Background Checks - Pre-Employment Screening

For the last couple of months, I have been working with H4B / PeopleCheckers.com. I mention this because of the increased pressure on small businesses to do mandatory background checks. As a consultant, I get many questions regarding background checks and hiring, and while I generally refer these questions to experts in these fields such as PeopleCheckers.com - from experience, I am an advocate of conducting extensive background checks on people – before I hire them. Having been burnt by employee/partner dishonesty – I know the results of misplaced trust.

Pre-employment screening has been gaining ground out of necessity. Gone are the days of a simple reference check and a few phone calls to screen new employees. Today when you shake a person’s hand, you may end up losing fingers if you are not careful. One only has to read the newspapers to know that we are a growing society of security concerns, corporate scandals, and workplace violence.

Pre-employment screening incorporates a variety of different methodologies. The use of Psychological testing, Lifestyle Profiling, background checks, and drug testing are all warranted today. With all the requirements, changing mandates, and increased complexity, the use of a professional firm to conduct these deeper searches is cost justifiable and warranted today.

Background checking is a popular method of pre-employment screening. Over 96% of HR professionals report that their companies do background checks of new hires, up from 66% in 1996 according to The Society for Human Resource Management Workplace Violence Survey.
Investigating the background of a potential hire can help minimize the risk of negligent-hiring lawsuits. You and your company can be held liable for the actions of a new employee especially if you did not perform a background check. Example: A day care center hiring a known pedophile. A hospital hiring a Doctor whose qualifications are bogus, or a school - hiring a coach who is a convicted sex offender.

Prior to beginning a background check, it's important your small business comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the American with Disabilities Act.
Employee Background Check Precautions

Using a outsource pre-employment screening company is not a replacement for a qualified HR Department. In fact, if anything, it is an enhancement of quality gained by using qualified personnel, in partnership with professional investigators. Using a professional firm lessens the potential for a lawsuit as well by shifting the burden of accuracy to the pre-employment screening firm and minimizes the risk of negligent-hiring lawsuits.

You and your company can be held liable for the actions of a new employee especially if you did not perform a background check.

Prior to beginning a background check, it's important that you comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the American with Disabilities Act.. Under the FCRA, your small business is required to have employees sign a disclosure form granting authorization to perform a background check. The FCRA is not just restricted to credit reports but includes all “consumer reports." Laws will vary from state to state in how and what information can be used during the pre-employment screening process.

For instance, your state laws may prohibit using certain aspects of a criminal record during a background check. Your state may have different laws, such as California's Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act. Consult with local regulators and legal counsel before going too deep into the criminal past of a new hire.

Employment Background Checks and Federal Law, the FCRA

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) sets the national standard for employers who want to find out more about an applicant or current employee. Sometimes mistaken for the credit reporting law, the FCRA covers much more than credit reports. It is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), www.ftc.gov.
The FCRA covers “consumer reports.” In addition to credit worthiness information, it covers information about a person’s “character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and mode of living.” This is the type of information you as an employer usually need to know. Thus, whether a credit check is included or not, an employment background check is a type of “consumer report” that is covered by the FCRA.

Be aware: For an employment background check to qualify as a “consumer report” under the FCRA, it must be prepared by a third-party consumer-reporting agency.

Many small business agencies such as SCORE or the Small Business Administration (SBA) can provide counsel. Visit your government’s websites on FCRA and ADA. Background screening should now be a standard practice of operating a successful small business.

If you want additional information, contact Charles Douglas at PeopleCheckers – a Division of H4B, Inc. Mr. Douglas has been conducting forensic level investigations on people and businesses for 20 years and he is an excellent advisor. Office Phone 720-898-5487 or write him at CDouglas@PeopleCheckers.com
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Copyright 2008 - Gary A. ClarkGary Clark is a Freelance Commercial Writer and Web Content writer who for 25 years has been both a Consultant and instructor of Small Business Entrepreneurship. He can be reached by e-mail at GAClark@Write4me.net, or by phone at 719-536-0505- Mon thru Fri / 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (MST)

A Lesson in Birds

We decided to get a bird feeder so we could attract birds to our backyard. We did this after coming back from a trip to Maryland where my wife’s sister had a beautiful backyard always filled with colorful birds. My wife had to have the same. We even managed to bring seed back. Her sister guaranteed the seed would attract the same variety of birds she had.

We set the feeder up, filled it with this magical mixture and excitedly waited for our first feathered friend to drop in. Within days, we had a few birds. Well - we had feathered creatures but not exactly the variety that my sister-in-law had. We had crows, a few scruffy pigeons, and sparrows.

You see where this is going – don’t you? You probably know where we went wrong. We did change the seed and that solved the problem somewhat. The ugly birds stopped coming. In fact, we didn’t get any colorful birds. We got crows. Crows eat anything and because we were desperate, we put out anything - under the thinking that anything is better then nothing.

A check with our local authority on birds revealed the problem. We were using the wrong seed for this area. We didn’t think it mattered, but as it turns out, the right seed for the area and the season is more important than the quantity or the color. It only took us a year. Had we bothered to check our assumptions with a professional we could have saved a lot of time, frustration, and money.

This same issue occurs in marketing:

Stage 1
Many businesses that market are using the wrong seed. Many are also using the wrong feeder. They are setting out massive quantities but getting mundane results. The conclusion they eventually come to is: Direct marketing does not work

Stage 2
Now, in quiet desperation - they resort to passive ads, relying on the advice of a inexperienced salesperson who lives on commissions, shoving ads spots in every nook and cranny that the salesperson directs them to. Passive marketing is easier, but costly. (The law of large numbers.) It’s true that the owners do not have to deal with the rejections, but they also get very little feedback. When passive marketing doesn’t work, the conclusion is – no marketing works. We will stick to word of mouth marketing.

Final stage
“The economy is at fault.” “I was given bad advice.” “My people are not selling, I need new people.” I can’t get enough supplies, the competition is heavy, that new ‘Wall’s are U’ is killing me with their slick ads and low prices – I can’t compete.” Later that night – “Maybe it’s not such a good business after all. Maybe I should just close the doors.” Bill say's I can work with him.

If you find yourself lost in your marketing – you’re frustrated, or if your marketing has reached a stalemate, call me. My numbers on my website at http://www.write4me.biz/
Am I good at what I do?
I think so. I got you this far, and if this letter did it’s job - I have you thinking. The next step is a non-committal conversation. You tell me what you want to accomplish, then we will discuss how to get there.

By the way, today my backyard overflows with a wonderful variety of birds. With a slight change in seed and an eye on the seasonal changes, I attract a wide variety of birds. I am never bored. I never run out of birds and seed is cheap in comparison to the rewards I receive. Think about it.
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Copyright 2008 - Gary A. ClarkGary Clark is a Freelance Commercial Writer and Web Content writer who for 25 years has been both a Consultant and instructor of Small Business Entrepreneurship. He can be reached by e-mail at GAClark@Write4me.net, or by phone at 719-536-0505- Mon thru Fri / 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (MST)

21 WAYS TO LEAVE A LOSER

Selling is not a game; I don’t care what you heard. I hate sales people who think it is. Selling is a matter of helping people to buy. It is not a matter of "if" you are a better closer, or the sharpest dresser, or the most liked.

Selling, when done properly is the highest form of communication, second only to a conversation between lovers. However, that does not mean there will not be those who know better, and think selling is simply a matter of trick closings.

The philosophy of tricks is best realized in the numbers game. In order to make more closes you have to play the odds and get in front of many people, therefore if you burn up a list of 100 qualified prospects and can manage to get in front of 2 or 3, you are doing good. For the people who believe in this, then this article is for you.

For those of you who are serious about the “get in and get out” quick method of selling, I went back into my old sales records and pulled out the ideas I have heard, been told, or tried over 24 years of working with the public. None of these worked for me, (nor for a whole lot of other people) but you are welcome to try them.

1. Let us start with focus. Forget it. It screws up your thinking. Think of a shotgun. Close your eyes and shoot, you are sure to hit some target – someday. Even a blind - one arm man - standing on one leg in a windstorm, can hit a target with a shotgun, so why not use it always. It sure beats messing around with target markets and a whole lot easier. Get yourself one of those Bulk e-mailing disk and go to town.
2. Everyone is fair game. Oh, I know you have heard that you should target your market, but hey – the people who suggest this methodology, probably never sold a thing in their life.
3. When in a selling situation and the client is talking, focus on the words you are going to say next. Focus on getting the order. Overcome all objections, and close often. Dazzle them with your brilliance; baffle them with your best closing lines. Lines like “I am sure you didn’t just come in here to think about it. You’re here to buy and buy now – right?”
4. Fact-Fact-finding is a waste of time, if the client is not serious about buying. You can always tell if they are ready, by pulling out an order form and start by asking their name. If they balk, they are not ready. Keep talking or move on to the next “real” buyer.
5. Always ask closing questions and ignore the client’s objections – they are not real objections anyway. When they walk through the door, assume they are there to buy. Your job is to get them to the signing stage quickly.
6. Any question on price, ignore. They will soon forget they asked it anyway.
7. When a client walks in with an ad, ignore it. The ad did its job and got them in the door. Show them the more expensive model - immediately.
   You can always come down, but you could leave money on the table. If you advertise a service, give them the $1000.00 pitch and come down only when they start to leave.
8. Planning is a waste of time. What are you planning for? When the slow season comes about, take a vacation and forget about the company and your business. Do not look back. Live for the moment. The only good records of sales are those that closed. Never look at the rest. And never track your sales. It only serves to depress you the following season. If you were doing it wrong, someone would have pointed it by now.
9. Learn to socialize. If the office staff drinks, you do too. If they meet weekly at the local bar, don’t be a spoil sport. Become one of the team. All people in the office like team players if they also buy a round. They forgive friends who show up late for sales meetings, and will be the first to support you after your butt kicking. Buy them all a round later.
10. If your marketing is not working, keep trying. Remember you can only expect a 1% return so why waste your time trying for more. Keep that old plug running. Again, track nothing; it’s a waste of time for a 1% return.
11. If you take orders on your website, forget about what you hear about secure sites. People do not check anyway. They will fill out any form that they find, especially for your killer deal, so a secure site is not important.
12. Change your logo and headers on your e-mail so that they don’t match. This way the customer will not associate you with the spam they receive from your marketing campaign.
13. Use autoresponders extensively. It serves no purpose to get directly involved and engage in a conversation with a prospect, until they are ready to part with the cash. If they are ready to buy, they will call you. Until then, let them have the information by auto-responder.
14. Your marketing budget should be directed to getting your site listed on the entire top search engines within the first 10 listings. Forget what you hear about target marketing and visitors as opposed to hits. That is for those who are actively marketing. A website is supposed to be automatic marketing and when it is on the top, you will get all the hits you need.
15. When you lose a sale, forget it. They were losers anyways. If they had stopped talking long enough to listen to your pitch, instead of asking questions when you were closing, they would have known your product was the best deal in town. Have a drink, calm your nerves and tackle the next one. Remember, drive for the close.
16. Communications. Here is a big area so pay attention. Have many phone, fax and pager numbers. Make the customer find you. Why you ask? Because when they do, you know you have a serious buyer. Publish all your phone numbers on your business card. Make sure that the first number is the last number you could ever be found at.
17. If you are selling real estate, make sure you have an extensive library of the 360 degree surround view pictures. Who cares if the site is slow to load, the customer knows it will be worth it once it does. They have patience.
18. Make sure that the customer knows you are a busy person. Look for ways to impress them. The next suggestion will speed the action up. When the show up at your office, learn from the school of medical practitioners. Make them wait a little past the appointed time – Fifteen minutes should do it. Then when you greet them, let them know that you had to take that last call from an important client who they will know by name, like the Mayor.
19. When the client is talking – look at your watch, tap your pen on the desk, get up, fiddle with something on the shelf, and say – “go ahead, I am listening. Better yet, take that phone call and ask them to wait a minute. Impress them. Answer that purple looking cell phone stuck in your ear. That will do it !!
20. When you ask a question, don’t wait for the answer. Assume the answer is positive and go right on.
21. And last - but not least - Make sure that the client knows you are the offices top sales person, so that when they object, you can come back with the fact that of all your clients, they are the only one who feels that way. That will serve to bring them down to their true worth and make it easier to close.

Now if you try these methods, please do not let me know. Of course, these are not the right way to do business or to conduct sales. But I bet you probably recognized every one of them as either something you read, heard or actually watched a salesperson do. I hope that it was not you.If you can’t make 10 appointments off of a list of 50 qualified cold calls, and if you can’t close at lease 3 of those 10, or get the listings you need, doing it the right way, then I suggest changes need to be made in your methodologies.

Gary Clark

www.Write4Me.biz

This article was previously posted on my other blogs at http://thebackside.blogspot.com/