Red flags for new employees
There's an interesting discussion going on at the EvilHR Lady Blog about "Red Flags" and hiring. It got me thinking about some basic things you should do when you receive an employment application that looks good enough for you to consider the person. A "red flag" is any indicator that you may want to find out more. You may want to clarify an issue. You may want to get more information. You may want to ask about why your applicant did something. Before the background check Start with the basic documents. You should have an application and a copy of [...]
Avoiding drug labs with tenant screening
One of the worst things that can happen to a landlord is to have the police find a drug lab on the landlord's property. That happens a lot. According to statistics published by the state of Washington, half of all residential drug labs are found on rental property. If that happens to you, the results can be catastrophic. To start with, there's the cost of cleanup. As the landlord, you'll be responsible. There are widely varying estimates about what it can cost you to decontaminate the property, but they are all big numbers. The state of Washington offers a figure [...]
Good Employees are Worth Screening For
In the May 2007 issue of Dental Economics, there's an excellent article titled: "Hiring a great team." In that article, the authors say the following. "No management function is more critical than the ability to hire qualified and competent people. Dental schools tend not to provide any help in this area. As a result, this all-important task can be - at its best - overwhelming, mysterious, and challenging, and - at its worst - a pure gamble." That's not just true for dental offices. It's true for most small businesses. If you run a smaller business, you probably didn't start [...]
Screen them all
If you read the Chicago Tribune, you may have caught the article on "Staying festive but secure" about the security measures the bid committee is planning if Chicago is awarded the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. One particular line caught my eye. It's a quote from Doug Arnot, director of venues/operations for the bid committee. He said: "If you're selling a hot dog, we run a background check." What about you? Are you screening every job applicant? Are you screening every prospective tenant? Why not? The people planning security for the Olympics know a simple fact. You don't screen people simply [...]
Study: Background screening uncovering more problems with potential hires
How bad is it? Hiring managers are forever complaining that the quality of candidates simply isn't what it used to be. When it comes to the information in a criminal background check or driving record check, they just might be right. Kroll Inc. is a private investigation firm. They also study topics such as background screening, forensic accounting, bodyguard services, corporate restructuring, and technology services. They just released a study of employment screening "hit ratios" for 2006. Hits are nothing more than the percentage of searches in a specific area that turn up something. For example, if you conduct a [...]