several types of background checks in Chile are explained.

Different types of background checks in Chile

Background checks in Chile can take several forms, from checking official databases, to following up on claims made by a candidate, and also including more informal inquiries. The following are some of the possible background checks that can be undertaken in Chile:

Job references: Before making a formal offer to a candidate, you will want to follow up on references they have provided for past positions held, in order to verify that the roles and responsibilities they claim to have held are accurate.

Professional certifications: Whether it is a higher education qualification they claim to have obtained or a professional certification particular to their industry, you will want to verify that the candidate has received a claimed qualification that makes them eligible for a role. While this can be done with a visual inspection of hard copies of certificates, an even more reliable method is to verify those qualifications with the institutions that issued them.

Criminal records: Details of unsealed criminal convictions can be obtained from the Chilean Civil Registry. However, you will need the permission of the person whose records you are checking to be able to receive such information. Note that Chile has robust privacy standards and this is not permission that employers are generally expected to request unless the position being applied for explicitly warrants it.

Professional associations: In the case of law, accountancy, or other professional services, qualified personnel are able to join professional associations. While membership to such associations is not mandatory, it is widespread and tends to indicate a good level of professional achievement, as well as being a source from which insight into an individual’s professional profile can be gleaned.

Ask around: While being the least formal of the background checks in Chile, simply asking around can be one of the most effective ways of corroborating the suitability of a candidate, especially if they are being considered for a senior role. Because someone in the running for senior management or executive position will likely have occupied similar such positions previously and be known in local business circles. By engaging with an established due diligence services provider, you will be able to count on their network to make useful informal inquiries about candidates, as well as undertake the aforementioned checks.

Biz Latin can provide due diligence in Chile

At Biz Latin Hub, our team of experienced due diligence professionals is ready to help you conduct background checks in Chile to protect your commercial operations when hiring local staff. With our complete portfolio of back-office services, including legal, accounting, and recruitment support, we can be your single point of contact for doing business in Chile, or any of the other 15 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean where we are present.

Contact us now for a free quote or to discuss your business options.

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